Oh, Tannenbaum

After returning home late Sunday evening from my 10 day trip, I decided to put up my own Christmas tree last night after a week of decorating other people's trees. While putting up a Christmas tree is a very traditional thing to do, the tree itself doesn't have to be.

I have always loved a holiday tree with lots of texture. Instead of traditional garlands of beads or ribbon, try a rustic look of unwound grapevine wreaths weaving in, out and around the tree. Put the grapevine on the tree first after setting it up and lighting the branches and then fill in the voids with ornaments. Another textural idea is to insert barren spray painted limbs from a tree from the yard throughout the holiday tree. Collect the limbs as they fall during the year or do some select pruning right when you deck the halls.

The traditional tree skirt can also be replaced by a number of different items. Urns, large flower pots, baskets, planters and metal tubs are all great alternatives. Surround the container with a mix of wrapped boxes in several holiday wrapping paper styles with some large, antique looking toys like dolls, toy planes or small wagons for a final touch.