Personalize Your Christmas Tree + $500 GIVEAWAY!

This post is brought to you by Personal Creations.

A few years ago I was gifted my very first faux Christmas tree to decorate for a project and I’ve used it each year since. Not only does it make decorating a snap, it fits perfectly in our long slanted hallway sitting area so I can spread holiday cheer around the entire house. SO FUN! I love the way this lit tree gives a soft amber glow to the hallway all season long, and I miss it when the holidays are over. I generally decorate this cute little tree with more traditional Christmas colors like reds and greens and golds, which happens to coordinate with the area quite well.

This year, with Personal Creations, I was able to really customize and personalize our little upstairs Christmas tree to suit our little family. And since we don’t have kids, and since our pets are the loves of our lives, it quickly became a pet-centric theme, which makes me smile each time I pass it.

Over the years we’ve collected ornaments and stockings for Bebop and LeRoy, but this is Trevor and Randy’s first Christmas, so it was exciting to grab a few ornaments with their names on them as well as stockings of their very own. Though the sock monkey ornaments are quite large for a tree, they’re unbelievably adorable, especially with the boys’ names written on their tiny monkey scarves. I bought two extra standing versions in blue for their stockings and grabbed a new knit stocking for Bebop as well.

Though I’m well into adulthood, I’ve never had an actual “tree skirt” for my Christmas trees. I’ve always used an old satin bed sheet or scrap fabric, and in the past few years, faux sheepskin has been a favorite for its fluffy-white-snowy-look. Personal Creations has a few ADORABLE tree skirt options, like the classic plaid and velvet trim skirt seen above. It’s heavy and beautiful and now it’s personalized! Since we’re just a little bit obsessed with HBO’s Game of Thrones, “House Tintari” seems pretty appropriate for all personalized items in our home.

Quite possibly my favorite ornament though, is the one I got for LeRoy. January will already be a year since we had to say goodbye to him, but since he’s in our hearts and minds daily, I still wanted his memory on the tree. I found this pretty clear glass ornament with a black paw print on the back and had his name painted on the front. I teared up a little when I opened it, and then again when I hung it on the tree. I happened to hang it next to one of his older ornaments, which just sort of twisted and looked up at it while I hung it.

I love personalizing in a special way that’s just a little bit different from the norm but so very close to our hearts. It’s those memories, feelings, and emotions that wash over us each year when we unbox all of our Christmas decorations and begin decorating and hanging ornaments on the tree that remind us of the life behind and the life ahead. But in this very moment is where it all collides and we find so much to be grateful for in this life right now.

Proof you don’t have to use a name to make it personal. Use a word that has meaning to you… or everyone. I love this “love” ornament.

Randy was more of an observer of the decorating while Trevor wanted to sniff everything and sit under the tree to sneakily eat the tree branches… but I caught a few of him simply looking cute.

Since we don’t have a mantel, I have to find creative ways to hang our stockings, and since I had the pet theme going upstairs, I hung each of the boys stockings from the hooks on the stairwell cabinets, which is admittedly adorable, if I do say so myself.

I splurged on a few hand-painted glass birthstone ornaments for us. They’ll go on our main tree downstairs, but for now they’re hanging beautifully in front of my DIY Feather Wall Art. They’re so pretty in person and though I had our names written on them, I thought having our astrological signs {gemini & pisces} written on them would have maybe been a little cuter. It was an afterthought, of course, but they’re gorgeous nonetheless.

The finished tree..

I topped the tree off with my 3d DIY Gold Geo Pipe Cleaner Star and called it a day.

And here’s a little something for YOU!!

Personal Creations is offering a $500 gift code to one lucky winner to shop for fun holiday ornaments and decorations. But think of all the great gifts you can get too! Personalized gifts are special, unique and personal, of course!

The giveaway is open through December 17, 2014 at midnight PST.

Use code PCSM20 at checkout for 20% off your purchase at Personal Creations

Don’t forget to use code PCSM20 at checkout for 20% off your entire purchase at Personal Creations

This post is brought to you by Personal Creations.