VISITING A CHRISTMAS TREE FARM

I've been on the hunt for a Christmas tree farm since Mila's first Christmas, so I was excited to finally find Peltzer Pines (through JL Designs on Instagram). We visited their Brea farm location, which is less than an hour from Los Angeles.

Mila loved leading the way through the rows of trees. 

As a note, these trees are pines (not the firs that we're used to).

Choose your tree and they cut it down for you to take home. That's pretty fresh!

Visiting a tree farm was a fun family activity that I could easily see becoming an annual tradition. 

Mila's dress is Tutu Du Monde via Thumbeline and her moccasins are Lil'fut and Company.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT DIY

We recently threw a holiday playdate for our kids and their friends. We always want to have a handmade element at our parties so I DIY'ed the Christmas tree ornaments. It was actually amazing how much satisfaction these simple little guys gave me!

We got these beautiful tabletop trees from Mr. Greentrees (who have the prettiest trees) and added ornaments in red, pink, blue, green and mint (made from Paper Source paper). 

So I thought I'd share them here with you:

Supplies: paper (text weight, not card stock), 2 inch circle punch, scissors, glue and string. 

Punch all of your circles (we used one pack of each color, so fifty sheets total).

Take eight circles of a color and fold each in half.

Take one folded circle and make it flat again. Add glue.

Add a folded circle to the left and a folded circle to the right. Then put glue on those and add more folded circles. When you only have one left, take a length of string, loop it at the top and let it hand low beneath.

Then glue your final circle on top of the string. Knot the string at the top of the circle and the bottom of the circle.

5 ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS TREES

I was so obsessed with the idea of an alternative Christmas tree last year, I opted for branches (they were actually big gorgeous scraps from the Christmas tree lot) sprawling out of a vase on my dining room table instead of a traditional tree. But in retrospect, I missed having a tree. We have a three year old, we should have a tree. I convinced myself, we'll get a big tree this year! But I am a sucker for an alternative tree. The tree in the vase below has me rethinking the whole thing! Do I need to do both this year...? 

Here are five alternative Christmas trees to see if it's for you. 

Christmas Tree in a Vase from By Fryd.

Lined Pine by Domino. 

Advent Calendar from The Merrythought via The Style Files. 

Paper Garland Wall Tree from Brit + Co.

Christmas Tree Display Shelf from Paper & Stitch via Brit + Co.