While I may be a fast quilter, I am slow in decorating my house for Christmas. I finally started-this morning. And did I mention that my kids are NOT is school today? Yes, that is a recipe for disaster. I realize this. Which leads me to my story....
So we were decorating the tree. My kids are 2 1/2, 5 and 8. They are VERY excited for Christmas. And they all wanted to help. The entire time. First, we assembled the tree. The older 2 helped spread out the branches and hooked them on to the tree. Then I put the lights on. I plugged them in to see if they all work. They were fine. So I strung them on (the worst part of putting up the tree, if you ask me). And then we put on the paper chain that the kids made over the weekend. Then came the ornaments. A LOT of ornaments. When we were ALMOST done, I was putting an ornament on a branch and accidentally knicked one of the lights. ALL the lights went out. Every single one. Lovely. And to top it all of, the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" came on the radio. I kid you not. Oh, the irony. It might BE the most wonderful time of the year. But for today, it sure doesn't FEEL like the most wonderful time of the year.
Oh, well, at least my new tree skirt looks pretty under my tree that won't light up.
So we were decorating the tree. My kids are 2 1/2, 5 and 8. They are VERY excited for Christmas. And they all wanted to help. The entire time. First, we assembled the tree. The older 2 helped spread out the branches and hooked them on to the tree. Then I put the lights on. I plugged them in to see if they all work. They were fine. So I strung them on (the worst part of putting up the tree, if you ask me). And then we put on the paper chain that the kids made over the weekend. Then came the ornaments. A LOT of ornaments. When we were ALMOST done, I was putting an ornament on a branch and accidentally knicked one of the lights. ALL the lights went out. Every single one. Lovely. And to top it all of, the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" came on the radio. I kid you not. Oh, the irony. It might BE the most wonderful time of the year. But for today, it sure doesn't FEEL like the most wonderful time of the year.
Oh, well, at least my new tree skirt looks pretty under my tree that won't light up.
I'm loving your tree skirt. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteYour tree skirt looks graet!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh no!!! Well, the tree skirt is very pretty. Even if your tree isn't lit. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, your tree skirt does look fantastic. BTW, prelit trees are the way to go!
ReplyDeletehaha.
ReplyDeleteboy i know these moments!!!
maybe the hubby can help your light situation...hopefully.
:D
your tree skirt looks perfect.
Gotta love it!! I agree that your tree skirt looks great!
ReplyDeleteWe had light issues this weekend too! Your tree skirt is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIsn't life grand!? The tree skirt looks great!
ReplyDeleteThat tress skirt is gorgeous. Good luck with the light situation.
ReplyDeleteAndi :-)
I know EXACTLY how you feel. by boy wanted to help, too, and now there are ornaments all over the floor. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteBut your tree skirt looks AMAZING!
your tree lights may have failed....but you have seriously lighted my day....I am so inspired by your creativity and the impressive number of beautiful quilts you have made! I just ordered the pattern you used for your Christmas quilt....Thank you so much for the inspiration....!
ReplyDeletesusan
Not fun! I would totally just put up more and deal with it at the end of the season! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteHang in there. Soon may you know light! :) Until then, the chain the children made looks adorable and the tree skirt, well, it goes without saying...BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteoooh! bummer. well, the tree skirt looks amaZing!!
ReplyDeletethe tree skirt looks gorgeous,, it will alright, maybe new lights were needed any how.. have a great day
ReplyDelete*drool* I dream of a tree skirt that beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so talented!! I LOVE your tree skirt (and all of your projects)!
ReplyDeleteTree is pretty even if the lights are not working...perhaps check the fuse since they are quit working. The paper chain is so colorful...I am sure the kiddos are excited...making those memories for sure!
ReplyDeleteThe tree looks fab with the new skirt! I love the paper chain that your kids made-so cool! Me made one last year , but this year we forgot, I guess we still have some time.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the mess! We can usually put up/decorate the tree within an hour, but getting the boxes back out takes all week. . . your tree skirt looks great under your tree!
ReplyDeleteone of those days, huh? As much as I love Christmas, it overwhelms me sometimes. But your tree skirt is beautiful!! Focus on that! ;)
ReplyDeleteI have no patience for lights either. Maybe you can fix the problem after the kids go to bed some night. Might be easier. Or just leave it for next year. If the kids let you. smile
ReplyDeleteThose paper chains sure bring back memories and the skirt really looks sharp! What a clever idea - a square skirt.
BUMMER! BUT, your tree skirt looks fabulous under the tree. LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteJen :)
Oh no! Well, I haven't started decorating at all. I bought 2 wreaths at Costco this morning and cleaned the house really well. We'll go get the tree tonight.
ReplyDeleteYour tree skirt is lovely. Maybe I'll quickly whip one up. Yeah right...
Oh my! Well I hope you were at least able to get a laugh out of the irony of it all! Last year I had gotten my cut tree all put up, strung ornaments, decorated and found that the stand had a huge leak! We had to get a new one and try lifting the tree out fully decorated into the new one! We tried really hard to laugh about it!!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
What a story! At least your tree skirt is gorgeous...even if the tree isn't lit!
ReplyDeleteOh I have had that happen. I think thats why it usually takes me until Christmas eve to put the darn thing up. Not this year though, I have the Chrissy spirit back. I love your tree skirt. That is on the list for next year. Merry Christmas to you and your family Amandajean. I have had great pleasure and have learnt lots from your wonderful blog over the past year. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteJules
our tree is having lighting issues now too. and it's a pre-lit one so i don't even know what to do about it. :(
ReplyDeleteHere is a hint - get a tree disposal bag (for real trees ya know?) and then leave the lights on your tree, put the bag over the tree, from the top down, store it in the garage that way. WAH LAH! :D
ReplyDeleteYour beautiful tree skirt lights up the room, who needs those electric lights ;)
Oh I can definitely relate to the light thing .. last year it was 'the most wonderful time of the year' to get the lights working and they were brand new too! They finally all get working and then bit by bit, my cmas tree experienced a black out section by section .. i'm the type of person that loves a gazillion lights .. I just gave up at that point LOL .. this year we went to buy lights and i want white ones .. think I could find them?? nope .. so the hunt continues and the tree's not up nor will it be, until i find some lights!
ReplyDeletehugs and good luck!
grace
oh no! At least you didn't stab yourself and shock yourself at the same time on a broken bulb that was plugged in at the time, like I did.
ReplyDeletePlease forgive my little chuckle! The tree skirt looks fantastic, though!!
ReplyDeleteMy mom was helping me decorate our tree on Sunday. We just finished putting all the lights up when I looked at her and said, "Ut-oh! We forgot to see if they work!" But thankfully they do! Your tree skirt looks fabulous. I have had my eye out for one to buy, but now that I see yours, nothing is going to compare! Bummer for me!
ReplyDeleteohhhhh- so sorry about those lights! Yea prelite trees are all fine and dandy except when the lights wont work! Then What!
ReplyDeleteLove the tree skirt! We so need a new one but every time Christmas comes around we never have the extra cash for one...or the time for me to make it!
If it makes you feel any better, we got the lights on our two front windows, and now only one window will light up. :(
ReplyDeleteYour tree skirt is awesome!
Your new tree skirt looks fabulous! I LOVE it! Happy decorating! My girls decorated my tree this year too, that is what made it special for me:)
ReplyDeleteyour tree looks so cute! I love the paper chain!
ReplyDeletejust switch out the bulb with a new one it should be fine. Your tree is beautiful. I've been doing mine for 2 days and still aren't done :(
ReplyDeleteLove the tree skirt. Maybe I'll do one for next year.
I hope the lights are on by the time I post this. :) Your tree skirt is wonderful & I just love the kids' paper chain.
ReplyDeletewuh silly....everyone's going to be looking at your fabulous tree skirt and won't even notice the lights aren't on
ReplyDeleteI am just in awe! I have 3 kids and I barely get any quilting done. You are my hero.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that tree skirt!
I've had the same problem with the lights, and I use a lot of them. I wouldn't mind as much if I had a tree skirt as pretty as yours. Why can't decorating be simpler?
ReplyDeletethat tree skirt is fantastic! and i love your paper chain on the tree, so pretty!
ReplyDeleteLOL! That sounds like something that could easily happen at my house too :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't decorated a lot either, should do that soon....
You tree skirt looks wonderful!
WOW! A friend and I got together last weekend and we made ouselves a tree skirt using your tutorial...and i just have to tell you how happy we are....the only thing we changed was we did "wonky" log cabins....keep an eye on my blog for photos...I made paper butterflies to cover my tree...not sure how my friend has decorated hers...
ReplyDeletelzilulu xox australia
That tree skirt looks amazing and makes me realise how bare and boring the base of my tree looks! Good luck with the lights and three cheers for the little helpers - that's what Christmas is all about!
ReplyDeleteI would rather be quilting than decorating my tree also! I am amazed with everything you get done. And on top of that helping all of us!!! As always, Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about the Christmas lights! They can be so frustrating. I let my husband do the lights while I bake some cookies with the kids. This keeps all of our frustrations to a minimum! Then we have something to snack on while we decorate the rest of the tree.
ReplyDeleteYour tree skirt is gorgeous! It's making me want some more red and green and white fabric.....
Well, that tree skirt is adorable! I am sure you'll get those lights to "magically" work soon :) {que your husband}We decorated on Sunday night. I need to take photos and post them.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the day!
My heart feels for you, even though I laughed all the way through your story. I knew what was coming, you see, because it's happened to us all. In my case, it involed a few too many glasses of glogg, and a tree falling over to the tune of "Silent Night."
ReplyDeleteYou should have told us everyone was home from school. We would have crashed your party.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Adam loves Christmas lights and he's been saying "lights" repeatedly to get us to hold him up so he can look at the ones out our windows.
Christmases are made of stories like that... and your children are still young! The tree skirt looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteoh, love the tree! especially that tree skirt!
ReplyDeleteYour tree skirt is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe christmas tree skirt is gorgeous, I love how it turned out.
ReplyDeleteWe have had that happen with the lights... we ended up pulling everything off the tree... fixing the lights and then redecorating the tree the next day. The kids loved it... mom and dad not so much *smiles*
Your tree skirt looks gorgeous - especially next to the paper chain your sweeties made.
ReplyDeleteYou should send in that tree skirt ot Martha's christmas craft contest. I read about it in the December issue.
ReplyDeleteIt does look fab under there!
ReplyDeleteAnd why does everyone hate stringing lights? I LOVE it. I'll gladly come to your house to do it next year!
You are so right.....Lights are the worst part. I just don't have the knack for that.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful life you are giving your little ones.
LOL! i think many a curse is shed about Christmas lights throughout the holiday season. someone really should write a song about it :)
ReplyDeletei think i would have cried! bbut your right the tree skirt looks really nice, we have a train going around the bottom of my tree and the dogs love to chase it! i can see our tree falling over before christmas :)
ReplyDeleteOoooh, crazy Christmas lights! I just can't deal with them. Hubby doesn't do any decorating, but if I have trouble with the lights I just hand them over to them and fortunately he fixes them. Your tree skirt looks FABULOUS!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the light problem! The paper chains the children made brought back many fond memories. Your tree skirt is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIf you have any energy to spare, send me some please? LOLOL. I've had a cold the last few days and don't feel like doing anything Christmas. What to do?
Hope you stay healthy!
My Christmas memories are full of little disasters like this one (right now, I'm thinking of the time our dog ate the head off of the camel in our family heirloom manger set from Austria). Hopefully, you'll be able to look back on things like this and laugh, although it's not so easy to do so at the time, is it?
ReplyDeleteLOVE the tree skirt.
Ah, that skirt looks awesome! And your kids will grow up remembering it and fond Christmas moments.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your lights, I really love the tree skirt.
ReplyDeleteoh, but hey!!!!! look at that awesome awesome tree skirt! LOL.
ReplyDelete(i am saying this because half our lights are out - what the heck!)
yay for decorating!
There is a Light that never goes out...He lives in YOU!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings.
I made a tree skirt, very (very!) vaguely following your tutorial. Yours is amazing, mine is fun and not nearly as complex (or well sewn LOL), but I thank you for the Tut and wish you and your family a Merry Christmas! (and I hope you get the lights working again!)
ReplyDelete