We are a family that uses fake Christmas trees. Because Stephen is allergic to the real ones. Many years ago we chose a pre-lit 8 foot tree and it served us well. Until it didn’t.

Last year only half the lights worked on the tree, so we ended up with something decidedly lopsided in the brightness category. No big thang. We dealt with it, then got rid of the tree. I honestly don’t remember how, but it likely involved bulk trash pick up on our curb. Just being honest.

In the spirit of downsizing, this year we replaced the 8 foot pre-lit tree with a 4 1/2 foot pre-lit tree. It’s super cute, in my humble opinion. But since it’s just about half the size of our other tree, we definitely didn’t need all the ornaments we have. I even found several boxes of unopened boxes of brand new ornaments! And I remember when I bought them. Over 5 years ago. Sheesh!

I put out the word on Facebook for places that might be interested in extra ornaments and decorations. Someone I know replied that he and his wife had lost all of their Christmas decorations in some sort of house flood, so I told him they were welcome to ours. Any that they cannot use, they will donate to the charity of our choosing.

Sounds good to me!

This past weekend Stephen, the kids and I went through our ornaments and decorations and purged. The decorations will be the subject of another post, but for now, here are the ornaments we are giving away:

And in that bag are the boxes of unopened, unused ornaments.  And they are scheduled to leave my house tomorrow.

We kept the decorations that really meant something to us. Like the ones the kids have made. Or ones that we really love. And now we have a totes adorbs tree on our dining room table. Where no little dogs can chew it up.

And that took 2.2 seconds to assemble and decorate. How awesomesauce is that?