Black Friday? No Thanks…

If you're like me, you're ready for anything OTHER than spending the day after Thanksgiving engaged in shopping. I know, it's not "shopping" per se. It's "battling mob mentality crowds for a bunch of 'stuff' that you will pick up in a frenzied whirlwind of 'I'd better get this now, or it'll be GONE' thinking." Thinking that you realize is completely misguided only AFTER you find a few of those so desperately needed Black Friday items that you purchased in that panicked Black Friday state--oh!...and purchased only after standing in insane lines because there weren't enough people working the registers to allow for anything even resembling "line movement" to occur. Yes, those Black Friday items. You'll see them for the first time since November when  you're getting the terrariums out of the closet for the start of "Terrarium Time" in January or February. And then you'll realize...but it will be too late...you *should* have gone to The Massachusetts Horticultural Society's Annual "Festival of Trees" instead!  Don't make the Black Friday mistake. Head on over to Mass Hort's Elm Bank and see GREEN (and lots of other beautiful colors!) while you can. Much more fun and festive than being jostled left and right and then having to stand in long lines all day while sweating like crazy through your way too hot sweater and coat.

So…Bag Black Friday, and Go get your GREEN on at Mass Hort

Here's the scoop on the "Festival of Trees" as taken directly from the Mass Hort website:

Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Festival of Trees showcases dozens of trees and the Snow Village at Elm Bank for children and adults to enjoy. This annual festival takes place from the end of November through the first two weeks of December at Mass Hort’s The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482.

Festival of Trees, displayed in the Hunnewell Building, offers beautifully decorated holiday trees that are donated and decorated by local businesses, garden clubs, and individuals. Visitors “vote” with their raffle tickets, in hopes of being the tree winner at the end of the festival. For the young at heart, there are Santa Visits and other activities. Snow Village at Elm Bank is a wonderful addition to the holiday spirit of the Festival of Trees. Bill Meagher of Needham graciously donated the product of his thirteen year “hobby” of building Christmas villages and trains.  It is a bit different each year as he continues to tweak the arrangement.  Massachusetts Horticultural Society is delighted to share his enchanting displays with model trains winding through villages and vignettes, including Christmas in the City (Boston of course!), Fenway Park, and hundreds of decorated houses and lights. This amazing scenery in miniature is sure to get kids of all ages excited about the holiday season.

Admission is $15 for visitors aged 13 and over, and Member admission is $10. ***Join Mass Hort at the Festival and admission is free!(I just noticed this little "extra"!! SO worth it!) The Festival is open November 23 through December 9, weather permitting.

The Festival of Trees is a holiday fundraiser for Mass Hort, a 501(c)(3) educational organization.

My Determination…Definitely Ditch the Mall!

Because I had the opportunity to see the trees during set up, I can tell you that they are fantastic and definitely worth ditching the mall for. They range in size from 3 feet (like my little guy) to 9 feet and are decorated in more ways than one could possibly imagine. The creativity is out of this world, and the trees (and their vignettes!) are so much fun to see. As for me, I'm not sure how "creative" my tree is (no cool vignette, for example), but at least it holds its own in the sea of larger artificial trees. And its lights aren't taking up real estate on the skirt as they are (annoyingly) in the featured image. I was in a hurry to get my tree over to Elm Bank and somehow didn't notice that doggone string of lights! Oh, well. 

My Tree—and My “Philosophy” of Decorating for Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of the year for decorating. Aside from the meaning of the season itself, I love the space that Christmas allows me in creating whatever I feel like creating from a design standpoint. It makes things so much fun! And I never know exactly how or when my decision of "how" I'm going to "do" Christmas will emerge. One year, when my house was on the Historic House Tour (pre-Civil War houses), I decided that I would deck the halls of the house in period Christmas decorations. I was insistent upon using oranges, golds and deep browns as my basic color palette. As you might imagine, I was thinking of my Virginia roots and used many of my Williamsburg themed ideas, which worked well when combined with the equivalent New England elements of the same time period. This year, I decided while sitting in one of our hot pink (with navy blue welting) chairs on Nantucket, that our Christmas would be one of hot pink and navy blue. And I would make it as informal as possible. Hence my own ornament creation. I'm no artist, but I love love love pagodas and lanterns (my logo speaks for itself!). And I thought that it would be fun to just sketch some pagodas, lanterns and flowers on some plain Christmas balls. I discovered that it was fun....even if my ornaments were not the most beautiful creations in the world. They weren't meant to be. They were simply meant to represent my vision for Christmas 2018. And I actually kind of like them!! (If you like them and would like to place an order, please fill out the form in the Contact me section of the site.)

What's your vision for Christmas 2018? Do you use any "nontraditional" colors or elements? I'd love to know! Please leave me a comment!!! Happy Thanksgiving!

xobetsy