Celebration Preparation: Tamra's Tree

The first time I saw this, I thought it was just a big stack of blocks. Then on closer inspection I saw the words and then the ornaments. Clearly this was a special tree. I love kid friendly Christmas traditions and I think this one is perfect. When Tamra and her family moved into our area, I sent over popsicles and I am sure they melted. However, that did not stand in the way of friendship. Thank Heavens.

Tamra:

I'm not a huge fan of holiday decorations (if you know me, I'm sure you're shocked by this announcement). In my opinion the decorations take up too much space in storage, and often they look hideous anyway. I have a very short list of holiday decorations that I love, and my Block Christmas Tree makes that short list. My mother made one for her family, and growing up I spent hours looking at that little tree and the cute ornaments on it. I spent hours taking my own toys up and down the "steps" of the tree.

I was delighted when my mother helped me make a Block Christmas Tree for my own family in 2005 and it is one of my favorite decorations to put out every year. Here's what ours looks like:

Here's what you'll need to make your own:

an 11.5 inch Round Plate like this one from walnuthollow.com
67 ABC blocks - and don't buy super cheap ones. In this case, you get what you pay for.
hot glue gun
miniature Christmas ornaments, toys, etc.

Here's an example of why it pays to use more expensive blocks. We wanted to do Rob's name and needed an 'R'. Instead of buying another set, we used one of the cheap blocks. You can really tell in this picture that the quality is different. The edges aren't as clean. The color isn't as pretty. Like I said, you get what you pay for:

Here's how you do it:
It's pretty straightforward: Start at the bottom and work your way up. This is how many blocks each of the 8 tiers should have, starting with the base tier:
14, 14, 14, 10, 6, 5, 3, and 1
This isn't a set number. When we did my Block Tree, the numbers were a little different (14, 14, 13, 10, 7, 5, 3, 1).

Lay out the bottom tier with the blocks close enough together that a block on top will fit. You're gluing it together with hot glue, so the edges of the blocks on top will need to touch the blocks underneath.

And that's pretty much the only rule. Basically, just arrange the blocks in a way that you think looks good. If you put it all together and don't quite like it, it's hot glue: pull it apart and try it again. (We did that twice when we put together my Block Tree.)

We put our family name and the year on the base tier of the tree.

We also included our names and children's names. You don't have to do that, and if you have too many family members (like my mom does), you won't have enough room for everyone. My mom's tree includes our family name and the year and that's it. Also, if you need specific letters, you might end up needing to buy another set of blocks to get another 'E,' and the blocks aren't free, so it's something to consider.

Once it's constructed, you can start adding the mini ornaments, and that's when it gets fun. You can find mini ornaments at Micheal's and other random places, so keep your eyes open for good deals. Each year I collect a few more, and if you buy them over time, they aren't super expensive. I can usually find cute ones for $3 - $5 a set. And don't feel limited to just buying ornaments. Some of my Mom's favorite figurines are actually toys and Monopoly pieces.

So, there you go. The project isn't super cheap, but it'll be a family treasure!