Riggio Parade of Christmas Trees 2010

Welcome to our home… this is the ONLY decoration you will find from the outside since Joe is in charge of the outside and I am in charge of the inside.  Yes, Joe, I am trying to rub it in :).  Is it working?  Your family wants lights!

As you enter, you have visibility of 3 trees! (the purple chair is usually where the parlor tree is to the left)

Every year I put up 6 trees, but this year I added another, to make a total of 7. Only one is from a tree farm, the rest are artificial, but still beautiful.

Why so many? Well, I would put up more if I had the room. I just love collecting ornaments and I love Christmas, so why not? I don’t put a lot of other decorations up and they are spread out, so it doesn’t seem overwhelming at all. Do I sound a little defensive? Not sure why :).

Let’s start with the Parlor Tree…

1 – PARLOR TREE
I have the one real tree in the parlor, so I can gaze at it from my desk. It is decorated with wooden frames filled with family memories and a variety of red, white and green ornaments.

I purchased the unpainted frames from Michaels, painted them with acrylic paint, added a hook on the top and there you go, an inexpensive way to display your memories and you can add new ones every year. This is a great idea for you too, especially if you have had a recent family shoot and don’t know what to do with all the images. Then, each year, when you have another shoot, replace some of them with the new ones… years down the road you will have such memories when decorating the tree.

My babies…

One of our wedding pictures from 1989.

What are the other ornaments?   Some are ones made by the kids and others represent something. The Starbucks cup is a new one this year, since my son loves iced lattes. The one on the right represents the year my mom passed away.

Let’s go to the dining room next…

2 – DINING ROOM TREE
This one also has a lot of special memories but not in the form of pictures, instead we have adorned it with glass ornaments from vacations, events or chosen because they remind me of someone special in my life.

I added a cupcake this year to represent the work I do for Cake Central magazine.   Another new one is on the right…  it commemorates the trip Joe and his sisters (Carmela and Pam) took this year to meet a brother they had never met.

This tree is so packed, I’m not sure I can fit more, but every year I do :).  Two more additions this year… a ornaments from Lake Chelan, since the kids go there every year with their Auntie Carmela.  The one on the right is from Crater Lake National Park. We had a quick mini-vacation there to help Nick with a school photography assignment.  There was a river we stopped at on the way where we watched an eagle soaring above us.

From the dining room, we step into the kitchen nook where you will find my newest tree.

3 – KITCHEN NOOK TREE
The kitchen tree was really just an idea that popped into my head this year. I told Joe the idea and he thought, why not. That is why I love him dearly!

I wanted the ornaments to have a somewhat vintage vibe and to be associated with the kitchen. I found this one at Target.

My mother-in-law found this cupcake one for me at Artco. So cute!!  The blender is another one from Target and the espresso machine was stolen from the parlor tree.

I can’t wait to build on this collection. You bet, I’ll be searching the day after Christmas!

Let’s go downstairs… the high class man cave.

4 – BASEMENT TREE
The basement tree celebrates music. Over the years we have added to this collection and it is a very special one. I did this one for Joe.  I thought of this tree years ago when I was at Ranko’s (a local drug store) and saw a small tree decorated with musical ornaments.  I bought one of each and then found more that same year at Restoration Hardware. I was hooked :).  hehehe… get it? Hooked?

We have a couple new ones this year from Carmela.  She stays with us often and knows all the tree themes.

I have been asked how long it takes me to set all our trees up.  It actually doesn’t take as long as you would think.  I have tried to make it as easy as possible.  The ornaments for each tree reside in the room they are in, so all I have to do is set the tree up and pull out a drawer with all the lights and ornaments.  If there isn’t room to store them inside then I do have a few bins out in the garage, but not that many.  The trees are stored in the basement, under beds and out in the garage.  It only takes 1 day to set all the artificial ones up and another to find the real one and get it all set up and decorated.  I do the majority of it myself, just getting help occasionally.  I have Christmas music playing or a Christmas show on TV and a hot coffee in my hands.  The family passes through and comments on my progress throughout the day.  I enjoy every minute and they enjoy watching me.  I even do the kid’s trees, since they just don’t enjoy it.  Amanda tells me when she gets her own place she wants several trees and wants me to come decorate them for her… I will be there, definitely!  Funny how the kids don’t have the same joy when decorating.  I’ve loved doing it since I was a kid.

Time to head upstairs…

5 – AMANDA’S TREE
Last year Amanda decided she wanted to change the look of her tree, so we bought some blue and silver ornaments after Christmas to prepare. She even contemplated wanting 2 trees in her little bedroom (that’s my girl). Her tree is in blue, silver and white balls with snowflakes, angels and ballet related ornaments to celebrate her love of dance.

Each year she picks a new ornament at the Nutcracker boutique after one of her shows.

This is her new angel ornament from Auntie Carmela.

I love the snowflakes.

Another tradition… for the past several years she has also gotten a snow globe from the Nutcracker boutique.  The middle one is her new one.  The small one is also new to celebrate her role as an arabian this year.  She became an apprentice, which means she is now part of the ballet company.  It is a huge commitment, but she loves it!

Nick’s room is next to Amanda’s…

6 – NICK’S TREE
This year we changed the location of Nick’s tree and changed some of the ornaments. As the kids get older their tastes change. Nicky wanted more of a theme this year, so we went with little mini red and silver balls, vintage cars, Coca -Cola items and penguins, with a few others mixed in there.

Nick is a swimmer.  He has been since he was a baby… I started putting him under the water at just 6 months old.  He also plays water polo and is adding Lacrosse in the spring.  I’ll have to find ornaments to represent those sports next.  Again, Auntie came through and got this one for Nick this year.

He has always loved penguins too.  He has a ton of them… not just ornaments, but figurines, books, cards, stuffed animals, sheets, pj’s, etc.

One of Nick’s favorite shows this year, Pawn Stars.  That show, along with Joe’s influence has opened him up to the world of cool old stuff and he has even crossed over into the older type music.  I love that he is opening up to a love Joe and I have always had.  We have collected antiques since we started dating back in 1982 when we were just 16 (yes, you can do the math).  We still own several items we purchased way back then.

Last, but not least, is our bedroom tree…

7 – MASTER BEDROOM TREE
I love how it feels to have a tree in the bedroom. You should try it… there is a romance about it don’t you think?

This tree is a little more victorian inspired…

… with it’s crystal, gold, copper and cream colored ornaments.  The one on the left was given to me by a special friend, Euvila and the one on the right was one Nick made in kindergarten.  

Well, there it is… the Riggio parade of trees for 2010. I hope you enjoyed seeing a little taste of our home at Christmas time. It’s very special to us. We have put a lot of work and love into it over 18 years now and it’s the only home my kids have ever known. We usually choose a project each year to enhance it just a bit, but since we did SO MUCH last year, this year we decided to do something outside and built a little city Barn (shed really) in the backyard. It’s not done yet, so no pictures this time :).

God Bless You and love to you all! We wish you a very Merry Christmas. The Riggio’s (Joe, Connie, Nick (16) and Amanda (13) )