This DIY Nightmare Before Christmas tree post is a partnership with Treetopia – get your own pre-lit black Christmas tree, or any other color you can imagine! – and start creating awesome new holiday memories today!
“This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween….” Man, I so love this movie. If you’re reading this, I’m guessing your a fan of Halloween. And if you like Halloween, I’m willing to bet you also like the Tim Burton movie, “Nightmare Before Christmas.” Abby fell in love with the movie Coraline years ago, so I knew she’d love this movie too. Both have that quirky, slightly creepy vibe to them, but have a good message and good heart. So, when I found out that I would be partnering with Treetopia to decorate a black Christmas-style tree in a Halloween theme, I knew immediately that this would be the inspiration for it. I mean – it’s the perfect match: A Christmas tree + Halloween decor = Nightmare Before Christmas, for sure.
In my house, we are crazy holiday fanatics. We go a bit overboard when decorating and celebrating festive occasions. The Christmas tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving, sometimes even sooner. And it stays up through New Years. We’ve decorated an Easter tree every year since I was a little girl – some cool branches, painted white, in a pretty metal bucket, with beautiful spring-colored ornaments hung from each branch. But I’ve never had a Halloween tree! Why? NO IDEA! Because it’s pretty much the coolest thing ever.
Some of you know that this has been a rough year for Abby and I. I’m working on a post to explain my health catastrophes I’ve been through {click newest update here for some info if you’re curious about where I’ve been all year.} And Abby’s dad moved out, we’d been together over 11 years, right before last Christmas. It’s taken awhile for me to get my bearings again, and I’ve got a lot going on, trying to get life back together. But my BIGGEST most giantist, most importantist priority is creating a new normal for Abby and I, and making things more fun again. This tree was a great addition to our fun, and is going to be a part of our new traditions going forward, creating ornaments together to decorate it.
She had a blast helping me make ornaments for this tree. We got the tree on Tuesday night, and we set it up, DIY’ed up some ornaments, and decorated the whole thing that next evening, after Abby got home from school. I had LOADS more ideas that I really wanted to make for this gorgeous tree, {see my Nightmare Before Christmas Treetopia Idea board on Pinterest!} but had much more ambition than time. That’s ok though, since we’re keeping this baby up for awhile. The jet black needles on the tree branches are so sleek and almost shimmer in the light, and it totally works in my Master Bedroom, since the room is decorated in black, white, and grey. To create our ornaments, we picked up some goodies at the Dollar Tree, anything that kind of reminded us of the movie. Grabbed a bunch of orange and black colored goodies from my craft room. And then we got to work!
We only had about an hour to make them all, so we had to be quick – and my original idea to spray paint the ornaments white before paining on Jack Skellington faces got shut down really quickly – it was POURING RAIN. ALL DAY. Boo. So – we stuck with the gold and sliver Christmas ornaments, but jazzed ’em up a bit. Abby helped me draw on the faces – Sally, Jack, and Ooogie Boogie. the ornaments that had glitter on them got an extra coat of glittery ModPodge, some ribbon trim, and pumpkin stickers. We used some really cool orange tube-type material as a garland – it almost looks like it has lights in it once it’s on the tree! It kind of reminds me of the big orange and black striped snake in the movie, the one that devours the Christmas tree? After hanging our ornaments, we realized we had more space to fill – Abby had the clever idea to use accessories! We hung sparkly black bracelets, black and white striped flowered hair clips, and other cool pieces all over, adding to the shimmer. I love it so much!
Isn’t it fun?? If you’re interested in getting one too, you can check it out online – This one is the Treetopia Basics – Black Tree. Here are a few things I really love:
- First, I was worried that this would be weird. A black tree?? But it’s so nice – it’s not shiny, exactly? But not a matte finish. Just…. Nice. So that when you walk by, it almost has a shimmer to it. It’s not a big bulky tree, taking up a ton of space – but in it’s thin footprint it’s also super plush and full.
- It’s crazy easy to put together. You unfold the stand, and place it where you want the tree. {Preferably by an outlet.} Then the tree came in three pieces, each numbered. I just put the first one into the base, and turned the little screw to tighten it into place. Next I put the middle piece on, and pulled the cord out and down to plug into the wall. Next I added the top piece to finish the tree. After that you just plug the top and bottom into the middle plug to light it all up, then take a few minutes to fluff up the branches. Done!
- We have the 7.5 ft tall tree, and it’s gorgeous. Makes a BIG statement in the bedroom! I love that it’s pre-lit, with just the right amount of lights – making it so simple to set up and decorate.
I’ve had loads of artificial trees in my life. Growing up, my mom switched to artificial when I was really young – so that we could keep it up longer! I’ve had big trees and small trees, cheap trees and expensive trees. At Christmas we have the main tree in the living room, a tall skinny one in the dining room, small ones in both bathrooms, and a little pink one in Abby’s room. But I can honestly say that this black tree from Treetopia is one of my all-time favorites. The quality, the ease of assembling it, the warranty, it’s so great. I don’t think I’ve ever put up an artificial tree – brand new or from previous years – without needing to vacuum up a ton of fallen needles afterwards. But not with this one. And the black is just so cool and sleek. Have I mentioned that I totally love it? :)
Now, a bit of emotion here… With all of the challenges we’ve had this year, I have to admit, my usual holly jolly feeling about the holidays was missing. It was this time last year that I started getting sick. I spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital. Then Abby’s dad left right at Christmas. So thinking about the holidays coming up gave me a lot of mixed emotions. But then we got this tree. And Abby and I spent time together. The ornaments are simple, but fun. And just like that, things brightened back up. I realized that this little girl has my heart. She helps me see the good, the magic, all of the wonderful things we still have. I’m excited to have this new tradition of decorating a Halloween tree together. And the beautiful light of our Halloween tree as we fall asleep at night makes my heart happy. It’s the little things, guys. For reals.
I made this video really quickly, before heading out to yet another doctor’s appointment this week. So I didn’t have to time to edit it up pretty. But it gives you a better look at the ornaments we made, how full and realistic looking the tree branches are, and how cool it looks brightening up a room. We’re super excited to decorate it for more holidays – and we’re already thinking up ideas for next Halloween too!
Want more inspiration? Follow #witchesandwonders and #treetopiahalloween on your favorite social sites. And be sure to check out the other bloggers in Treetopia’s Witches and Wonders Halloween Blog Hop too. {Who would’ve thought that a lavender tree would be perfect for Halloween? So cool!} Now…. More fun! Who’s ready to WIN BIG??!!
Treetopia is partnering with me to give ONE super duper lucky winner a $150 gift card to their site, to purchase their own awesome tree of choice! How cool is that, right? And if you win, I’d LOVE for you to post a photo of your decorated tree on your favorite social site and tag me. Totally not required, but I’m so excited to see what the winner does with their new decor :) Use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form to enter – the more entries you complete, the more chances you have to win. And remember to come back each day to get your daily bonus entries in! Have fun, and good luck!
Speak Your Mind