Our mercury glass Christmas tree for 2016

So…even though Thanksgiving is technically this week, I already have Christmas on the brain. Here’s an important question for you today – are you one of those people who put up their Christmas decor the day after Thanksgiving…or do you wait until December is in full swing? In my case I can’t wait to put up all of the Christmas cheer around my house! Seeing the twinkling lights and sparkling ornaments brings me such joy. And this year I’m going to have a little extra beauty involved with my mercury glass Christmas tree!

I’ll backtrack a bit for those of you who may not be familiar with my husband and me. We got married in 2010 (coming up on 7 years…wow!), and I had a big hand in sourcing and setting up the decor for our wedding ceremony and reception. One of the huge elements with our wedding decor involved mercury glass. My mom and I scoured stores all over the Tampa Bay area to collect any and all mercury glass vases we could get our hands on to place on our tables as part of the centerpieces. Ever since our wedding, I’ve had a very special place in my heart for mercury glass. I even saved a large number of the vases and I bring them out on special occasions!

Fast forward to this year: I had the pleasure of partnering with Balsam Hill to put together an absolutely gorgeous Christmas tree in my home. From the get-go I was head over heels for a number of trees available on their site: no matter the height, width, or style, they are sure to have what you need. Flocked trees, pre-lit trees, slim trees, tall trees – you name it, you’ll find it! Our existing tree (which is now officially our “bedroom Christmas tree,” because – why not?) is flocked, so I wanted to opt for a more traditional, green tree that was slim enough to not overpower our small living room. Ultimately, I selected the Calistoga Fir, which is pre-lit with white lights.

I’m just going to throw this out there – I’ve had an artificial tree ever since I moved to Florida (about 17 years now), and the quality in my trees has truly run the gamut. Without a doubt, the Calistoga Fir from Balsam Hill is the nicest one I’ve owned. My parents were over at my house a few nights ago and they were also marveling at how great it is! The tree assembled in three easy sections, and the easy plug system meant that I only had to connect one plug to an outlet to light the entire tree. There is also an ample amount of lights – I didn’t even feel the need to add extra strings (which I have done in the past with other trees…they weren’t bright enough)! And can we talk about the texture of the needles? The tree is actually very soft! I am so accustomed to sustaining a few scrapes all over my arms when I assemble the Christmas tree, but I was unmarked after this experience (plus they include two sets of gloves for you to wear when shaping the tree – nice!).

It should not come as any surprise that after perusing the many amazing options for ornaments on their site, I could not resist Balsam Hill’s French Country ornaments.

I mean…aren’t they just BEYOND beautiful? the French Country ornaments come in five different styles: I selected the ombre and the foil. The subtle ombre from silver/white to pink is soft and pretty, and they are a perfect pair to the slightly brighter foil ornaments. As soon as I opened the box and unwrapped the ornaments, I was blown away with the quality. They are sturdy, well made, and I know they will last for years to come. When they are paired with Metallic Berry picks, it gets even more extraordinary. I also have to mention our “tree skirt” – we opted this year for a tree collar! I have always fought with tree skirts in the past – between dog hair and vacuums accidentally sucking up corners of the skirt, I had had quite enough. I was SO lucky to find this amazing tree collar, which covers the base of the tree and keeps everything looking clean and fun! It even matches my dining room chairs, so I was tickled when I put everything together.

Sometimes keeping things simple is the best, isn’t it? My tree really didn’t need much more other than these gorgeous ornaments and berries. I filled in some extra spaces with some sparkly icicles and some mercury glass pine cones I had in our ornament collection from previous years. It all came together so nicely, and even though it’s maybe a FEW days early to have my decorations up, I am not one bit unhappy about staring at my mercury glass Christmas tree every night.

So – are you ready for the holiday season to begin? When will you be setting up your decorations?

***Disclosure – Balsam Hill provided me with a tree and ornaments, but any and all opinions and experiences are my own!***

Also – make sure you peek in at the rest of the trees assembled by the 12 Bloggers of Christmas throughout the week!

November 17, Thursday
Courtney of French Country Cottage

November 18, Friday
Pam of Over 50 Feeling 40
Sarah of Little Vintage Nest
Lindsay of The White Buffalo Styling Co.

November 19, Saturday
Jen of Migonis Home

November 20, Sunday
Katie of Helpful Homemade

November 21, Monday
Caitlin of The Mama Notes
Gloribell of Know How She Does It
Kris of Driven By Decor

November 22, Tuesday
Rebekah of A Blissful Nest
Tina of My Life As A Mrs.
Ashley of Simply Designing
Nina of Nina Hendrick