Things I learnt while decorating my Christmas tree yesterday...

Our rather bare, baby-proof tree

1. Babies and glass baubles don't get along. They smash easily and let's just say we're lucky there were no cuts, no blood, no tears.

2. Babies like to eat all Christmas decorations. So bye bye small beads, sharp, delicate objects and pretty much everything in my box.

3. Babies are obsessed by fairy lights whether they're on and twinkling or just minding their own business lazing about the tree sleeping. Considering removing this year...

4. Babies love helping you wrap gifts. By helping I mean crinkling your gift tags, chewing your ribbons and ripping the paper.

5. Babies in the house mean you're left to improvise. Starfish and shells filled gaps of green, and the limited non-breakable plastic and metal baubles were hung on the front of the tree only, leaving it with a bit of a bare bum.

6. Babies think shells are delicious. So my improvisation only works when they're out of reach.

7. Babies understand when their mums are being dorks and want to embarass them and so will refuse to cooperate when being photographed wearing a stupid hat.

8. Babies make Christmas a little more difficult but a LOT more fun.

All I want for Christmas...

Well, I already have my two front teeth (although, quite frankly, Zak could do with one more!) so I'd love a new kitchen, my cabin to be renovated and someone to magically finish painting and decorating my bedroom. But seeing as they're all things quite possibly out of most people's price range, I'd be a very happy woman if I unwrapped any of these on Chrissy morning!

This whitewashed folding Moroccan table is just what I've been looking for as a side table in my lounge room. $200 from My Island Home

For my own cat-nap when Zak is snoozing. Brazilian hammock, $120, hammocks.com.au

I've been obsessed with these chairs since they graced our cover in Jan/Feb '06. I'm still kicking myself I didn't buy a pair of them that were sale in a little shop down the road for $99 each. But this is the next best thing. This brilliant man in New Zealand makes and sells them in flat-pack kits for just $195 each, including postal to anywhere in Australia. You just assemble and paint yourself. I could kiss him for making such a normally expensive chair (I've seen them up t0 $1000) so affordable, but I won't seeing as I'm married and all... When I do get my pair, they're going to be crisp white and sitting proudly on my deck. Cape Cod chairs, $195 each, Connoisseur Chairs

The only cooking I don't consider a chore is baking yummy cakes and cookies. This book is full of them. Nigella Lawson's How to Be A Domestic Goddess, $55, Dymocks

To brighten up my living room. The great thing about this site is because they don't have a shop anymore, they're giving customers 30% off their prints. Which makes a 682x682mm print $228.90 instead of $327. Yay! Magnolia print from On Canvas

Christmas gets glam

Freedom's glitzy Christmas

Have you noticed? All the baubles are adorned with feathers or sparkly gems, there are diamante letters, crystal drops with beads and shimmery tassles, jewellery-like decorations, bird motif after bird motif and glitter on EVERYTHING. And that's just Freedom! I actually got a little overwhelmed in Myer's Christmas section - it was like a glitter factory had exploded. And there is no end to the choice of colours - if you wanted to skip the green and red and go for a purple and gold Chrissy this year, you won't have to look too far like you might have a few years ago.

But with so much tizz and glitz, it's enough to make you want to go all traditional. Almost. I'll pretty much stick to a white theme with a bit of silver, blue and neutral thrown in for good measure, but I think I'm going to have to make do with stuff collected from year's past when I decorate my place on Thursday (we've always done the German tradition of setting up on the 6th - St Nick's birthday!). It's just all too much for me this year!! The only thing I've bought were my little nutcrackers (see post below) and this very beautiful wreath for my front door from Seaweed and Sand.

Shell wreath, $59.95, Seeweed & Sand

Maybe next year I'll get one of those stick Chrissy trees from My Island Home and go a beachy theme. So, what are your Chrissy decorating plans?
Bx