Welcome to my Christmas home tour and while you are here I will give you a quick tutorial on how to make a Christmas bow tree topper! I found the need to update some major Christmas decorations this year, so join me and I will show you all the changes!
I invested a chunk of change on Christmas bows, garland and decor back before my first child was born. She is now 13 and let me tell you – the decor has held up beautifully, until this year. My bows were begging for a fresh start so I donated what was salvageable, trashed some and went to JOANN for the replacements! I want to thank JOANN for sponsoring this post and helping me update my Christmas staples. I really think this is something that needs to be done every few years and I was waaayyyy behind!
We are big on tradition here and I am sharing a few traditions we have in the decor department. Decorating the tree together is a family favorite, we usually go pick a LIVE tree the day after Thanksgiving, bring it home and blast the Christmas music. We’ve found that decorating the house the first day and then tackling the tree the next day is the way to go. This year I spent extra time making a new Christmas bow tree topper to freshen up our Christmas style. All the bright white and red ribbons in JOANN made me giddy. They are so cheery and bright! To top the tree I made TWO large bows like this:
Start by selecting coordinating ribbons in varying widths, while you are at JOANN grab some floral wire and wire cutters! I think wired ribbon works best, or at least ribbon with some body to it. On a large work space lay your ribbon out and loop it over itself.
Go back and forth so you have 3 to 4 loops on each side, holding it down in the middle. 
Make your largest bow layer first.
Repeat with multiple other ribbons, making each ribbon layer a little shorter than the previous. Once you get your three layers (or more if you want) laid out clip a long piece of floral wire and start with the smallest bow. 
Pinch it in the middle and tightly wrap the wire around the center.
Pinch the next bow layer and wrap in the center with the same wire, tight behind the first, repeat with all layers. Make sure you have enough wire on the back to attach wherever your bow will be going.
Once the bow part is made cut long pieces of ribbon for bow tails. In the middle of the tail lengths pinch and wrap with the floral wire to attach them to the bow. Now you are ready to hang your Christmas bow on the tree, banister, wreath, etc!
I make really long ribbon tails to flow down the tree. I start the tree decorating process with lights, then add the big tree topper bow (one to each side of the top of the tree) and deco mesh. This is a great framework to decorate around.
My mom and I started shopping for glass ornaments years ago. We used to collect a new one every month and as the collection grew we moved to getting new ones occasionally and for special commemorative events like vacations and milestones. 
I still add to the collection, especially with three kiddos we are always preserving memories from the year through glass ornaments. I got a few new glass ornaments to mark 2018 from JOANN. The precious tooth is a reminder of how BAD my son’s teeth are – he seriously has a few cavities every dentist visit!!! While it’s not funny, I couldn’t help but think of him when I saw this. Good thing he still has an adorable smile and sense of humor!
A glass passport Christmas ornament points to my spring trip to France. You will also see all the new white fluffs in our tree! These picks from JOANN looked so fun, they reminded me of Dr. Seuss, they are perfect for a touch of whimsy. 
Of course the boys are super into video games and this controller is on the mark for them.
We have to keep a list in the box with the ornaments of whose year it is to add the star to the top of the tree, it’s always a fight without that list! It was Mae’s year…
My mom gets each grandchild a special Christmas collection she adds to every year. It is one of the kid’s favorite gifts and when they are ready to leave our home to start their own they will have a head start on their Christmas decor! 
My daughter gets Christmas Santa Fairies. This year we added them to the stair banister with new garland from JOANN and more of the Christmas bows from the fresh ribbon we got! They had the most fabulous wispy pine garland that is so realistic.
Sadler gets Department 51 village houses, they are gorgeous lit up!
Hank gets Impossible Dreams Santas, his collection is so fun.
Adding to our Christmas decor and mixing in fresh garland and ribbon with our family heirlooms keeps things up to date and fresh. You might think about a fresh update every few years too. Whatever your style or budget, JOANN has a huge variety of Christmas decor and supplies to choose from. You can see the full tree here and my family thinks it is the best our tree has ever looked, they repeatedly say how much they love it…and that is all that matter’s to this mama’s heart!
All that ribbon looks like a flowing gown and I LOVE IT! Will attempt to do this as I’m on a housewalk next month! Thank you!