Make A Christmas Angel Tree

One of the most beautiful Christmas trees I have ever seen bore a very simple angel theme, with the tree festooned with angels and white lights. The theme of decorating the tree with angels is not a new one for Christmas; however, carrying the theme out so it is both simple, yet varied was not an easy one to achieve. We had set out to create a scene reminiscent of the Victorian era, based upon a set of wooden, painted ornaments of simple wooden toys that we had found at a rummage sale that summer.

It started with simple lace angels, which could have lights woven into them so their hands could hold the lights like candles. The angels were made of lace and crochet, all off-white, and once placed in the tree were quite striking against the dark background of the spines of the tree. But the tree still looked bare, with a scattering of brightly colored miniature toys and the angels.

We set out to find lace bows with golden highlights, and found them on the bottom shelf, their simplicity apparently not worthy of shelf space or being displayed on any of the department store's many Christmas trees. Finding these bows was not an easy task, it seemed that most trees that year were going to feature electronic gewgaws and lights flashing in wildly gyrating light shows. I pondered that they probably weren't gaudy enough for most trees as I snatched up several dozen of the small bows, which turned out to be a picture match for the color of the angels.

The last touch to the tree was the set of off-shaped painted ornaments, with their scenes of children merrily playing outdoors in the snow, Victorian-era Santa images, and of course, angels. The ornaments themselves were all darkly lacquered, making the bright images painted on them all the more striking.

Finding a perfect angel to top the tree turned out to be the most difficult. We had our mind set on one with porcelain features, but with a more regal air. Finally, we located one with simple flowing robes, wings at rest, head bowed as if in prayer and looking down at a small baby held in its hands. The halo was lit with a single white bulb.

I think one of the things that made decorating the tree this way was that the children could freely participate, as only the tree-topper was at all fragile, and there was no need to constantly watch over them, telling them to be careful not drop or break any of the ornaments. Parental supervision was more one of helping them decide where to place an ornament, not to rein in their zeal and excitement at what should be a fun family activity.

That Christmas tree was beautiful, with its angelic theme, but simple angels without brilliant lighting, flashing bulbs, or overt colors. In a darkened room, this Christmas angel tree was breathtaking. Sometimes simplicity in decorating a Christmas tree is the way to go.