Last spring, out of the blue, Hamilton tickets became available to my family. The tickets were for a summer performance, and we jumped at the chance to go to this legendary show.
I had heard so much chatter about this play, but never listened to the music. I honestly didn’t think we would ever have the opportunity to see it,…and I didn’t want to love it if we were never going to go!
In May, I started forcing my family to listen to the music so we would be familiar with it by showtime. Wow!
I could not believe how this music affected me. It was amazing and I found myself being so moved just standing in my kitchen listening to the lyrics on our Alexa!
Even better, I was learning things that I never knew! It was making me want to learn more about American history…and trust me, I was not a history buff at all before this. History was something I suffered through, not yearned to learn more about. This music, this play made me proud of where I came from, proud to live in and be an American. This was a feeling I hadn’t had in a while.
Fast forward to last July, while Maureen and I were on a Christmas shopping trip to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, I mentioned that I was thinking of doing a patriotic tree because of how inspired I was by the Hamilton soundtrack. We scoured the store for red, white and blue ornaments that might inspire a themed tree. We didn’t find much during that trip, but a seed had been planted and I was excited to build on this idea.
I struggled with what I could put on this tree besides flags. I wanted it to look elegant, sophisticated and, most of all, inspiring. Headed home from Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland with a minivan full of goodies…but none that would help me start this red, white and blue tree…we stopped at a little store called Silver Bells Christmas Shoppe in Dundee Michigan. This store was amazing and had a wonderful selection of one-of-a kind ornaments.
Truth be told…we each ended up buying just as much at this little Christmas store as we did at Bronner’s!
The most amazing Santa ornament jumped out to me at Silver Bells. He was holding a flag with a bag that had the Statue of Liberty on it. There it was….the inspiration I needed. I rounded out our visit to Silver Bells with some star ornaments and a few other must-haves.
In November, we traveled to our favorite local Christmas store, ‘Tis the Season Christmas Shoppe. ‘Tis the Season is a 45 minute drive from our homes, nestled in Amish country and is considered the largest Christmas store in Ohio.
Just inside the store was a display of all kinds of American inspired ornaments and decor. Score!
I found a beautiful American star tree topper, and a few other unique pieces; enough to begin the tree with my newly found collection.
Since then, I’ve accumulated a few other ornaments for this themed tree which has found a home on our second-floor landing.
This ideas was planted just over a year ago, but since then I’ve been amazed at just how many patriotic Christmas and Santa ornaments and décor I’ve discovered. I’ve found so many that the small tree on the landing will need to be upsized!
Here’s a sneak peek at the tree I will be moving my collection to in the near future. Spotted at the new At Home store in our hometown!
By the way, all this build up to Hamilton was worth it! My family is hooked and we continue to be inspired by the music and the stories behind the play.
TIPS FOR STARTING A THEME TREE:
- Find inspiration. I was moved by Hamilton to start this tree. What inspires you? Are you drawn to a certain period of time or maybe a certain animal or collectible? If you can imagine it, there are ornaments and ideas out there to make it happen.
- Start small. It can be overwhelming to think about how you would start from scratch decorating a new tree. Don’t! Start with a few ornaments and slowly build…only purchasing the pieces you really want. Consider doing a tabletop tree first, then moving to a large tree only when you need to.
- It’s not just for Christmas. Even though I’m clearly a Christmas nut, I think that this particular theme can hold its own year-round. Yep, this tree is up even in July! But, who wouldn’t want this patriotic decoration on display for Independence Day! Maybe your themed tree could stay up beyond the holidays, too.
Not inspired by Hamilton? Here are some other great patriotic themed ideas you may want to consider!
Kick off your own patriotic collection with these great ornament finds!
-Shendra, Christmas Gal
