I’m pretty sure by now, most Christmas trees in many households have long been taken down and put away. But there’s something about a Christmas tree that brings about a certain kind of joy. For my home, it’s the ear-to-ear smile that my son has on his face when he sees the pretty decorations and twinkling lights.
I feel as though we can all use a bit of continued joy—even if that means leaving the Christmas tree up for a little bit longer.
Who really wants to take it down anyway? Why not decorate it for another holiday?
Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras are great holidays to find beautiful décor. From deco mesh and picks to glittered baubles, garlands, and beads, you can easily switch out Christmas ornaments for a themed-holiday tree.

All the local home stores are geared up for Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day. But don’t forget to shop locally too! Try Fleurty Girl in Bay St. Louis or Sadie Jane’s Famous Wreaths & Gifts in Gulfport for some unique Mardi Gras decorations!
On a budget? A website that I usually visit is Oriental Trading. They have tons of cute knick knacks that you can buy in bulk for a fraction of the price.
Or instead of store bought ornaments and decorations, hand-made crafts always make for a fun activity with the kids and it gives them a chance to help out with the decorating! Some construction paper, glue, glitter, and strings will make great hand-made heart ornaments for a Valentine’s tree!

In our home, we decided to decorate for Mardi Gras.
We strung beads from previous years’ Mardi Gras parades on our tree. And because of the crazy, hectic schedule we have had, we were last-minute on buying the ornaments. So we went to the local Wal-Mart and grabbed some clip ornaments to adorn our tree. A festive Mardi Gras hat finishes it off as the topper! Quite simple, but still fun and festive. To complete the Mardi Gras décor, we even decked out our fireplace with Mardi Gras accessories—the pompoms (my son Matthew’s pick!) are the best!
The best part of all this was spending the quality time with my son.
The excitement he had was quite the highlight of my day. From the time we spent rummaging through the shelves for the ornaments and decorations to the time we spent putting the tree together, we had FUN!

The spirit of Mardi Gras is up and alive in our house!
Will you be making a holiday tree? If so, we’d love to see what your tree looks like!