We recently updated all the graphics in Wheels on the Bus for use on the iPad. Check out Wheels on the Bus HD for iPad on the iTunes App Store.

Decorating for the holidays was big business in my house growing up. I have fond, albeit cold, memories of trekking down to the local tree lot in the Massachusetts winter snow to find the perfect tree.

Even though many years have passed, it still just doesn’t feel like the holidays to me unless I have a Christmas tree in my house. My husband, who grew up in India and Africa, doesn’t have quite the same appreciation for my Christmas tree escapades. To him, it is another year that he has to brave the cold (we live in San Francisco!!) and watch idly by as I inspect every tree in the lot in search of the perfect specimen. I inevitably choose one that is too tall for our ceiling, at which point, we must hack the top of the tree off with a bread knife (because we don’t have a saw and also, because I never learn).

This year, however, he turned over a new leaf and promised to try and get into the holiday spirit. Instead of a Christmas party, we decided to host a French Laundry party (in which I will attempt to make recipes from the French Laundry cookbook) for a few of our friends. Unfortunately our fancy dinner party upped the ante for our tree decor this year.

Over the Thanksgiving break, I spent countless hours combing the web for beautiful and innovative holiday decorating ideas and I am shocked to say that I found very few. In the end, I loaded up on supplies from Paper Source, Arch and Target and spent a day locked in a room hallucinating to the fumes of spray mount. When I emerged, I was covered in a pound of glitter, my socks were sticking to the carpet, but I had a whole new set of ornaments for my tree. I should mention that my husband thinks I’m crazy.

Tips for Decorating a Christmas Tree

Try and choose a tree that is symmetrical
Check for large holes, broken or dead branches.

Tie branches to close up bare spots
I have never found a tree that doesn’t have at least one or two bare spots. To fix this, I will often use fishing line or florist wire to secure branches so that they fill the empty spots.

Plan your color scheme
I usually have a color scheme in mind for my tree. In the past I have done various shades of orange, gold and pink, but this year I wanted a slightly colder looking tree, so I chose silver, white and pink.

I still love this faux tree pictured on the cover of Blueprint Magazine a few years back:

Another lovely fake tree via Apartment Therapy:

Choose some consistent ornaments
I usually pick 3-4 different ornament styles that will be my base and mis in unexpected ornaments at the end. This gives the tree a kind of consistency.

Treat it like a design project
If you are decorating with children, this is a hard one. I often decorate in color groups — all the silver, all the pink, all the white, for example, so that I can make sure that there isn’t an over-abundance of one color or one style on any particular part of my tree.

Match your presents to your tree
Once you have a color scheme, wrap your presents to pull out the colors in your tree.

Make your own ornaments
This year I used ordinary silk flowers that I picked up at Michaels Craft Store. I gave these a little extra shimmer by spraying them with spray mount and dusting them with glitter. Other ornaments on my tree include collaged pieces, snowflakes, and cardboard letters covered in glitter.

Happy Holidays!
Duck Duck Moose

We at Duck Duck Moose had much to celebrate this weekend — not only did Duck Duck Moose turn 1 year old this week, but our newest app, Itsy Bitsy Spider, broke into the top 50 paid apps in the App Store! When we started Duck Duck Moose a year ago, we never could have imagined that we would have three apps in the top 300 of all paid apps. It is times like these that make me want to quote one of the greatest cult classics of all time — “our little baby is all growns up, and grows up and grows up!”

Itsy bitsy Spider on the AppStore:
http://tinyurl.com/itsyspider

Old MacDonald on the AppStore:
http://tinyurl.com/oldmacdonald

Wheels on the Bus on the AppStore:
http://tinyurl.com/wheelsonbus