###  My Christmas Tree + geeky gamer ornaments

I just have to show off my Christmas Tree because Im so in love with the thing and although its still a work in progress (collecting and making ornaments takes a while) its coming along quite nicely.

  
Heres a whole shot of the fat lil bugger. Cesar wanted a knee high tree while I was rooting for waist high or more but when we got on the lot we saw this one and I ran up and hugged it…after that he couldnt say no even though its chest high. Just look how round and fat that tree is! Its perfect!

The first thing I got for the tree were the awesome pop colored balls from Borders…I just loved the color palate…especially the pink!

  
The star for the top also came from Borders…of course its hot pink….what else do you expect from me?

Most of the other ornaments were either made or ‘found’ ornaments. I love using things like keychains and small toys to make ornaments! My favorite of all would have to be my Animal Crossing house ornaments  
  
When my friend Garnett went to Japan a few years back he brought me the keychains (you can order them from multiple sites online or on ebay). All my life I’ve loved Christmas ornaments that do something…either light up or open up or something. So what I love most about these houses is that they open up to pop out a little Animal Cross character.

  


Among my other game related ornaments is also a keychain of a Rocket Slime…I cant remember where I got this but its cute and makes a great ornament.

Another one of my favorite ornaments is a keychain (noticing a theme here) of the popular Japanese character RilakkumaI got at a Japanese convenience store in town.  


Finally heres an ornament I made myself!  
  
Its a felted penguin that I made using a kit my friend Jenn gave me for my birthday! I just skewered his head with a hook and stuck him on the tree along with a few other felted penguins I made.

This year has been fun because its the first time Im decorating one from scratch and with Cesar…which makes it even more special. In the past Ive used ornaments my mom gave me which were wonderful and very special, but I want to start collecting my own decorations with my own memories that express who I am. Ultimately Christmas Trees are personal and although its fun to buy certain ornaments (like balls and stars) in stores…its nice to find creative ways to make your own. Keychains are honestly one of the best ways to do this because they are basically just ornaments for your keys so just add a hook and they are perfect on a tree! Especially when it comes to video games there are a plethora of cute keychain/ornaments you can order online or find in stores. Last month I spent a while looking for good video game ornaments and only found a handful. It didnt even dawn on me then that the abundance of video game keychains and mini toys are the perfect ornaments! If youre not into video games you can use keychains you already have, maybe that cheesy one your grandma got you from Universal Studios or that silly glitter unicorn one that you just couldnt resist….they add that personal touch and hold memories, which is what an ornament should do. I think when I get home tonight Im going to look through some of our capsule toys from Japan to see what else I can throw on the tree ;)

  
Look how Christmasy our living room is! Since we already have a red and black color scheme to the room, the bright green tree just makes it super Christmas time.

If anyone else has pictures of trees post them up! I would love to see what other people are doing!

EDIT- Check out the latest addition to my tree! Pardon the shitty photo quality…I had to use my camera phone.  
  
NINJA PLEASE!

###  DIY geek ornaments

Recently I posted about some adorable video game ornaments you can purchase online, but what about those of you who want to make your own? Well I stumbled across an amazing list of DIY geek ornaments on Geek Ware that will give you something eco friendly to do with that old keyboard or computer part.

Disk Christmas Box Ornaments  
  
Old disks plus some ribbon and glue is all it takes. If you dont have any old diskettes lying around Im sure one of those useless zip disks would work (remember those?!).

Space Bar Icicles  
  
So cute! It took me a minute to figure out what this ornament was even made out of!

Santa Mice  
  
We all have about a dozen old mice lying around, give them a happy new home on your tree!

Keboard Word Ornaments  
  
  
This is probably my favorite of all the crafts. They are so cute and so simple, any mom would be thrilled to hang one from her tree! (hint hint gift ideas for you crafty kids out there).

###  Best Worst Video Game Ornaments

So today I got in the holiday spirit and purchased a mini hot pink sparkly Christmas tree and decorated it with some brightly colored stars. I couldnt help but wonder if there were some video game ornaments I could purchase for it….sadly the ornaments I found online we less than awesome. Here are my 5 Best Worst Video Game Ornaments (in no particular order).

Personalized Clay Gamer Ornaments  
  
Words cannot describe how truly hideous these things are. Im not sure what kind of controller these kids are playing with but I can only imagine that it is the result of some NES controller developing a malignant tumor. That being said these kids look like they have face tumors. I dub this the tumor ornament!

Gamer Ball  
  
Im not going to even write anything for this one myself…rather I will just copy the description from the site becuase it is far more funny than anything I could ever write. 

> _“this 3″ ornament features several tongue-in-cheek phrases as well as the title Video Gamer printed in ravishing red along a smooth pearl surface.  
>  Phrases include:  
>  I’m taking it to the next level  
>  Don’t worry… I have extra lives  
>  My thumbs are in great shape  
>  My goal… 100% completion  
>  I wish life had cheat codes  
>  Eat… Sleep… Play games… Repeat”_

I Am A Video Game Champion  
  
I love cafepress…it allows anyone with a photo editing program to make truly hideous creation that no one would want to purchase. Now parents everywhere can embarrass and further alienate their 13 year old level 75 Mage.

Video Game Master! Personalized Christmas Ornament  
  
Little Edward here is so good at games he can play them with his eyes closed! Use the force Edward! The force!

Got Game?  
  
Ok its almost too easy to make fun of cafepress items…its like shooting fish in a barrel. But I just couldn’t pass this one up, especially with the unlicensed Xbox rings rip off. I do give them points for their amazing Want To Play Scrabble Moose though.  


Thankfully during my search I did stumble across a few adorably cute video game ornaments…but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow for those ;)