What Can I make for The Christmas Tree?

beemaster · April 22, 2008, 11:16:11 PM

Hi All:

This sounds strange coming in April, but I'll share why I ask: In my house, where my parents,and wife and I had live as a family since my brother's death in 1984 have NOT HAD a Christmas Tree in (yes) 24 years. Since my Mother's death in 2006 and my father's 10 years this year - and with the move to our new home in June, I want to restart the tradition of having a Christmas Tree for my wife and Me.

I would LOVE to have beekeeping related oriments hanging from literally my first tree in 2 decades or some things around the living room to decorate, what do you do if anything?

I have a few molded Amishish looking wax mice, hand painted, even 2 smallhoneybee pins that will get lost, but I'd like to make a bit more or a beekeeping theme - you think a beemaster.com bumper sticker where the angel goes is too much :roll: :-D

Seriously though, anyone really deck out a tree with a beekeeping theme before, any photos? I'd love to know.

PS. Here is a crappy photo of the new house, the beerbellied guy on the side is me, the termite inspector is also in the photo - this was taken by the house inspector on Friday. It was low res-copied from the house inspect report, but the only photo I have right now. I'll be getting some hi-res photos, to show off that beautiful tree as it blooms soon :)

annette · April 23, 2008, 01:26:05 AM

Well, every Christmas now that I have become a beekeeper, the girls I work with give me bee ornaments. I have them hanging from a shelf over my desk at work. My whole desk has bee related items (stuffed bee animals, figurines, etc. ) I will post a photo of my desk at work. I have not decorated a christmas tree, but bee ornaments and related stuff are out there and I could see a whole tree with them.

Good Luck
Annette

Cindi · April 23, 2008, 10:30:18 AM

John, it will be nice to start up a Christmas tradition of the tree and the bee ornaments. There was sad stuff going on in your lives that caused this tradition to stop, you are healing, that is good......the new house, the new freshness of a new life....beautiful. And, that picture of your house was not crappy, it looked pretty darn fine to me. So, with that picture lookin' good, I can't wait to see all the new and beautiful pictures with higher resolution that I know you will bring on to our forum, happy day. By the way, get rid of that fat beer belly, man!!!! Summer is coming, don't you know, you want to sit on that patio with a skinny belly, that way you can drink all the drinks that will make your belly fat again for the wintertime slumber!!! Have a beautiful and most wonderful day, Cindi

mairghead · April 23, 2008, 05:51:42 PM

This may be too mundane, but a girlfriend and I made wax ornaments a couple of years ago that turned out really nice. We just melted down the beeswax and put it in small soap molds with a ribbon loop for hanging it with. They were easy and smelled great.

Another idea we had and didn't try was to cast the wax thinly into a mold and affix it to glass ornaments of different colors. It would enable you to fancy them up with ribbons or other decorations and have the same nice smell.

Another thing to look up would be pomander balls (and not the fruit kind). People in Elizabethan England would make personal perfume balls to carry with them that would also be nice on a tree if you like scents in your home. They are often scented with cloves or other aromatics associated with Christmas that would blend well with real tree smells. The Elizabethan Costume net has a recipe that I have used, but I'm too new to put links up yet.

Good Luck!
Jackie

Brian D. Bray · April 26, 2008, 01:34:30 AM

Just a suggestion, a remember from back in the days we used to make our own decorations, take a dome lid or similar and some pipe cleaners and wrap the pipe cleaners around the dome so it looks like a skep. 1 dome and a lot of pipe cleaners could easily result in a dozen or so skeps of different colors. You could make your base for the tree the same way or modify a new tree stand by wrapping rope around it.

DayValleyDahlias · June 19, 2008, 12:40:48 PM

http://www.how-to-arts-and-crafts.com/bee-ornament.html

http://www.mistletoenholly.com/z230.html

http://www.cafepress.com/buy/bee?CMP=KNC-G-PC-ZOO

derrick1p1 · July 15, 2008, 06:01:30 PM

Uh-oh. Y'all may have started something. Now I want bee ornaments. Thanks alot ;) Like I need anything else related to my obsession.

johnnybigfish · August 08, 2008, 09:16:18 PM

I know what!!
Get a bunch of queen cages and hang them up on the tree! I think I'll do that on my tree this year! Shoot John, I just get a good feeling because you're going to put a tree up after so long :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

your friend,
john

beemaster · August 09, 2008, 09:54:02 AM

Thanks All:

I sure am still following this and Johnny, I agree that having a tree after so many sad years around the holidays will be a GREAT tradition to rekindle. Thanks everyone for the input, that really sounds like an interesting collection of stuff both on and around the tree :)

annette · August 10, 2008, 12:15:10 AM

I promised to show you the office bee shrine I have over my desk at work. All the people at work gave me all these things.

Many ways to decorate a Christmas Tree.

Annette

Cindi · August 10, 2008, 10:43:53 AM

Annette, oh aren't those little cuties on your shrine!!! You are loved.....that is plain to see. Enjoy your little pals at work as you look at them and think of the other lovelies that you are raising that also make you so ding dang happy. Have a most wonderful and beautiful day, Cindi

beemaster · August 12, 2008, 09:20:41 AM

Annette:

Very pretty collection of bee stuff you have, your coworkers/friends really have done well :)

I have gotten a few neat things over the years, mostly from family and forum members: In my motorhome I have a bee standing on 2 feet, holding a skep in one hand and some tool in the other, very nice. From Big Rog (long time sice we saw him here, I fear something happened to him, he had no family and I think Rog may have had some personal issues that finally caught up with him (I hope I'm wrong, but he was a Mod here and dropped of the face of the Earth after losing his Mom. Rog sent me a number of neat patches (like bowling leaque 100 pin over average patches, etc.) but they we're Virginia Bee Association stuff and he also gave me a beekeeping book from 1903, first edition, written almost Biblically in style.

I was given two great Beemaster.com shirts from the Buzzbees who I finally got to meet this Summer and I wore the shirt when we met and they were happy to see I fit in it okay :-P

I'm proud of my printed publication collection, I have about 12 booklets and magazines (some school education booklets have my pics in and I just happened to find them and picked them up. That's the thing about the Internet, you will find your stuff all over the web eventually - it's nice to get recognition for your work, but that rarely happens when you surf other people's bee-sites and see your pics there. I just think it a compliment that an image of mine struct their fancy enough to use, credits or no.