Christmas in Eugene

Instead of leaving town the second finals are over like pretty much everyone else I know, I opted to stay in Eugene another week to hang out with my friends who live in the area. Plus I'm paying rent for my apartment whether or not I'm actually here during break, so I figured an extra week in Eugene wouldn't hurt.

Of course, it's December, and there are few things I love to do more this time of year than go all out decorating and creating the perfect atmosphere. With my roommate's blessing -- well, actually, I suspect she was fine with my plans because she was leaving the next day and didn't have to deal with my holiday excess -- I bought a 6-foot, artificial Christmas tree from Walmart. I know, the epitome of evil, but I don't exactly have the means to go cut down a real tree of my own.

I also bought some cheap ornaments, two strings of lights and candy canes, and my friends helped me decorate the tree. The finishing touches were six packages of tinsel -- the night before, I had helped Bret and Alitia decorate their two-foot fake tree with a package of tinsel for each foot of tree. I'm pretty sure I now have one of two reflective trees in the Eugene area.
Walmart also had giant stockings, and Bret commented that I could probably live in one of them. With that in mind, I bought the stocking and decorated it with a welcoming message...
I also bought garland and saved it for Alitia, figuring she could do something creative with it. And boy did she deliver. The gold thing in the middle is a giant ball ornament, which prompted plenty of innuendos -- not surprising considering the group assembled in my living room... :)
And of course, the decorating wouldn't be complete without a tree topper that shows the true personality of the owner...as well as the DIY nature of this project...