
Welcome to my virtual holiday open house! Here's my theory about decorating the tree: there's always room for one more ornament!

Welcome to my home for Christmas! I'll post a virtual tour this week to share our holidays with everyone. First, meet my extended nutcracker family.
There's always room for more, too, and I add at least 1 new one each year.
This year's newbie is the one on the left on the mantle - the peppermint soldier.
This is the hummingbird trap. Volunteers stand about 10 feet back. The trap door is held up with fishing line, and then let the door down when a bird enters. Then they reach in and gently grab the bird and put it in a net bag so the bird can wait its turn for meeting bander Fred Hound.
After Fred bands, weighs and measures the birds, he treats them to dinner. He said first-year birds rarely take a drink when offered, but older birds always slurp up free food - and it was true! This is a mature black-chinned hummingbird.
This first tree is for Hilda at My Manila. It's a Philippines tree. Information boards on traditions were included.
And for Kris at This Will Hurt Me, a tree that reminded of the header on his blog.
While I don't think there were as many big trees as I've seen in previous years, there were more table-top trees and wreaths than expected, which I didn't photograph much. On to the trees!
We liked this angel tree.
This tree is a salute to Boise's Basque community.
Bears roasting marshmallows at the base of a tree.
A "Bob the Builder" construction tree.
A cooking tree.
A cowboy tree.
A giant dog knocked over a tree! Bad dog!
A fairy tree.
A gardening tree.

A game tree with Mr. Potato Head - how very "Idaho."
A Pirates of the Caribbean tree.
A tree that's been "torched."
A tree "under the sea."
Volkswagen mini-tree.

Clever ornament on a "cheers to wine" tree - a glass ornament filled with old wine corks. This is just a sampling of what there is to see. If you're in Boise, the festival runs through this weekend.
The Festival of Trees is a perfect outing for ladies of a certain age who belong to the Red Hat Club.