Decorating the Christmas Tree can be one of the most daunting tasks when it comes to prepping the house for the holidays, but that doesn't mean it has to be a drag! Decorating the tree is one thing that immediately fills the room with that Christmas spirit!

Here's the steps and how we do it in the Eriksen House!

Step 1: Put on a cheesy Christmas movie.

One with a hunky main character is a must. This year we went with The Spirit of Christmas. Even though his character is supposed to be a ghost from the past, Thomas Beaudoin is hot as heck! (Just watch it on Netflix and you will see how right I am)

Step Two: Set the mood.

We put on the Christmas tunes thanks to good old Pandora and since we have a real fireplace, that we never use, it only seemed natural to put one on the t.v. courtesy of Netflix. Finally, since we the house didn't smell enough like Christmas from the tree, we added the classic Christmas Cookie candle.

Step 3: Get all the ornaments ready.

Time to drag all the ornaments out of the box from the attic, and search for the lights which are in a different box from the garage.

Step 4: Cut away all the weird bottom branches.

Haven't figured out a way to do this without making a huge mess.

Step 5: Lights!

We always end up putting way too many strands on, and of corse someone has to get all tangled up. Mom's tip: start from the inside, like really deep in and make your daughter push her head in and practically eat the branches.

Step 6: Christmas Balls!

in the Eriksen household, we only use red and gold. We put the shiny ones deep to reflect the lights and then add the glitter. That's just how its done.

Step 7: Break one

Good thing we have lots of them because it isn't really an Eriksen Family Christmas tree if at least one bulb doesn't break.

Step 8: Add on all the other stuff.

Then comes all the extra stuff like the bows, pinecones, boots and little birdies. We don't really do the personalized ornaments. We tend to stick with the classic country theme if you haven't noticed.

Step 9: Finishing touches!

For us it's the tree skirt and of course the angel on the top.

Step 10: stand back and admire your hard work.

And after a (long) day of decorating the tree is completed, and the Christmas Spirt (sadly not Thomas Beaudoin, did I mention how attractive that man is?) can be felt throughout the house!