Find Some Christmas Spirit — Stuck in North Idaho

I mentioned last week that I'm struggling with Christmas this year. Maybe it's the warm temperatures and no snow, or maybe it's the pressure to get all the holiday shopping done - who knows. But there are a few traditions I have managed to keep up with, including Juneau's annual in-front-of-the-tree photo. I swear this dog needs to be a model, what a ham!Over Thanksgiving weekend, I went with my parents, my sister Aly and her family to the Festival of Trees at the resort. I love this event for so many reasons, it is the closest to the holidays in New York that I may ever get.Local school choirs sing holiday carols, trees are adorned with lavish decorations and come with beautifully displayed gifts. It was fun to go with Sawyer this year and see him get so excited about all the trees and Santa. He LOVES Santa.In years past, my dad has been asked by kids if he is Santa, or knows Santa. In case you haven't noticed, there's a bit of a resemblance there...Yes, that's my dad, fist-bumping Santa. Normally my dad is sporting a Santa hat around town this time of year, I'm a little disappointed he didn't wear it to see his long-lost bro.I like to get ideas for my own tree decorating from the Festival. There are so many talented tree decorators in our town - many of them have been volunteering to do this for years. Some Ideas I've incorporated from years of tree viewing include:

Start with a neutral color pallet and build on that
Pick ornaments that reflect your personality as well as your home's decor
Add just a little pop of color or sparkle
Use unique materials for garlands or to add texture (I used a burlap-ish ribbon and included wooded snowflakes my parents made)

As you can see, I like to include a lot of natural textures like burlap, twigs and wood (and a cute berner sleeping by the tree is a perfect touch). How do you decide what goes on your tree? I know some day if we have kids, all my rules will go out the door and our tree will covered in Disney and Hot Wheels, but it's fun to coordinate for now.