Every Christmas we go for themed decorations at home. They’ve mostly centered around colors, and once we went Victorian. We wanted something different this year though without having to spend on new decorations. One thing our family enjoys doing (individually and together) is read. And so the theme “Bookish Christmas” was born! Here’s our Christmas tree decorated by our family of bibliophiles.
What’s so bookworm-y about it you ask? The crafts on this tree are made from recycled book pages. We house a lot of really old books, the type whose pages have foxing. What better way to give them a new life than to be the first generation of DIY family decorations?
These birds were the first decorations. They’re pretty easy to make! I’ll post instructions on how to do these bookish separately. Or you can head over to the blog that served as our inspiration: Under The Table and Dreaming. (Thank you Stephanie Lynn for these super friendly DIY instructions!)
We also have some pretty cranes nestled in the tree branches made by my other sister, the expert cranes maker.
The following flowers also created from book pages. Each family member has his/her initial up on the tree. We also put up flowers that have the initials of our relatives who are coming over for Noche Buena. They can take home their own personalized flowers after the party.
We had a bunch of extra book flowers, so my sister thought of putting pictures of our favorite reader. 
Here’s Timmy with a bunch of his reading pictures at the center of all the bookish flowers.
You can find instructions on how to make these paper star ornaments (or flowers as we call them) over at That’s My Letter. (Thank you Jamie, for this awesome tutorial!)
But where are the books, you may ask.
Each family member was asked about his/her favorite books. My sister then created mini-versions of our fave reads. They are so charming!
Each one opens up to a few old book pages. Her Griffine and Sabine mini-book even comes with interactive pages, much like the real thing. I think she did a stellar job!
The Bookish Little Christmas theme will be cascaded to other parts of our home too. Those are still in the works, but I’ll definitely share when they’re ready!
What I like best about our Bookish Little Christmas Tree is how it came together. We brainstormed on it together, created the crafts together, and best of all, bonded while we crafted. I think that’s the biggest gift this Bookish Little Christmas Tree has given us.
Do you have Christmas decor themes at home too? Tell us about it in the comments!
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
Krazelle
December 8, 2012 at 12:27 pm (11 years ago)Wow! I like your tree! It’s very unique and personal.
Mariel
December 8, 2012 at 12:33 pm (11 years ago)Awesome!!! I can TOTALLY see our family doing this when our children are older. Now that they are still just almost-2 and almost-5, and because our homeschooling journey is leading us to so many wonderful family traditions, we decorated their playroom in the spirit of Advent.
Mariel´s last blog post ..Welcome To Our Advent-Themed Playroom!
Cham
December 8, 2012 at 4:16 pm (11 years ago)Cool! Definitely my kind of tree!
Cham´s last blog post ..Miss Peregrine’s HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN: A Not-So-Creepy Review
Faye
December 8, 2012 at 5:10 pm (11 years ago)I love your tree Toni! This is very creative! Can I copy the idea? I know my sibs with totally love the idea too! (altho we’d probably have to reserve it for next year since it’s going to be a little late for us to start working it on now)
Faye´s last blog post ..Kiddie Christmas Giveaway Ideas, Anyone?
sheng
December 9, 2012 at 9:09 am (11 years ago)Ang ganda ng tree ninyo. I wanted to make ours into something very personal din like hanging our personal stuffed toys, pero mabibigat sila. I ended up hanging a few mini-bears, pero maganda pa rin naman.
Josanne
December 9, 2012 at 8:05 pm (11 years ago)What a cute idea! I especially like the paper star ornaments.
I made my daughter a large paper wreath like this out of music sheets. Whoever thought of the idea sure came up with a lovely creation!
ann
December 18, 2012 at 5:49 pm (11 years ago)I love looking at Christmas tree and this one is different. Cool and interesting. I have Christmas tree at my house and it makes me feel happy.
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witsandnuts
December 22, 2012 at 10:53 am (11 years ago)Super cool!
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BabyPink
December 30, 2012 at 11:13 pm (11 years ago)Wow! That’s got to be the best Christmas tree I’ve ever seen! I don’t celebrate Christmas, but if I did, I’d want a tree like this!
May you have a better and more meaningful 2013, Toni! Hugs and kisses to Master Dennis and the Little Master!
Cheers!
BabyPink´s last blog post ..Pre-2013 Thoughts
bursky
January 10, 2013 at 4:58 pm (11 years ago)squeeeeee! the little books are so cute! Griffin & Sabine takes the cake, though. so cool! when we set-up our Christmas tree next year, i’m gonna do this!
and i learned a new word from this post, too! “foxing”
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