How to Transform a Christmas Tree into a Valentine's Day Tree

With a little over a week until Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share what I did with my dining room Christmas tree this year. Instead of packing it away with all the other Christmas decorations in early January, I left it up and changed the decorations to make it into a vintage Valentine's Day tree.

Here's what it looks like now:

Valentines Trees are becoming increasingly popular, and you see a lot of them using pink, white, or vintage aluminum (silver) trees. I wanted to see if I could make a Valentine Tree with a regular green Christmas tree base. 

For this particular tree, I started out with my dining room Christmas tree, which is a green pencil tree with colored lights. It looks like this at Christmas:

I removed all of the candy-themed ornaments, the tree topper, and the tree skirt, until I was left with just the bare, lit tree. (If you have a lot of red or pink ornaments on your tree, you can leave those on the tree and just remove any Christmas-y ornaments.)

After removing all the Christmas ornaments, it was easy to create a Valentine Tree! I gathered my supplies and then added them to the tree in the order listed below. 

What Supplies Do I Need to Make a Vintage Valentine Tree?

• red and/or pink vintage glass ornaments
• vintage Valentine's Day cards
• small heart-shaped candy boxes
• floral picks to create ornaments and a tree topper
• pink or red fabric to create a tree skirt

This first batch of Valentine's Day cards are actually from The Harris Sisters' childhood. My favorite one might be the one that says "I like you for a lot of raisins" and shows some sort of odd raisin cake. You can read our thoughts on Raisin Creme Pies here. And check out that Amazing Spider-Man card - guess Spider-Man was just as popular in 1980 as he is now.

This next batch of Valentine's Day cards are some that I've collected. They are much older than The Harris Sisters' stash above, and they all have great graphics!

Here's some close ups of the collection:

And the next most important decoration for the tree was a collection of pink and red vintage glass Christmas ornaments. Red is a popular color for Christmas ornaments, so you probably have some similar ornaments stashed away too! I only have about a 1/2 box of pink ones, but they look right at home on the Valentines Tree.

And after adding the vintage ornaments and the Valentine's Day cards, I used floral picks to create a set of conversation heart ornaments, a few larger heart ornaments, and a tree topper. I nestled two small heart-shaped candy boxes into the branches. The cards are also just nestled into the branches, and they seem to be staying put with no further assistance. If you'd like to secure them a little better, you can use small clothespins to clip them to the branches without damaging the cards. I wrapped a pink floral tablecloth around the base of the tree to create a tree skirt. (If your Christmas tree has a plain red tree skirt, then you're good to go!)

Here's the finished product:

Make sure you check out these other Harris Sisters blog posts for ideas on how to decorate for Valentine's Day:

• O Valentine Tree! O Valentine Tree! (vintage Disney cards on an aluminum tree)
• A Valentine-y Kitchen Tour
• Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
• Pink Depression Glass

Hope we've inspired you to keep a tree up and decorate it for Valentine's Day. (If you're a person who hates putting away all the Christmas decorations because you'll miss the lights, this would be a great solution to keep those lights out longer!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Vegan Tomato Risotto with Roasted Vegetables

You just can't beat a risotto in the cold winter months. This creamy dish takes a bit longer with preparation, but it always pays off in the end. 

I remember the first time I had a tomato-based risotto. I was 29 years old and I was eating dinner in a restaurant with a group of work friends while attending a conference in New Orleans. We somehow ended up in a restaurant that didn't have a single vegetarian dish on the menu. I explained my dilemma to the server, and he spoke with the chef who offered to make me an off-menu creation - a tomato risotto with roasted vegetables.

This particular recipe features roasted vegetables and is cooked low and slow with a tomato puree base that results in a main dish that's rich and creamy. And it's the closest I've come to that dish that the New Orleans' chef made for me years ago. While your vegetarian and vegan friends will love it, you can also serve it to your gluten-free friends too. So, it checks a lot of boxes.

Vegan Tomato Risotto with Roasted Vegetables

Roasted Vegetables

1 Tbsp. olive oil

10 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

2 medium red bell peppers, chopped

1 large zucchini, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Risotto

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large red onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 cup of canned tomato puree or plain tomato sauce

2 cups vegetable stock, heated to a low simmer and kept warm

6.7 oz. sundried tomato pesto, oil drained

1 tsp. basil

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and add the olive oil to a large cookie sheet.
2. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Chop bell peppers and zucchini into small similar-sized pieces and spread out on the cookie sheet. Add salt and pepper and gently toss together in oil.
3. Roast vegetables for 30 minutes.
4. Add vegetable stock to a saucepan, bring to a gentle simmer, and keep warm over a low heat.
5. Dice onions and add olive oil to a large sauté pan.
6. Sauté the onion on a low-medium heat for a few minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
7. Stir in the Arborio rice and balsamic vinegar and stir for approximately 30 seconds.
8. Alternate adding the tomato puree and warm vegetable stock 1/2-cup at a time. Allow each 1/2-cup of liquid to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next.
9. After all liquid is absorbed, add in the sundried tomato pesto and the roasted vegetables. Give everything a stir and cook for a further 5 minutes until everything is cooked through and the rice is done. Make sure to taste the rice at this step to ensure that the rice is cooked to desired doneness. If the rice is still chewy at this step, add in more tomato puree or more vegetable stock 1/2-cup at a time until desired doneness.
10. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, salt, and pepper. 

Notes:

If you've never made risotto the old-fashioned way before, remember to add in the liquids a half-cup at a time and stir until completely absorbed before adding in the next batch of liquids. This will help the Arborio rice to release its starch and gives the dish its signature creamy texture. 

While you might be inclined to crank up the heat to "speed up the process" this will only make the liquid evaporate more quickly, which isn't the goal. The goal is for it to be absorbed into the rice. If it evaporates, you'll be left with crunchy risotto. So, make sure you cook it over low-medium heat.

You can substitute 6 sundried tomatoes (diced) for the sundried tomato pesto, if desired.

Garnish with vegan Parmesan cheese alternative, if desired. If your family is not vegan (we have two vegetarians in our family, but no vegans), then feel free to garnish with Parmesan cheese before serving. 

If you're a fan of risotto, take a peek at this recipe too:

Roasted Asparagus Risotto

'Twas the Site by Three Sisters - 2021

Christmas will be here tomorrow! AND that means, it's time for The Harris Sisters annual 2021 year-in-review in the form of a 'Twas the Night Before Christmas parody.

For new readers, this is a Harris Family tradition that dates back to the days of yore (back before computers, and blogs, and social media, and the interwebs). The original Harris Family Christmas parodies were created with good old fashioned pencil and paper while sitting at the kitchen bar on Christmas Eve night.

So, to keep this grand old tradition alive, we still bring these to you on Christmas Eve. (Just like Santy Claus - but you don't need to leave cookies out for us!)

We had lots of fun this year - and we always enjoy having a look back on just how much fun we had! We're so glad we got to virtually "meet" some of our new friends and keep up with our old ones. We hope that you enjoyed reading along with us! If you're only following us on one social platform or the other, remember you can connect with us here on the blog, on Facebook, on Pinterest, and on Instagram. 

'Twas the Site by Three Sisters - 2021

'Twas the site by three sisters, Twenty Twenty-One
And this year we’ve had ever so much fun;
In January, we taught you tips and tricks right away,
So that you could practice and learn how to crochet.

And then in March, we soon followed suit
with tips for planning a river siren photo shoot.
With your location and costumes, it'll come together in a flash,
Go down to the river; you'll make a big splash!

As Summer got started, we brought you a list
of fun activities for kiddos – with a twist . . .
What makes them so special? Well, we’ve outlined,
How to Create Your Own Summer Camp – so it’s one-of-a-kind!

As July rolled around, we said a big cheers,
To celebrate the Girls’ Weekend Anniversary – 10 years!
More rapid than eagles, these getaways we named,
And we traveled, and toured, and revisited again!

"Now, BOONE! now, PIGEON FORGE! now, LOUISVILLE and HELEN!
On, ASHEVILLE! On, HOT SPRINGS! ST. SIMONS and BRYSON!
From the hot tub to the porch (to the best antique malls),
The Harris Sisters really know The Best Southern Towns, ya’ll!

In September, of course, we needed to acknowledge,
Some fun gifts to send to your older kids at college.
With 100+ Care Package Ideas to pack,
Grab your boxes, containers, bins, parcels, and sacks!

And then in December, we planned to make merry,
With the menu and décor for a Retro Christmas Party,
In the wink of an eye, it’s easy to surround,
Yourself with mid-century nostalgia all-around. 

As the first of Two Thousand Twenty-Two draws near,
We wanted to tell you we appreciate you, Dears!
To all who have followed, shared, commented, and liked,
"HARRIS CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!"

Merry Christmas from Deanna, Misty, and Donna!

Take a look at our previous year's Christmas Eve parodies.