Yours sounds like a tree I could get behind and enjoy. :)
It seems to be all the rage around here to have perfect, immaculate, department store looking trees, and while I always compliment them and think they are pretty, it's SO not what I think Christmas trees should be for our family.
Growing up, we always had 3 trees: the "Charlie Brown" tree that was pretty beat up, fake, from the 70s when my mom was a divorced mom of 1 and didn't have any money. That tree was awesome: it had strands of red/green contruction paper loops stapled or taped together, multicolor lights, instead of tinsel we had FAKE strands of popcorn and gumdrops, our first ornaments, stuff we made at school, etc. It had a garish lit up star. My brother and I thought it was so beautiful, and loved putting it up. We had a big over stuffed patchwork skirt that my mom quilted: the only thing she ever did, but it was great and I judge all other skirts by it.
In the den (or formal living room, whatever you call it), was the "Mikasa tree": we had a tall real tree with all white lights, only crystal or red ornaments, and a pretty angel in a pretty dress on top. I don't remember the skirt but I'm guessing it was red or silver. Everything was crystal, some smooth and some cut specifically to refract light. It was impressive, beautiful, but not very personal or fun. I think beautiful and perfect trees are more for adults whose children have moved out now. At least, until grandchildren start making ornaments for grandma. :)
In the kitchen, we had a live potted fern type of tree (can't remember what it's called but I see it often around this time of year at some stores). That was our "Cajun tree". It had red pepper lights, we made little ornaments of the little bottles of Tobasco sauce (hot glued hooks on them) and wrapped dry red beans or rice in little squares of toile and tied little bows on them, we had some cool real crawfish ornaments, topped with a crawfish dressed in a little cotton gown and straw halo and wings. It was always a hit when people came in (we actually decorated it all year with whatever season was next).
For our house now: we have a big fat 10' tree and we love it dearly. It's got well over 1000 multi-color lights. Colorful seems more childlike, and to me this is a holiday that goes that direction, so it makes sense to me. Every single ornament has a story or "reason" for being there. We have a couple neat "world" ornaments and some Santas from different countries, some dolls of boys/girls from different countries all dressed up in their native dress that are so sweet. We have Hallmark or similar ornaments: we get one every year for each of us to commemorate what hobby we were into, an achievement, a trip, whatever from that year. The kids' favorite little toys from happy meals, too, make our tree. (Ice Age, Bat Man, Chipmunks, etc---when they are finished being played with, you can hotglue string and hooks to them). Each of us has our own ornament crates with our own ornaments (initialed and the year written very small on the bottom of some) so that they can take theirs with them when that time comes. Setting up the tree is my job mostly (lights starting at the trunk and working out as someone else described), that is tedious, takes a lot of time. But the next day is a little party where we play some music, make some wassail in the crock pot so it's slow and makes a delicious smell all through the house, we have some Christmas treats, and decorate all together. We do go through our ornaments and talk about them and rehash the stories, laugh, have a good time. I wouldn't have it any other way even if it looks NOTHING like a department store tree. The ornaments three feet high and down move around all year long---my little guy loves to redecorate his own ornaments over and over for a month. They get bunched up and all wherever he's looking at that moment of the day, but we don't sweat it. I have an "ok" skirt, just normal, but I look forward to someday (hopefully during 2014) getting a fluffy patchwork skirt done the way mom's was.