O Christmas Tree!
I love decorating for Christmas. And my favorite part is the tree. When I was a kid, my mom hated the thought of dealing with a real tree, so we always had fake ones. One year we had a silver tree - yep. With red ornaments.
When I was a teenager I used to go to a dear friend's house for a tree-trimming party. They always had a real tree. We'd pull each ornament out of its little box, and my friend's mom would tell us the history of that particular ornament. It was like reliving a lifetime of Christmases past! Then we'd pull out our guitars and sing. After college, Marcella joined the army and we've seldom seen each other since then, although manage to stay in touch with the yearly Christmas letter.
Once I was married, I insisted that we always have a real tree. I love the smell. And of course it had to be a perfect tree and we'd spend hours looking for just the right one. Steve would put on the lights, hiding them in the middle of the tree so that it was radiant, and then I'd put on the ornaments. Each one perfectly placed with careful consideration. Then I'd take the tinsel, one strand at a time, and place it at the end of each of the branches. You already knew that I'm a perfectionist, so this doesn't surprise you in the least.
Then came last Christmas. It was our first Christmas in Lincoln. We were (and still are) living in a small, furnished condo with hardly any room for people, let alone a decent Christmas tree. Besides that, we spend all our time at the restaurant. And we had lots of room since we expanded. I was all set to go get a tree when I was told that we couldn't have a real tree - it would have to be fake. I was heartbroken. How could we have Christmas without a real tree?
Then the answer came to me. I had remembered seeing beautiful artificial trees in one of those airplane shopping catalogs. Modeled after real, live trees. Full, individual branches with silvery undersides, prestrung with lights. If it had to be fake, it had to be classy. And expensive.
The tree is, indeed, beautiful. And we have two beautiful real wreaths hanging outside so I can enjoy the scents of the season. Hopefully by next Christmas will be in a house again, where we can have a real, live tree!
P.S. No comments about the very tacky tree skirt. No, I didn't make it. My mother-in-law gave it to us as a present one year. 6" squares with white lace around the edge. I can't complain too much since I obviously don't have another tree skirt and continue to use this one year after year!
When I was a teenager I used to go to a dear friend's house for a tree-trimming party. They always had a real tree. We'd pull each ornament out of its little box, and my friend's mom would tell us the history of that particular ornament. It was like reliving a lifetime of Christmases past! Then we'd pull out our guitars and sing. After college, Marcella joined the army and we've seldom seen each other since then, although manage to stay in touch with the yearly Christmas letter.
Once I was married, I insisted that we always have a real tree. I love the smell. And of course it had to be a perfect tree and we'd spend hours looking for just the right one. Steve would put on the lights, hiding them in the middle of the tree so that it was radiant, and then I'd put on the ornaments. Each one perfectly placed with careful consideration. Then I'd take the tinsel, one strand at a time, and place it at the end of each of the branches. You already knew that I'm a perfectionist, so this doesn't surprise you in the least.
Then came last Christmas. It was our first Christmas in Lincoln. We were (and still are) living in a small, furnished condo with hardly any room for people, let alone a decent Christmas tree. Besides that, we spend all our time at the restaurant. And we had lots of room since we expanded. I was all set to go get a tree when I was told that we couldn't have a real tree - it would have to be fake. I was heartbroken. How could we have Christmas without a real tree?
Then the answer came to me. I had remembered seeing beautiful artificial trees in one of those airplane shopping catalogs. Modeled after real, live trees. Full, individual branches with silvery undersides, prestrung with lights. If it had to be fake, it had to be classy. And expensive.
The tree is, indeed, beautiful. And we have two beautiful real wreaths hanging outside so I can enjoy the scents of the season. Hopefully by next Christmas will be in a house again, where we can have a real, live tree!
P.S. No comments about the very tacky tree skirt. No, I didn't make it. My mother-in-law gave it to us as a present one year. 6" squares with white lace around the edge. I can't complain too much since I obviously don't have another tree skirt and continue to use this one year after year!
posted by Mary at 8:05 PM
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