Oh Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas tree… oh Christmas tree… how lovely are thy branches. Tis the season of evergreens. The boughs. The garland, the trees. The scent.  I remember going to chop down a tree many Christmases when  I was young and lived at home. But then faux trees became vogue. They aren’t without their pros. You can put them up earlier. You can use the wired branches to hold ribbon on the tree. You can hang heavier ornaments on them.   And they were considered less of a fire hazard. Back in Victorian days they actually put candles on their live trees for lights. What did they expect?  Isn’t that a recipe for a forest fire?

I had already left home by the time this story happened, but my two youngest brothers , still in school, decided they would go get the family tree and headed out with dad’s old rusty hand saw. Apparently they came back with quite a nice tree and were pretty proud of themselves until mom and dad found out they cut it down out of the neighbor’s yard.

Once I was married and had left home, prelit trees came out. Oh the frustration that was alleviated. Untangling all those Christmas lights nearly broke up some families in the season of peace on earth and goodwill to men.

When my kids were young I was a proponent of the faux tree. Especially since I decorated at least three of them spread across the house. One in the family room. One in the kitchen. One in the living room. One in each kids bedroom. Smaller ones…. Ok that’s more than three.  I usually started with the trees and any other decor was inspired by those.   And let me tell you there WAS  other decor.  And with a  faux tree I was able to put it up on November 12th or sooner….shhh.

But then I got a notion that we needed real trees. Maybe reading too many nostalgic Victoria magazines. So we went and cut down our own tree a couple of Christmases. I registered for a permit online and off we went. With blankets and snacks and hot chocolate and an axe. I even think we borrowed a friend’s red truck one year and my cousins another. How perfect was that?  Going and chopping your own tree is fun and all but the coordinating involved to make it a family event got to be too much so now we just go to a local tree lot and pick out the tallest, fastest tree we can get within our budget.  I know not very nostalgic but it gets the job done and makes the house smell fresh and piney so… mission accomplished.

Then comes decorating  the  tree. I’ve actually never been one to cover our tree in handmade kiddie ornaments.  Maybe because they hardly made any…. And mostly because I like the tree to look like the magazine. Full disclosure. I want it to look like Victoria’s Magazine minus the real candles.   Or Country living trees, or Pottery barn trees.. Everyone seemed to be ok with it. When I had tree trimming parties for the family, the kids and Mike ate the turtles and drank the eggnog and inhaled pizza and were quite ok for me to do my own thing with the tree.  I try to change it up every year.   I read a meme online and it said “I’m a better person with a Christmas tree in my living room” and I had to agree.  If there is a Christmas tree in my living room then that means its Christmas and I AM a better person at Christmas…most of the time.  I try to be and I do try to honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.  I’m trying to get to that place where I am a better person even without the Christmas tree.

Maybe we haven’t saved a lot of nostalgic homemade ornaments but the kids are still involved. This year I find my house full of dried orange garlands courtesy of Lexie and LEGOville courtesy of Andrew.  Decking the halls truly is a family affair. Plus Lexie decorated the tree this year. I just stood by and … well, actually let her do it. It’s gorgeous.