Friday, December 15, 2006

Oh Christmas Tree

I'm not here to argue what's better - a real or a fake Christmas tree. I certainly see the convenience and money savings (depending on what you buy) of a fake tree. But as I was looking at our puny, little, yet nicely decorated fake tree the other evening, I thought that this Christmas would be the last time I bring that durn thing out to decorate.

Most of us can remember the trip to the Christmas tree lot or the woods to pick out the 'best' tree to take back to our homes. It was a family affair that I can still remember (and I don't have the best memory). I also remember the one time we went out on my great-grandparents farm and cut an old white pine to bring in for my elderly kin.

It was GREAT! And if it was snowing, that was even better! And so what if it was lopsided -- that's part of it! 2007 will be my year of the return to the REAL Christmas tree.

For more information on using cut or live trees in your home, go to the National Christmas Tree Association.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Out 1st tree was a little one-sided affair, about 3ft. tall that you hung on the wall. We got it at Ben Franklin in Hindman & decorated it with bows made out of sewing scraps, a single strand of little lights & golden garland. It looked lonely by itself, & having more time than money, I made a construction paper angel & pasted her on a peice of cardboard covered with plastic with a wood-like print & poked a few holes round her head to push lights through for a halo.
When the kids came, we felt the need for a bigger tree so we'd cut cedars out of our fence rows. We found that they looked GREAT w/lotsa little twinkle lights & shiney garland; about all their fragile branches would hold. Then we moved to Texas... That's where I found out where the "towering" cedars of the bible were--20 to 30ft. was the norm; 'way too big our home. The HEB (grocery) had pine trees, cut somewhere up north a month before, nothing could have been deader! So we switched to artificial & the kids started making decorations; we even make a Nativity set one year. I've always liked "eclectic"! My whole house is a collection of this n' that that I've carted from my origins in Pa., to Ky., to Texas & mostly--back.
So, now that the kids are grown & my husband gone; that old little tree once again seemed like it would be just the right size I dug through the stuff in the back closet & gave it some new lights (the old were still there, but they didn't blink anymore ;(, freshened the angel with real felt (I guess I'm feeling richer...) & hung her up too. I put out my home made (supposed to be bean-bag but worried about weevils, I make with Rio Grand river pebbles)nativity set, along with all surviving christmas cups I got through the years at work, & other assorted odd & ends I've acquired here & there. Voila'! My own "Christmas Story"--60 years worth. Ya'll come see me; I'll tell you all about it!