The Perfect Christmas TreeGinger Hanson
http://www.gingerhanson.com
We passed a neighbor's house the other day and I noticed their fresh Christmas tree tied with twine and leaning against the fence. Several hours later, we returned home. By then it was dark, but standing in an uncurtained front window of the same house was their decorated Christmas tree, its lights twinkling cheer into the night.
I was shocked.
A Christmas tree purchased and decorated within hours! I always assumed everyone made a several day production out of buying and decorating a Christmas tree.
My husband does.
First, comes the buying. The tree on the lot must be untied, in an upright position, and available for a thorough examination. Next, the tree has to have a good Christmas tree shape or one correctable by a nip here or a tuck there. Finally, my husband makes sure the top is properly stemmed to hold the spired tree topper.
Only then is the tree purchased, loaded in the van, and brought home.
Now for the prepping. The tree is put into the tree stand in the garage. It is not decorated for several days because the tree needs time to "fall out" before my husband can determine how much to trim. Once it’s trimmed, the tree enters the house.
Finally, the decorating.
Ah, the joy of decorating a Christmas tree with my husband.
The first step is to put on the lights which entails layering them from the trunk outward in order to achieve maximum effect. Next, the silver garland and strings of silver beads are draped around the tree. Finally, my husband places the spired topper on the treetop. If all goes well, he only needs to check the tree from various angles and do a little tweaking before announcing it is now ready for the ornaments.
Which is where we butt heads.
He’s traditional conservative, while I’m eclectic whimsical–a basic difference in taste. Traditional means hang a few dozen matching glass ornaments and you’re done. Whimsical means hang those matching glass ornaments, but give the tree some pzazz with a zillion cute little ornaments.
Now you’re done.
My ornament selection drives my husband nuts. He can’t figure out why I’d want to put a Santa flying his biplane next to an angel made from a cotton boll. While I admit there’s a place for the traditionally decorated tree–like a department store–they don’t reflect my personal philosophy which runs along the lines of “isn’t this cute, I think I’ll buy it for the Christmas tree.”
Then I put it on the tree while my husband grumbles about how my Christmas ornaments mess up his perfect tree. Frankly, I disagree with him. I think my choice of ornaments makes the tree perfect. Just as the family that buys and decorates their tree on the same day believes they have the perfect tree.
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Hi Ginger
ReplyDeleteOur tree is a lot like yours. It has ornaments that were my great grandmother's next to a Hallmark Disney princess, next to a construction paper ornament my nephew made in kindergarten. (He's now 23.) While the tree may not be a traditional looking tree, it is full of memories and that's what makes it special.
We have a tree for homemade ornaments and another for all the Hallmark ornaments we've collected through the years.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post. :) Merry Christmas!
I so identify with your choice of ornaments! Love my old, weird ones the most.
ReplyDeleteWe buy and decorate our tree all in the same day. In fact, on Friday we bought and decorated a real tree and put up and decorated two artificial ones. (We just have too many ornaments to fit on one!)
ReplyDeleteMine too is an eclectic assortment. I have a 2nd tree - still in a box - and one year I'll get around to setting them both up, so I can use ALL my decorations.
ReplyDelete