Picking out and putting up the tree

One tradition I always enjoyed growing up was going out to get our Christmas tree. My dad would take my sister and I out into the woods around our house and we would tromp through the woods picking and choosing until we found the “perfect” tree. We would try to pick out a tree that had the best foliage, with no or little bare spots, and we’d shake the limbs to knock out any stray leaves. My dad would cut it down and we’d drag it back home, more likely than not picking up more stray leaves along the way!

We usually had to pick from two types of trees. I don’t know what they were called, but it was either a typical pine tree – the kind where the needles fall off and you can’t get rid of them (you see the needles used as mulch sometimes), or the prickly kind that seemed to bite you when you got too close. Those were my least favorite, and the hardest to decorate!

We didn’t ever use a tree stand – we found out that they were pretty unreliable. Instead, we used a bucket with gravel poured around the base of the tree. It held the tree very well, and allowed us to keep it well watered. Funny, now I realize that it was probably a rather odd looking tree-stand, but that never occurred to me when I was little…

Usually, my family was always a little behind schedule and we were getting our tree up and decorated just days or even the night before Christmas, but it was always fun. My parents had ornaments we’d made, things with popsicle sticks and glitter, and a string of lights that I’ve never seen anywhere else. They were these weird, large, round bulbs that were tinted with different colors and covered in large plastic pieces that gave them a frosted look.

Now that I’m married, my husband and I have just recently started having a tree. Although we’ve been married for 7 years, we usually end up traveling for the holidays, so it just wasn’t practical to put one up. Now that we’re a little more settled, we’ve had a tree for the last 2 years. In keeping with some tradition we at least get a live tree, but we have started our own “tradition,” we travel down the road to the local Home Depot and pick one off of their lot! I kind of hate that we go so commercial, but hey, it’s easier and we get a little bit of a better selection… Here's our tree from last year.

Our decorations aren’t quite the same as my parent’s, but then we haven’t had any kids to make us ornaments. Something tells me that in the years to come that will change! I’m going to miss not having a tree this year, or next (we’re already scheduled to be out of town next year too!), but I’m excited about seeing our little boy when we can start putting up a tree and he’s old enough to appreciate it!

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Picking out and putting up the tree

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