When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things — not the great occasions — give off the greatest glow of happiness. –Bob Hope
Do you have your Christmas tree up and decorated? I don’t. Yet. I will. Soon. Tomorrow I’ll get the ornaments out of the attic and maybe drag up my tree from the basement. I’ve been waiting to see if any sweet little Christmas tree decorating elves (aka grandchildren) might come to visit to make the decorating more fun. When I was a kid, I used to love to go help my aunt decorate her tree. She always had to get a skinny little cedar tree because she put it in a corner where there wasn’t much room. But to my eyes, it always ended up being beautiful. But with or without elves to help, I’ll get my tree up before the week is over. I need to get with it since Christmas here with the kids and grandkids is early this year – the weekend before Christmas weekend. The days are racing toward Christmas with lots to do to get ready. One of those things is putting up a tree.
I admire people who put up multiple trees. One of my daughters-in-law puts up a tree in every room and the trees all look great. More impressive than that, last week I read an amazing account of a woman in a nearby town who decorates one hundred ten trees every year. Only seven of them are outside trees. That means over a hundred trees decorated in her house. I can’t imagine. I do well to get up that one tree. I guess I take after my grandmother. Mom said her mother never wanted to bother with a tree in the house. So, they used to just hang their stockings on the rocking chair. They didn’t have a Christmas tree until her youngest sister talked their dad into bringing in a cedar tree one year when Mom was a teenager.
Actually, I do want a tree. So far I’ve always gotten the tree decorated before Christmas day. So far. Back when we lived in the old farmhouse, one year my kids and I decided we would go out and find a Christmas tree. Usually my husband would bring in a cedar tree, but that year we got impatient. Besides it sounded like fun to go Christmas tree hunting. I had two kids at the time. There were probably five and seven, maybe. The oldest was eager to do the chopping and had a little axe at the ready. We found one we thought was beautiful. It was green and tall. It wasn’t easy, but we managed to chop it down. Then we had our next obstacle and that was getting it to the house without dragging it and knocking off those pretty green cedar needles. Again, not easy, but my son and I somehow managed to carry it to the house. Once there, we found that unfortunately, we picked one that was too big. We had to do more trimming to get it to fit in the house. Those trees just look smaller out there in the field. And greener and not so lopsided.
I wasn’t the best tree picker. I think after that, I was content to wait until my husband brought in a cedar tree. He was definitely better at it. And while that’s true, I’ll always remember how we went Christmas tree hunting that year.
My youngest son who hadn’t come along when we went on the tree hunting expedition. He had some of those with his dad later on.
Cedars smell like Christmas in your house, but they are prickly. Not too bad when you decorate them, but hard on your hands when you take the ornaments off after Christmas. Especially those foil icicles. Any of you remember those? Plus cedars dry out fast even if you set them in a bucket of water and that makes you have to worry about them being fire hazards.
I’ve gotten modern now with an artificial tree, but I sometimes think how my dad would frown and shake his head if he knew I paid good money for a fake tree when the fields are full of cedars that need to be cut down.
Dad didn’t overflow with Christmas spirit, but sometimes he’d go to Louisville and buy us something at a warehouse or secondhand shop that we weren’t expecting. One Christmas he brought in a turntable record player. It didn’t have a case, but since it played LPs and 45’s, we were happy. He wasn’t exactly a Scrooge. He just left most of the merry preparations up to Mom and his sister. They made Christmas fun.
My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? –Bob Hope
Wishing you much happiness and joy. Always joy. And some Christmas tree fun too. Hope you have many great Christmas memories.
Do you like decorating for Christmas?
Comments 12
I don’t do much decorating now, but I enjoyed it growing up. We would go into the woods and get a cedar tree also. Daddy was a rabbit hunter and always kept his eye out for a good one, then we would all go to get it a few weeks before Christmas.
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Going to get the tree could sometimes be half the fun, Connie. My trek with the kids in search of the perfect tree that day long ago made some sweet memories for me. I’ll have to ask them if they remember. There’s nothing quite like the magic of Christmas when you are a kid.
I love decorating for Christmas. The grandkids love to help us, too. Merry Christmas!
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Having grandkids to help with the decorating makes it all much more fun, Melissa. I’m glad you have some of those grand-elves to help you.
Not so much this year as with my parents gone and kids and grandkids not coming it is just not the same plus I’m having trouble with my foot and going to Drs. Merry Christmas blessings.
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So sorry you’re having problems with your foot, Lucy. Doctor visits aren’t fun.
You are so right that Christmas decorating isn’t the same when you don’t have family coming to enjoy it all with you. I go hope you have some Christmas blessing in the weeks ahead as we all remember the reason for the season. It doesn’t have much to do with decorating Christmas trees although that can be a fun thing and a way to cherish reminders of the Lord through decorations.
I love to decorate for Christmas, it takes me about 3 weeks to get everything right, as I have so much stuff to put out. I have several small trees as I have ran out of space for my large one so I gave it away. My main thing is my Fontanni Nativity scene , it covers my dining room table with the market and the creche I am going to hate to take it down after Christmas, but it brings me much joy. Merry Christmas to you and yours..
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That sounds beautiful, Donna. You should post a picture here with your comment if you can do that. And maybe you should just leave it up an extra month to keep enjoying it. Joy to the world!
I love looking at the Christmas tree and decorations when they are up, but it is a LOT of work to get it done and takes us quite a few days to do. We have Christmas villages and that is a day alone to figure out and set up. I have a big antique trunk that we keep them in and have to be careful not to break when putting in and taking them out. We pretty much pack away all the “normal” everyday decorations in the house and replace them with Christmas ones. We cut a tree from a generous neighbors field one Christmas when times were tough, and it was one of the best ones we have ever had but was very prickly to touch-which nicely trained the cats to never go near a tree again! 🙂 We usually buy a tree every year from a local tree farm but the prices keep getting higher and higher so we may soon switch to an artificial. Right now, our kids still live at home and like to go out and cut one down and chip in on the price so that artificial might wait a few years yet. Hope some of your grand-elves come to visit and you can get your tree decorated. Merry Christmas!
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The grand elves showed up last night. So, I have my tree up, Hope. Other than dragging the decorations out of the attic and cooking dinner for the elves, I didn’t do much to get the decorating job done. Very easy and so much more fun than if I had to do it by myself. My husband isn’t in to decorating trees although, as I say in my post, he did used to cut and bring the tree home. 🙂
I love those Christmas villages, but I’ve never had one. No place to put one in my house, but I do have a couple of nativity sets that I enjoy having the kids set up each year.
Real trees are nice. We bought a live one once from a tree farm and planted it after Christmas. It grew beautifully, but unfortunately got some kind of virus that killed it last year. It’s gone now, but it was so pretty.
I love decorating for Christmas as well as other holidays. As I’m getting older, it is harder to do but I love it. I usually have two trees, one in the livingroom and one in my bedroom but this year only one has gotten up. I do miss my smaller tree in my bedroom.
Wishing you and your family joy and happiness this Christmas!
Author
I admire people who do a lot of decorating, Pamela. I’m guessing your tree is beautiful. I sort of have two trees, but not really. I have a 18 inch treee that gets stuffed in a garbage bag, decorations and all, in between Decembers. I put it up in Frankie and Marley’s room. 🙂 It has dog and cat decorations. Frankie hasn’t noticed the cat ones yet, thank goodness.