Which do you prefer?
I think our preference changes as we get older. When my kids were at home, nothing would do but a Real Tree. As the kids grew older the cost of presents grew as well, so we began to look for ways to save a few bucks. Fake trees were beginning to look more real and you could even buy pine scented spray. This became the norm for many years.
Soon, I got a case of the scrooges after my kids left home to build lives of their own. For some reason decorating the tree with just the company of my dogs Taylor and Rocky did not put me into the Christmas spirit.
The conversation would go something like this:
“Hey Taylor, what do you think about this ornament? Does the star look crooked?”
“Rocky, hand me the other end of the garland you have in your paw.”
As you might have guessed, this was a one way conversation. Soon, I convinced myself that decorating a Christmas tree was a human group activity. The animals were just for looks, like the ones in the Manger.
Some people may not like Christmas trees, or may be allergic to real ones or they are not able to afford fake ones. When it comes down to the wire Christmas is not about The Tree. In part Christmas is about being with people you love… or at least like. This was my lesson.
Soon, I got a case of the scrooges after my kids left home to build lives of their own. For some reason decorating the tree with just the company of my dogs Taylor and Rocky did not put me into the Christmas spirit.
The conversation would go something like this:
“Hey Taylor, what do you think about this ornament? Does the star look crooked?”
“Rocky, hand me the other end of the garland you have in your paw.”
As you might have guessed, this was a one way conversation. Soon, I convinced myself that decorating a Christmas tree was a human group activity. The animals were just for looks, like the ones in the Manger.
Some people may not like Christmas trees, or may be allergic to real ones or they are not able to afford fake ones. When it comes down to the wire Christmas is not about The Tree. In part Christmas is about being with people you love… or at least like. This was my lesson.
Write it down,
Carma
I enjoyed your article on Christmas Trees. When we first got married, I was so afraid of starting a Christmas tree fire that we bought a fake tree as soon as we could afford it. We kept that old fake tree for years. When the boys were little and Doug worked shift-work, it was our job to put together the tree and Doug's job to string the lights. The boys and I then hung all the Christmas ornaments.
ReplyDeleteNow that the boys are on their own, I didn't feel like putting together that big old tree (bought a new and bigger complicated one years ago) by myself and Doug was not interested at all.
So . . . we bought a little fake tree with fiber-optic lights that's really cute. We put that up but did not hang any ornaments. As much as I missed seeing the ornaments, I don't miss hanging them by myself nor putting them away by myself. That's a HUGE job and you're right, it's a People/Family kind of thing and the animals aren't really interested.
What's really cool is that our new kitten knocked over our little fiber-optic tree and no harm, no foul. I picked it back up and set it to rights.
Maybe when the Grandkids start arriving we might put up a tree for them but for right now I like the simplicity of keeping it simple!
Yes, Robin, I like keeping it simple too. I have a large fiber optic tree and simply love it. It gives the option of suing ornaments or not.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment