For all of our married life, Cynthia and I have not been big holiday decorators. This comes, I am sure, as somewhat of a disappointment to my mother who literally “decks the halls” for all holidays.
Well this year is different, we bought a tree more than a ten days before Christmas! Last year we got off the hook because my sister (the one who inherited my mother’s holiday decorating gene) was living with us. Our house was decorated with not one, but rather two trees. I suspect that there will never be another such display of holiday cheer in the Winward home without Winnie.
Maybe it was the 2 plus inches of snow that fell yesterday morning that made us take the plunge weeks prior to our usual tree purchase timeline. Whatever the reason we now have a very full (some would say ‘bushy’) tree in our living room. Having made the purchase this early enabled us to buy a nice tree rather than buying the best of the leftovers that everyone else didn’t want to take home.
True to form though, it is not yet decorated. We will save that for tomorrow night’s Family Home Evening activity.
Primary among the reasons for always postponing the tree purchase was the baby/toddler in the house that would invariably tip over the tree. With the kids ages 9, 6, and 3 this excuse no longer holds water (we hope).
Another reason for postponing the purchase was the drying up of the tree within a short period of time. After all we do live in a desert and no matter how often you fill the reservoir it always seems to be dry. Plus vacuuming the needles every day isn’t much fun. Although there is one benefit—tree scented vacuuming for several months until the vacuum bag gets full.
As in other years past, we are planning an after-Christmas road trip to California to unthaw and pick abuelita’s lemon tree bare for lemonade throughout the winter months. Why you may ask would we leave Christmas behind and head to California? To enjoy Christmas the way we Californians understand it—enjoying the 70 degree weather that allows you to get a bike for Christmas and take it outside and ride it. We will sip lemonade on the patio, drive around with the windows down, wear shorts and t-shirts, and soak in the sun that when we return will disappear for days on end under an inversion layer thicker than any L.A. smog.
So without further ado—here is the tree we purchased weeks before our normal decorating schedule. If it is dried out by Christmas so be it because on the 26th it will hit the curb as we hightail it out of the cold.
I will post some more pictures tomorrow after the kids are done decorating the tree. Merry Christmas to all of you!
Well this year is different, we bought a tree more than a ten days before Christmas! Last year we got off the hook because my sister (the one who inherited my mother’s holiday decorating gene) was living with us. Our house was decorated with not one, but rather two trees. I suspect that there will never be another such display of holiday cheer in the Winward home without Winnie.
Maybe it was the 2 plus inches of snow that fell yesterday morning that made us take the plunge weeks prior to our usual tree purchase timeline. Whatever the reason we now have a very full (some would say ‘bushy’) tree in our living room. Having made the purchase this early enabled us to buy a nice tree rather than buying the best of the leftovers that everyone else didn’t want to take home.
True to form though, it is not yet decorated. We will save that for tomorrow night’s Family Home Evening activity.
Primary among the reasons for always postponing the tree purchase was the baby/toddler in the house that would invariably tip over the tree. With the kids ages 9, 6, and 3 this excuse no longer holds water (we hope).
Another reason for postponing the purchase was the drying up of the tree within a short period of time. After all we do live in a desert and no matter how often you fill the reservoir it always seems to be dry. Plus vacuuming the needles every day isn’t much fun. Although there is one benefit—tree scented vacuuming for several months until the vacuum bag gets full.
As in other years past, we are planning an after-Christmas road trip to California to unthaw and pick abuelita’s lemon tree bare for lemonade throughout the winter months. Why you may ask would we leave Christmas behind and head to California? To enjoy Christmas the way we Californians understand it—enjoying the 70 degree weather that allows you to get a bike for Christmas and take it outside and ride it. We will sip lemonade on the patio, drive around with the windows down, wear shorts and t-shirts, and soak in the sun that when we return will disappear for days on end under an inversion layer thicker than any L.A. smog.
So without further ado—here is the tree we purchased weeks before our normal decorating schedule. If it is dried out by Christmas so be it because on the 26th it will hit the curb as we hightail it out of the cold.
I will post some more pictures tomorrow after the kids are done decorating the tree. Merry Christmas to all of you!
Here it is in all its glory. The majority of the decorations are hanging from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet up the tree and they are not evenly spaced. That is the beauty of letting the kids decorate. They really did enjoy themselves. This is not a tree that would sell for thousands at the Festival of Trees, but the fun they had was priceless.
5 comments:
We haven't got our tree yet. Hopefully we can go get one tomorrow. I am a watered-down version of mom and winnie. I love the decorations but since I have a lazy gene, I don't get to it right away. Last year Mom decorated our house because of Thomas' birth. She put up the village and decorated the tree. It was fantastic. She even made cookies, chocolate-covered pretzels, and chocolate cherries. It made me think that perhaps having a Christmas baby wasn't so bad after all.
Paul, you're correct. I think that's the most beautiful tree you have purchased, yet! I love it. It is super boooshy (as abuelita says) and very fat and round.
Merry Christmas to you, too!
Love,
Patty
Oh, and have fun sipping lemonade in that 70 degree weather while my poor behind freezes here in Jewtah.
Wow, what a beautiful tree! In our home it seems to run through cycles. This is maybe the third year consecutive we have had an artificial tree. Now, years ago, after being sick of artificial trees, I banned them from my house. Nothing smells like Christmas more than a beautiful fir tree in our house.
Somehow the banned has been ignored. I think in part to their ridiculous cost, and the fact that someone donated a very expensive artificial tree to Tina. She's too practical to pass up a free tree. So she is wearing it out soon I hope.
Paul, cannot wait for you and the kids to come and enjoy a California Christmas tomorrow! It is indeed 70 degrees (and warmer) so come one, come all!
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