Tree For All

I don’t put Christmas lights outside my house. I don’t hang a wreath on the door. I don’t have bed linens with holly or couch throw pillows with Old St. Nick needlepointed on them.

What I do have is a tree. A real, giant tree. And I’m a little fanatical about it (filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, according to the dictionary—and my husband).

This year’s piney confection is an eight-footer (not including the extra couple inches the star on top adds). I’ve gone larger in the past, but I wanted it to fit in the living room this year, and eight feet is my ceiling limit. I’m also on a holiday budget this year, and the taller the tree, the more expensive it is. This little gem only cost me $20 at my local grocery store, a fact I’m very proud of. (Okay, yes, it looks like someone took a bite out of it at the top, but I filled the hole with lots of shiny ornaments, so from across the living room, you can hardly tell there’s no pine branches or needles in that general region.)

Since I’ve being seeing everyone else’s trees, and admiring them very much, I thought I would return the favor and show mine, along with a few of my favorite ornaments. Ready for the tour?

This is the tree without the flash…


This is the tree with the flash…

I have kind of a thing for the Wizard of Oz,and this ornament is a replica of the
balloon that takes Dorothy back to Kansas.

My mom made all sorts of sequin ornaments in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. She was a stay-at-home mom at that point, and she said making the ornaments helped her from going crazy. She’s not big into Christmas trees, so I’ve early inherited a lot of them. I like them not only because she made them, but because they sparkle a lot under the lights.

In the Christmas meme making the rounds, I answered that one of themes on my tree is stars and moons. I don’t have a “perfect” tree with all the same ornament and color-coordination, but when I see an ornament in the shape of a moon or star, I tend to pick it up.

This is one of my favorites. I have one sister and one brother and my sister and I found these ornaments when we were together and laughed hysterically like only sisters can. We each have a brother and a sister one and I still laugh each time I hang it up.

I also have my share of kid-made ornaments, including a gingerbread boy my brother made when he was in kindergarten—that’s a ’75 in the corner for the date. He doesn’t currently have a tree, so I’m hanging on to it for him and hanging it until he does. I also have a few from my niece through the years; she’s 15 now, 16 in February, so I think I’m probably done with the kid stuff for now.

This is a Hallmark ornament or something of the sort. You pull on his tassel and he makes a ribbit sound as he gets a big grin on his face.

I should probably also mention the lights. That dang Martha Stewart. I watched a show years and years ago where she demonstrated how she put lights on her tree; she wraps each individual branch with the strings so every inch is covered. I’ve been doing it that way ever since. I think my light string count is hovering near 20 this year and it took me four hours to do it. Just the lights. No ornaments included in that time period. (And you’d think I would burn carbs doing it that way, as it involves ladders and twisting and turning and kneeling and bending, but nope. Sugar stayed the same.)

I like looking at my tree. It’s pretty. Lora has pretty tree. Lora likes tree. Lora hopes you like tree, too.

As always, more to come…