Christmas Tree Memories

Christmas Trees have always played a big part in my Christmas celebration.

As a child, we had a live tree that we covered with strings of popcorn and cranberries, paper chains, miniature candy canes, ornaments made at school throughout the years, and clumps of tinsel (because what kid has enough patience to put tinsel on one strand at a time).

My first year at college we didn't have much money, but we bought a cute little tree, or what we thought was cute. We didn't have a tree stand and the slats that were hammered into the bottom of the 4" trunk didn't do much to support it, so we tied a string to the top and thumb tacked the string into the ceiling to keep the tree upright. I have no idea what we decorated it with, but that string was a life saver.

A few years later I had a job and a bigger tree was in the budget. We spent an evening decorating it with lights, glass balls, and a few ornaments we had collected. We also had a kitten that year that was very curious. So we made sure that each day when we left for work the sliding door from the hall to the front room was closed and the kitten was in the back. One day we came home to the tree lying in the middle of the front room. The kitten had managed to open the sliding door enough to squeeze through it and then proceeded to climb the tree, which caused it to topple. We gathered up the frightened kitten, picked up the broken balls, and put the tree back together.

Now we have five trees - four of which are undecorated and redecorated each year. I LOVE decorating the trees. It's a creative experience as I strategically place all sizes and shapes of decorations as well as a trip down memory lane as I think back on where the ornaments came from (some we've had for 20 plus years). I am amazed at the process my tree decorating has taken over the years, even over the past 10 years or so. What used to be a fun tree has turned into a creative project. Where before ornaments were carefully placed to find "balance" and had to be hung just so now are randomly placed to create balance and are hung to fill space rather than to hang perfectly.

I also have many memories tied to the trees we decorated for the Thomas family and the joy that experience brought each of us. What started as a simple favor grew to a multi-hour time of decorating that combined singing to carols that played in the background, laughing over stories from the past, words of approval when the decorating was finished, and pizza to wrap up the time together. And while this tradition has ended, the memories live on forever.

I'd have to say that Christmas trees play an integral part in my Christmas experience. Does that mean it wouldn't be Christmas without a tree? No, because Christmas is about what is inside me. But Christmas trees will always be a part of my memories - the good, the bad, and the unforgettable.