Christmas Tree Memories

We had the best of intentions to put up the Christmas tree on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Our tree is artificial these days since we acquired family members with allergies so set up isn’t really that difficult. The hardest part is fluffing the branches after folding them down and remembering which light strand to plug in to each section. So different from Christmas trees I remember as a child. First of all, back then, we had to shop for a live cut tree at the neighborhood Boy Scout tree lot. Then there was the adventure of getting the tree home either stuffed and hanging out of the trunk, or tied to roof of the car with twine that more closely resembled thread. Once home we always cut an inch or two off the bottom of the tree, so it would “take up” water. Then it sat in the garage for a day to absorb as much water as possible. Finally, we brought the tree inside and placed it in the stand that hopefully was level and kept the tree upright and not leaning. “Leaners” were a bad thing and had to be tied with more string to the window frame. Trees were always placed in front of a window so anyone driving by could enjoy their beauty. Decorating could cause fights when it came time to place the thin metal foil icicles on the branches. There were two thoughts on the application…the one-at-a-time slow methodical placement, and the hurry up method…grab a handful and throw! The memories make me smile and I can almost smell the fresh cut spruce.