Less than five minutes after I started, my Christmas tree was up and lighted. Three pieces, three plugs, and a few branches to fold down and it was done. The weather outside wasn't frightful, no roaring fire to be delightful, and surely, there were places I could go - before just letting it snow! That was it - there was snow in the forecast. Snow at this time of year means the Christmas is right around the corner. But after glancing at the calendar, I saw it was only Nov 20; and Thanksgiving was next in line with only six days away. No, we don't want any snow on the roads then - too many travel that weekend.
Nope the snow's not here yet - though it was a little cooler today - in the mid 40's. Last week they were calling for 6-8 inches for over night on Saturday into Sunday - but because of the wind and the front - it's going to go north - northeast of us - and some of the skiing venues will get some snow to pack down for their season. I live near Lake Erie - and when the lake is not frozen over, we get the lake-effect snows and sometimes that can mean 10-12 inches in a matter of a few hours. So we have missed this snow machine - well, at least I have!
Anyway, when I had a big yard sale in 2013, I sold three Christmas trees for @$10 each. What was I thinking? One of them was over seven feet tall and was loaded with white lights. It was heavy, but beautiful. My plan was to sell the house and move into a condo - one just the right size for a table top tree. Well - Christmas came, and I had to let Wal-mart rescue me. I went out and brought home a six foot tree with colored lights. It appeared small in my great room with the vaulted ceiling. As it was, I didn't move until the next spring. And this time, I took the tree with me.
But when I was younger, it was a tradition to bundle up with hats, gloves and boots, and drive out to the local tree farm. With a bow saw in Dad's hand, we would race through the trees - studying each one: too tall, too short, not enough branches, too wide, until we could all agree on just the right one. One year, my dad cut the trunk about six feet up - just to get the best part of the tree - that is, the part that would fit in the house. Mom wasn't into cutting holes in the ceiling just for a seasonal Christmas tree. Dad would let us take turns at the saw, but as a child, I just wasn't strong enough to spend much time helping. When it was down we all grabbed part of the trunk - I probably held up the top, and carried it out to the car. Dad would pay the owner and then we would tie it to the top of the station wagon, and pray it was still on there when we got home. Sometimes, Mom would stay behind, and have some hot cocoa waiting for us to warm our hands on the mugs.
I think the tree had to stay outside for a day, perhaps. I remember as an adult holding up the tree and bouncing it on the ground for all of the loose needles to fall out, and maybe snow, if indeed there was some that year.
But Dad never bought a tree before Thanksgiving. It was always on the weekend (or Sunday) before Christmas. I heard him tell the story of a time when he went out to buy a tree on Christmas Eve, and then went back the day after Christmas to pay for it.
It was also a family tradition to decorate the tree together - and reminisce about particular ornaments that were made by us kids through the years, or ones that a relative would give us. Some years we would put strings of popcorn around the tree. I think we tried cranberries one time, but only remember them falling apart as soon as the needle passed through it. And the top of the tree would be an angel or a homemade star made out of cardboard and some aluminum foil.
Every year we set the tree on a train board. My brother would add tracks that would take the train under some of the living room chairs too. We would take turns setting up all of the accessories - miniatures villages, people, etc. Almost every year, the train would successfully go around the tree, until we added a cat to our family. Shadow would sit and swat at the train. I'm sure he tried to pounce on it once or twice. Sometimes my brother would tease the cat - making the train go forward and backward - waiting to see the cat's reaction. Thankfully, our dog, Duffy, wasn't bothered by the train.
And so - these are some stories from my childhood - decking the halls. So blessed to have them in my head (and now in this blog).
More years of Christmas traditions with my own kids yet to come ... until then.
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