Our Christmas Trees

December 1 - The Christmas Tree
Did you have a real tree or was it artificial?
How big was the tree? Who decorated the tree?

We always had a real tree until I was a teenager. I can remember going with my father to pick out a tree at Marble Farms, about a mile from where we lived. They had a large lot and we always picked a short needle tree. The trees are still sold from that lot beginning the day after Thanksgiving. (My mother tells me that we also got some of ours trees from a lot in Fairmont but I don't remember ever going there.)

We had a big, heavy stand and Dad would get it into the stand before bringing it inside. It was always placed at the center of the picture window in our tiny living room, the furniture being shoved to the sides and out of the way. Even though it was watered every day there were always needles all over the floor.

Mom would put the fragile, glass ornaments on the top half of the tree and we had plastic ornaments that we put on the lower half. The tree was not complete until it was covered with tinsel.

The tree never went up before December 17th so that my birthday could be celebrated separately from Christmas. It was always taken down before New Years and placed on top of the snowbank near the curb for pickup by the town.

Christmas 1965

I remember my grandparents aluminum tree with the spot light on the floor. I couldn't find a picture of it but it lives on in my memory. The pictures that I did find were all of regular trees that I don't recall.

John and I each had little artificial, not very pretty trees when we met and we continued to use one of them for several years. After we moved to a house with a very large living room we splurged and bought a beautiful tree that I loved. With this tree started the tradition of putting the tree up the day after Thanksgiving so that I can enjoy it for the entire season. Having several birthdays in December it no longer made sense to wait until after all of the birthdays are done. (We have one big birthday party a weekend or two before Christmas for all of the December birthdays.) Bean now has that tree so I still get to enjoy it.

Christmas 2001

This is my favorite Christmas tree picture. My sister-in-law had a 10' or 12' foot tree that was decorated with many ornaments that flashed or spun. Liz was just over a year old and fascinated by it.

John & Liz, Christmas 2003

These days I have a very small artificial tree that I've decorated by myself the last several years. If you're curious about my little tree or the reason that it has only blue lights, check out last year's post. It was fun to have help this year.

Mike & Alex decorating my tree 23 Nov 2007

An Advent Calendar count down
to Christmas!

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Destination: Austin Family
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