Reader here, and I have a question.
When it comes to Christmas trees, do you like ’em all-natural, or are you partial to big, fake ones?
I’m lucky, in that I get the best of both worlds.
Since I’ve been living on my own, I’ve always lived in rental units, where real Christmas trees are not allowed, so fake trees it is. And the trees I’ve had are pretty nice!
The seven-footer I’ve had since moving into my last apartment, back in 2011, has served me well, and I continue to put it up every year, including this year, which is my first year in my basement suite.
Still looks darn good to me!
What really makes it, though, are the decorations, including the big Philadelphia Flyers logo that my niece Brynn made for me a few years ago. It ALWAYS goes front and centre! Beyond that, I have wooden decorations that my nieces hand-painted for me when they were little. I’ve got lots of Hallmark decorations, ranging from “Star Wars” and “Spider-Man,” to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” and “The Oregon Trail!”
And the top sprig is too light to hold an actual tree-topper, so the finishing touch is always a Santa hat!
And I always add a few “Scentsicles,” to give it that piney smell.
It’s tough to top the real thing, though.
And when I want to be around a real Christmas tree, natural scent and all, I get to enjoy that when I head home to the farm for Christmas, and this year is no exception!
There really is nothing like a real tree. I think of all the family trips we made over the years, to select our annual Christmas tree.
Me, Dad and my brothers would all be taking turns picking up trees to see how heavy they were (to judge fullness), we’d all do visual checks for height and how fat they looked, even when tied up in the net wrap. I’ve gotta say… I don’t think we’ve ever picked a dud!
Over the years, there’s been the odd misdaventure. When I was a kid, in the old farmhouse, our tree would not stand up, so Dad rigged up an old five-gallon pail, stood the tree inside, and braced it with rocks and sand. Then, he wrapped a length of twine around the tree, and attached each end to the window frame, to keep it upright. Simple, but effective!
Another year, when we were in the trailer, we were sitting around on Christmas morning, opening gifts, when suddenly, the tree simply toppled over! We didn’t have any dogs or cats in the house at the time to take down the tree, so it was simply sheer gravity to bring the tree down.
Whatever tree you have in your home, real or artificial, big or small, I hope you, your family and friends are able to gather around it and enjoy the season!
In that spirit, I leave you with the legendary Tony Bennett, and his rendition of a holiday classic. Enjoy!
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