Christmas Traditions for the 21st Century
November 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Christmas Gift Ideas
I love Christmas! Like many people, it is my favorite time of year. I start planning for it in July, usually in planning for my home-made Christmas cards and what changes I may make to my decorations.
When we first got married, my husband and I used to visit the Christmas tree farms the week after Thanksgiving in search of that perfect tree. On the way up the hill I would play this John Denver Christmas tape and sing along. My husband hated the album, mostly because of the song “Daddy, Please Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas,” but I played it anyway and it became part of the tradition. We would go from lot to lot looking for that elusive perfect tree: not too tall, perfectly round with no gaping holes without limbs, straight trunk, etc. Usually the day ended in the late afternoon with me getting tired, cold, cranky, and telling him to cut down the next darn tree he found.
Once we got the tree home, the process of getting it up and secured began. For many years the tree required wires connecting the tree to the wall to maintain stability and to make sure the cat didn’t knock it over. Try as we might to keep it watered, by January there were needles all over the carpet. One year we inadvertently became hosts for a huge family of bugs that came along for the ride. What a mess! Plus the post holiday cleanup seemed to get more and more laborious as the years progressed.
Finally, we got smart and purchased an artificial tree. I didn’t think I would be as happy with an artificial tree as I had been with a “real” tree. Much to my surprise, I loved it! The limbs are hinged and pre-lit. Set-up is a breeze and we can start decorating in no time. In January, there is no mess on the carpet to clean up after the tree is gone. Our home is not host to a bunch of creepy bugs.
Sometimes I miss the old tradition of our “annual Christmas tree fight” as it had become called. But we have replaced it with new traditions. When the tree is being set up, we play Christmas music, and I bake cookies with dough that I had prepared and frozen ahead of time in ready to bake portions. A kettle of hot spiced cider is on the stove and the house has wonderful smells of Christmas as we decorate the tree. My John Denver tape has long since disappeared but that is ok. We have a new tradition that doesn’t require it anymore.
In addition to our lovely tree, we purchased pre-lit garland for the fireplace mantle and a wreath for the front door that matches our tree. With a few pine scented fragrance diffusers place about the house, we have all of the good and none of the bad features of live Christmas trees.
I know that you will be able to establish new traditions to accompany the benefits of having an artificial tree. Merry Christmas!
Marlia Brightston loves to decorate for Christmas, especially since she purchased some artifical Christmas trees from classychristmastrees.com. Discount Christmas Trees work great for both her home and her classroom and give her much more time for other important things, like her children.
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