The Christmas tree is up and decorated...finally!

   With Christmas music playing in the background on the IPOD and the chorus of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” coming from the wireless speakers, the final ornament is placed on the tree. The last ornament is the pickle, hung in a place that requires a bit of searching, hidden among the other brightly colored ornaments.

   When the kids were young, they would race down the stairs on Christmas morning and the first to find it would be the first to open a present, It provided a bit a 'law and order' to the early morning Christmas frenzy.

   These days, the search for the pickle usually happens, not on Christmas morning, but at the end of the season when it is time for the tree to be put away for another year, because I sometimes forget where I hung  it. But that may be good thing. Being the last in the box means it usually ends up on top of the other ornaments, ready for next year.

   Before I go on any further, I need to confess  the tree in our home is no longer a freshly cut fir or spruce, but one of the 'artificial' type, and while I actually considered going 'natural' this year, I decided to stick with the artificial one. At least I won't be spilling water on the floor as I try to fill the tree stand with water and... it is an attractive tree, despite being made of some mysterious man-made materials.

   It takes several days to prepare the house for Christmas. Over the years the collection of decorations has grown and there are now at least five to six large plastic containers filled with ornaments and decorations of every type, stored safely in the garage. (Plastic containers tend to keep the squirrels out!) Not all are hung on the Christmas tree, of course, but it takes a day or two to get organized and ...what's the rush? I have plenty of time. It's how many days until Christmas?

   Why the large number of decorations? There was a time it was not uncommon to have four or five fully decorated trees, freshly cut, each in a different room, and each tree with a different theme. These days the number is down to just two, in part because the house is smaller, not as many rooms.

   But having four or five trees required lots of ornaments and over the years more and more ornaments were added and unless one broke or the dog got hold of it, it was just too difficult to throw any of them away. There were, and still are, many ornaments with family memories of Christmas's past and now, each year, these are the ones that get placed on the tree.

   There are a few ornaments of Christmas before kids, when money was pretty scarce. There are still many with the kids' names and dates written on the back and some with pictures from grade school projects when Christmas could still be spoken about in school.

   The homemade ornaments are the most memorable but many, after 30+ years, are to worn, tattered or frayed to be hung on the tree. But I am just not able to throw them away. So... they remain in the plastic container, year after year, carefully wrapped in paper in hopes that someday some grandchild or great grandchild may find them and wonder...wonder what Christmas was like back in the 'old days'.

   There are ornaments purchase from different gift shops while on vacations and we can not forget the ones bought at the local antique auctions. Some of those are really old and I am sure carry their own set of family memories too.

   It now takes me about two days to finish decorating the trees, in part because I don't move quite as fast as I used to and I need to give my hands a chance to heal after being scratched and stuck by the the plastic pine needles. But with the hanging of the pickle and a flip of the switch, the Christmas season is officially underway at our house and if I may say so myself, I did another magnificent job this year, even if it is an artificial tree. Maybe next year I''ll opt for a real one. I do miss the smell of freshly cut pine.
   So, to my readers, family and friends, from our home to yours, Donna, Lucky, and I wish  you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Note: Just a quick add-on. I know there is a great debate this year as to whether it is a 'Holiday Tree' or a 'Christmas Tree'. For me, the tree at Rockefeller Center will always be a Christmas Tree as well as the trees in my home. If someone wants to have a holiday tree, that is their choice. After all, it is a free country and it is what makes our country unique. But sometimes traditions need to remain just that, traditions. Come on folks!