SAXTON B. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
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DECEMBER 14, 2009
O' Christmas Tree

 

As a child the very first Christmas Tree I remember is one my father got at a nursery where he worked part-time. Being the cute kid that I was the owner (Joe Ravizzo) let me come and pick my very own balled tree. I loved that tree and it was planted in the yard of my childhood home in New Britain. This is probably where my love of live Christmas trees started. Not so my mom!
I think it was the next year (but hey, I was just a kid) when our pretty live tree was ready to come out of the stand and out the door, most of it (the needles) remained. That did it for my mom. Never a live tree would brighten our house again. From that year on we had a fake, or what is usually politely called an artificial tree. Big ones, small ones, green ones, silver, you name it, over the years we had it. Do you remember those white trees with the color wheels? The wheel would turn and a shining light would change the white tree to blue, to green, to red, etc. In my opinion they were all hideous! And I told my mother so. With hands on hips and all of my seven years I exclaimed “When I get my own house, I’m always going to have a real tree”. I may live to eat those words.
 
This year I snuck around stores looking at artificial trees. I was thinking something small, four to five feet with LED lights, easy to put up, and maybe store without even having to collapse it ot take the decorations off; instant tree. Try as I might the only decent looking ones to me were those that were at least 8 feet and hundreds of dollars. I did the math. Even at an average of $20 dollars, my live trees haven’t cost that amount. And I’d probably have had to buy more than one over the years. Granted, though, the “fake” trees have come along way. Still , the more I looked at them the more I dreamed of a real, live tree.
 
So Saturday afternoon found my husband and me out in the woods finding our perfect 39th Christmas tree. I decided I wanted a little tree. I say this each year. Last year we went to a place that all the trees, whether they were 4 ft, 6 ft or even 10 ft. were $35. I’m a woman who likes to get her money’s worth. Buy the 10 foot tree. It’s a bargain. Never mind that my ceiling’s only 8 feet high. We tried a new place this year. They had trees from $20 to $55. Yeah, right! Try and find one of those $20 ones. Never quite figured out their pricing rationale, but it must have had something to do with inches as they had prices in strange increments that ended in $.50, like $22.50 or $37.50. No tagging because the tagged trees were being taken by scrooges who couldn’t take the time to find their own nicely shaped tree. We found what we thought was the perfect tree way out in lot 11, high on a hill, that would have made a beautiful home sight. Getting there was quite a trek, up hill remember. Come to find out those trees were not for sale this year but the man assured us if we really wanted that one, we could have it. Guilt made me leave this beauty to grow a few more years. Down the hill we circled and finally found a 4 foot tree, small as trees go. A cup of hot chocolate, a shake of the tree and we were on our way.
 
But believe me the work to decorate it is still the same. Every box of Christmas decorations still needs to come out of hiding, commonly called storage. I still had to dig through all the boxes to find the lights and balls, even if I was using fewer of them. The tree still needs to be  watered each and every day, necessitating some interesting contortions on my part to get under the tree skirt and get the water in the stand. And the needles will still have to be vacuumed.
 
Still, when my mother comes on Christmas Day my house will smell of pine, the lights will sparkle and I can show off this year’s tree and remind her that only real trees are truly Christmas trees!
 
Oh, and those trees in the picture; just a few of the balled trees we've purchased, displayed and planted over the years...
 
Here's a few suggestions to keep you merry over the holidays...
 
The solstice evergreen : history, folklore, and origins of the Christmas tree  by Sheryl Karas

 
           
Holiday lights brilliant displays to inspire your Christmas celebration / by David Seidman.
 
 
Better homes and gardens Christmas ornaments to make : 101 sparkling holiday trims [editor, Carol Field Dahlstrom]
 
 
The Christmas tree / Julie Salamon ; illustrated by Jill Weber.
 
 
 
 

 


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Comments

Mercedes said, on Dec. 22 at 5:02PM
I loved your tale of trees! I grew up with a live tree and my husband and I have continued the tradition. And while we always look forward to the Great Christmas Tree Hunt, it can take its toll. After a few years of having to cajole my parents to get around to getting their tree (after I had moved out) they finally went the way of the artificial. And while its not the same, there are some pretty amazing looking artificial trees out there.

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