Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree… Those of us who have Christmas trees I think all have some rules (ok more like guidelines) as to how they should be decorated. When I was growing up, we usually had two Christmas trees, one with family ornaments- aka the kid’s tree. Then there was the formal tree. It was in the formal living room, usually flocked and always had one type of glass ball ornament in a kinda orangey red with gold accents. We weren’t supposed to go near the formal tree under threat of Santa notification.
For those times when Sue and I actually decorate (which is very rare) we have a very nice fake tree (not aluminum) that we cover with ornaments that have to meet one requirement- they must have a memory attached to them. Basically when we look at that ornament we can connect it with a happy thought. The majority of our ornaments are hand made (usually by Sue, but I have a few plasticine ones that have survived the years) there are some we’ve picked up along the way, including a few created by former students. The tree is usually a sight with a mishmash of everything from crystal to cross stitch, to who knows what. The great part is when we put it up we get to remember all the wonderful things that we have been fortunate enough to do. It’s a sad day when we take it down – mostly because Hemi (the bestest cat in the world) has gotten very used to hiding underneath the tree and will wander the house days later looking for his hiding spot.