For the last five years we have gone to the same Christmas Tree Farm in Boonsboro, MD. Two years ago it snowed and last year was also really cold, this year it was a "warm" 54 degrees!!
It took a lot longer this year to find the perfect tree. The kids started to complain that it was, "taking too long." I felt bad but couldn't find a tree that I really liked. We ended up getting a different tree then we normally get - a Concolor Fir. It is perfect for the lighter ornaments because the needles are supersoft and the branches are not very strong.
As we cut down the tree and carried it home, Cora said, "The tree smells like an orange." I thought she was crazy, but after looking the tree up on the internet, sure enough it does!!!
The kids were happy with the tree and even happier to be going home. The hour of walking around was getting to them - I didn't bring any snacks... live and learn.
Now to put the tree up in the house. 
After Dave and I adjusted the tree to the perfect tightness and made sure it was level in the stand we allowed Cora to cut the binding string and watch it open up.
Once it was fully open, we were standing there admiring it's beauty when it started to fall over. "Oh no!!!" was our response as we caught it, readjusted the base, and attempted to make sure it was safe. A few turns of the tree, lots of twists to the tree stand, and it finally seemed ok.
I started to put the lights on the tree, this year we were adding one huge strand of colored lights to the many strands of white lights. Our tree has been slowly transforming from an adult tree to a family tree...
Because the tree needles were so soft and the tree smelled so good I didn't mind putting the lights on the tree and the chore was finished in no time at all.
Once again, I was standing back admiring my work - the family was looking to see which ornaments we would put on first ... when.... all .... of... a ... sudden... the ... tree... falls ... over....AGAIN!!
This time - we are both getting frustrated, it took forever to find the tree, we pick a new type of tree, and the darn thing keeps falling over... what is wrong?!?! This has never happened before!!! Apparently, this type of tree is considered to be "very soft." So we laid the tree down, sawed off a couple of inches and started over (notice the lights on the tree in the picture below?).
We decided not to decorate the tree for a few days to be sure that the tree will stand up. We didn't want to risk it falling over with the ornaments on it. The kids wanted to help clean up the mess and were very supportive of the decision not to decorate until we were sure it was safe!!
Finally it is time to decorate. Unfortunately, when I was putting the angel on top, it shorted out (along with a few strands of lights) so we are without a tree topper for now... One will be picked out at a later date.
Decorating the tree was a lot of fun. I actually let them put the ornaments where ever they wanted (and adjusted after they went to bed. . .remember from last year... we don't need five ornaments on the same branch :-). 
We played Christmas music and decorated, it was fun even after all the stress of the tree falling down. We were all glad we waited a few days until we were sure the tree wouldn't fall over again.
The finished product has almost all different ornaments from years past, shatterproof and unbreakable for the most part. IT IS a family tree - with homemade ornaments and lots of love! This year may not have been a picture perfect process, but it made for a fun story!!!
(Now that it is over it is funny, however, I am still expecting to come home from work one day and find the tree laying on the floor...)
Looking forward to sitting next to the tree each evening, staring at the new decorations, and letting the Christmas Spirit flow through the house.
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1 comments:
I hope it does not fall over! Like the pictures, reminds me of us growing up!