Ho, ho, ho! It’s Holidad!
Dec 10th 2009
Karen HawkinsGoddess Classics & Karen Hawkins
My dad is a careful man. He is careful with his responsibilities, the feelings of those he loves, and money.
We didn’t have much money when I was young. One year he bought the cheapest six foot plastic Christmas tree he could find. It not only didn’t look like a real tree, it didn’t even look like a real plastic tree. It looked more like a child’s school project of starched green tinsel glued at odd angles from a large pipe cleaner. But it was OUR tree and we loved it.
As the years passed, we took that same tree in its huge brown box out of the attic and assembled it in the living room.
When I turned eight, one of the bottom branches snapped at the base as we were assembling it. A year later, two more went. And then another. My dad decided it was better to leave the bottom row off to make room for the presents.
By the time I was eleven, the branches on the next level of the tree had begun to break. But as I’ve said, my dad is a careful man. When duct tape didn’t prove up to the job, he used fishing line. Over the next ten years as more and more branches broke, my dad meticulously tied them to the ones above. And when those broke, he tied them to the branches above that.
He took hours to do this. Hours, but no money. He was happy. We had a tree, so we were happy.
The tree stayed in our house for thirty years and when we eventually retired it, it was beyond fragile. We used to kid that when the heat kicked on, the tree would sway in the breeze.
It was old, broken, ugly . . . and loved. Oh, how we loved that tree. But most of all, we loved my dad for taking the time to string our broken tree into place, year after year.
Do you have any broken but beloved holiday items or memories? Stories about turkeys that were overcooked, favorite ornaments that have been glued together, or tree topper stars that have been bread-twisty-tied in place? What broken holiday memories are golden in your house?
53 Comments »
53 Responses to “Ho, ho, ho! It’s Holidad!”
B on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:01 am #
It’s kinda sad, but I don’t have any!!!!
Trini on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:08 am #
Karen, your topic remembered me a similar story in my life… When I married, 18 years ago, my husband and me bought a little plastic Christmas tree for our little apartment. My husband made a tree topper star with his own hands, he used card, felt-tip pens and purpurin. 18 years later we still put this wonderful star in our Christmas tree… The “poor” star is very “waste” now but we love it. We care it like a treasure and I hope to use it during many many years more….
Pesky on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:27 am #
My Dad, Uncle and their two cousin’s used to drive all over to see who could get the cheapest/best looking Christmas Tree every year. This inevitably resulted in some of the oddest trees. Trees that came out to greet you they were so round and squat. Patchwork Trees where Dad would cut the branches off from the bottom of the tree, bore a hole in the trunk and stick it there to fill in the empty spot. Trees that should have been in the out-of-doors they were so big. Trees with a whang in the middle that meant hours of “Mary! Is it straight yet?” “Jesus, Mary and Joseph Fred, how can I be tellin if it’s straight? The good lord himself would consider it a Christmas miracle if this tree ever saw a straight day in it’s life. The poor wee thing must have been growing up under another tree.” Every tree unique, every tree loved, every tree beautiful. And after it was all tinseled and lit, my sister, brother and I would get hot chocolate and lay under the tree and look up through the branches and tell each other how perfect the lights were and what ornament we loved the best.
MizMacgyver on 10 Dec 2009 at 4:53 am #
We had a tree that we lost one of the branches, don’t ask me how or where because it was just gone one year so it went together without it. Every year after the branch went missing it was a contest to fill the hole with something pretty. We have had teddy bears, fake presents, lots of tinsel to fill in that gap, the last year the tree was used my cat fixed the problem for us. Yeah, you guessed it, she climbed the tree and layed on the branch under the bare spot, She thought we put it there just for her.
Erica Ridley on 10 Dec 2009 at 5:21 am #
Ohhh, what a great story!
My family is so spread out (both geographically and generationally) that for as long as I can remember, we “had Christmas” on whatever weekend we could all get together. December 14? Sure. January 8? Why not. I never thought much of it–that’s just how things were in our family. Later in life, friends would tell me, “Ohhh, how sad, you didn’t get to celebrate Christmas on Christmas” and I remember being totally shocked by that sentiment. For me, Christmas was whenever it happened to be, and made special because it was the one miraculous time of the year when my entire family was under one roof to sing carols around the piano and eat copious amounts of pie… no matter what the calendar might say.
Bronte on 10 Dec 2009 at 5:36 am #
Your story really struck a chord with me karen, because after 25 years my family christmas tree finally broke. We have had that tree since I was three years old and I got it out on the first of december and the stand cracked right through the middle. The branches were still in good nick. It was like the end of an era. We also have the tradition of having two “christmases”. On the 25th of decemeber we have a traditional christmas complete with way too much food, traditional turkey and all the trimmings. On January the 26th which is Australia Day we have our Aussie christmas which is a barbie with absolutely no fuss. Its great to have both ends of the spectrum.
Kathy on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:04 am #
my roommates and I used to have themed Christmas trees in our 20s. once we had a safe tree and had packets of condoms scattered among the ornaments.
A funny memory I have is the year my sister had a box of chocolates in her hand and instead of walking around the room offering each family member one to chose, she started belting them at each person. She was in her 30s.
Once at the same sister’s home, I had bagged up my presents to take home in a plastic blue recycling bag. I left the bag by the tree. Her dog Bear, who was new to the family and a rescue, decided the gifts were his. and he peed on them. When i was ready to go home, the bag was oh so smelly and wet.
We call Bear the pee dog and have to baracade the presents under the tree from his territorial emissions.
LoriHandeland on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:11 am #
Throughout my childhood we had this angel for the top of the tree. It started out as a top of the line, brand new, first of its kind angel with lights around her skirt. I loved that angel.
As years past she started to look old, not just because there were a lot of newer, top of the line, first of its kind angels. Her doll face became an old doll face and her curled hair started to uncurl and appear fluffy and her skirt got a little torn and yellowed.
Still loved that angel.
When I got married my mom gave her to me. She still sits on the top of our tree and always will I hope.
Kathy on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:21 am #
oh Lori! your angel story reminded me of the smoke detector angel my dad got one year.
it caught on fire.
the next year it went back onto the tree, blackened bits and all. just not lit.
Karen Rose on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:58 am #
The angel that sits on top of our tree is the one DH and I bought on our honeymoon, at a Christmas store in Virginia Beach, 23 1/2 years ago. She’s looking a little ragged and my youngest keeps wanting to know why we keep her. She’s the first thing we bought as a married couple. Next year she’ll probably need a little superglue to keep her upright – the angel, not my daughter – but we’ll keep her. (Maybe my youngest daughter too.)
SuzyQ on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:28 am #
I have an ornament that used to be my mom’s and it was my grandmother’s favorite ornament. My mom gave it to me when I had my first tree. It is a little elf hugging his knees to his chest. His felt clothes are worn and faded and the gold tinsel around his pointed hat has been glued back on so many times at this point that it really just needs to be replaced. He is over 50 years old and every time he gets hung on the tree I think of my grandmother. Yesterday was her birthday – she would have been 107 – and I had my son hang it on the tree last night. Happy Birthday Grandma!
Michelle B on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:41 am #
We were stationed in the Philippines early in DH’s career. I went to my first Bazaar of which there were many and all so fun. Your dollar went very far in those days. Two of my purchases were a 20″ tall Santa and an angel tree topper. Both were so unique, made out of paper that was made thick and stiff, then painted. The angel’s gown is painted pink, she’s very pretty, but being made out of paper is somewhat fragile. Military moves being often and not always getting the best of packers, this poor angel has been fixed many times. She’s still beautiful and holds some interesting Philippine memories for us. (Mt. Pinatubo errupting, evacuation) We’ve thought of replacing her, but she’s one of kind.
kay on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:44 am #
When my brother and I left home, my parents quit putting up trees, however, they would put up this really ugly cardboard fireplace. Over the years that fireplace became pretty beat up, but it became a traditional thing that all of the grandchildren expected. When my parents died, my niece inherited the fireplace, which she still puts up. That is the same niece that left the milk out of the mashed potatoes one Christmas and became a family story.
nancyg on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:47 am #
We’ve had the same artificial tree since we first got married, so we’re on about year 15. The box finally gave out about 4 years ago, so now it’s stored in 2 huge plastic tubs in the attic. However, about 2-3 years ago, we lost 2 of the 3 screws that secure the tree to the base. I always forget to make a trip to Home Depot to pick up more until it’s too late, so the tree lists to one side. Last year, the dog walked by a couple of times wagging his tail, tipping the tree over & breaking a couple of cheap glass ornaments.
The best thing about our tree? After *I* assemble it & string on the lights, we hang the ornaments, drink hot chocolate, and listen to “The Rat Pack Christmas”. I have all the ornaments the girls made in elementary school carefully stored, the glitter-soaked paper plate cut-outs have been laminated & preserved. Every year, the girls get a new different ornament. They each have their own “box” so when they move out & start their own families, they’ll have a starter kit of ornaments from when they were younger
We buy an ornament from places we’ve been to, so it’s a trip down memory lane every year. “Remember when we went to Disney, Graceland, etc.”
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:47 am #
B, maybe you will one day!
Trini, awww. That is so sweet. Funny how the simple things really do become the treasured things as the years pass.
Pesky, what a LOVELY story. I have a friend who has to have everything PERFECT at Christmas. I always tell her she’s missing out on all of the real fun. And she is!
I wish I’d thought to lay under my tree. I can just imagine you guys with your little feet sticking out from under the tree.
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:53 am #
MizMacG, what a lovely way to make a booboo into a memory! Btw, that’s a smart cat. Very Cheshire of him to lay in the right place! My cat regards our tree with disdain. The dog, however, thinks it’s up for him. He always lays so he can look at it and sometimes I see his tail wagging when no one is around.
Erica, amen. It sounds like your family has a great grasp on what’s important, which is family! When are you guys having your Christmas this year? Btw, I love what you said about ‘eating copious amounts of pie.’ That’s my idea of the holiday spirit!
Bronte, I’m sorry to hear about your tree. Every year I think I’m going to get rid of the one I have and every year, I pack it away and keep it ‘one more year.’ Maybe I have a little of my dad in me?
Btw, I want an Aussie Christmas! That sounds like the perfect foil for the traditional sort.
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:59 am #
Kathy! Bear the pee dog sounds like a hoot! You guys must laugh a lot at your family gatherings — it sounds as if you are all a bunch of wags. From the belted across the room chocolate to the fire detector angel — BWHAHAHAHA! I swear, but there’s nothing better than a family that can belly laugh together!
Lori, what a precious memory for the family! It’s so sweet of your mom to pass on her traditions to you all. I collect Christmas ornaments, but I lost a box during a move that had my oldest ones in it. My daughter still laments it as do I. There were some precious memories in that box.
Karen Rose, what a GREAT first purchase together! And there’s nothing wrong with a little glue now and then. It just shows your determination to make things last.
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:09 am #
SuzyQ, what a precious memory for you and now your son! That’s just lovely. One day, he’ll hang that ornament on his own tree and remember doing it with you all of those years ago. i love that!
Btw, I think we have the exact same ornament. My grandmother gave it to me when she stopped putting up her tree. It has a little plastic head with a pointy nose and ears, a felt body/clothes and hat, and its arms are wrapped around its knees. The hands are flesh colored felt.
I haven’t put mine up yet, so I don’t know the shirt/legging colors right off hand but I want to say it has a green shirt and red leggings. Is that right?
Michelle B, what an exotic and unique Christmas memory! I’d love to see your angel. It’s amazing the craftsmanship that goes into some of the paper art ornaments that are out there.
One day, you need to share with us your ‘and then the mountain erupted’ story!
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:19 am #
Kay, your niece sounds like the keeper of the Christmas traditions — is she still allowed to make mashed potatoes? I’ve seen a few of those cardboard fireplaces, though not for years. It’s so cool that your family tradition is continuing, too! What a different and fun Christmas artifact!
nancyg, sounds like your listing tree is pretty darn perfect! And what a delightful tradition for your kids, to have their own ornament box already labeled as theirs. I’ve lost some of my old ornaments, mainly the ones the kids would have enjoyed having from their childhood. It’s sad they’re gone, so we’re making a concerted effort to replace them by buying some for every family vacation we go on. Those are really precious items!
Btw, I need to get the Rat Pack Christmas. I loooove the Rat Pack!
TrishD on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:21 am #
My dad has a special, beat up old box that he pulls out every Christmas. It holds the glass ornaments from his childhood. After the tree was decorated he would put his ornaments in their assigned place, the branches just under the angel. My 7 year old daughter now decorates their tree for them but dad’s ornaments always end up at the top of the tree, under the angel. Thankfully this isn’t a “broken” story as all his ornaments are still in one piece.
Growing up my favorite ornament was a little plastic deer covered in white velvet with gold sprinkles. Every year I’d put it on the tree and every year the velvet and sprinkles would rub off a little more. The last time I saw it most of the velvet was gone and it was now just a plastic deer. I didn’t find it this year, I’m going to have to do some searching this weekend for it.
SheridanLA on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:25 am #
oh man, we have lots..
The War between mom and Birdzilla, the Turkey That Would Not Cook. My brother and I each were awarded the Look of Doom when we suggested pizza.
The Tree being so overloaded that one year it (as mom put it) Exploded out of the wall.. you see, she had secured it upright with wired bolted into the wall. The tree – and gravity – won.
Dad not listening to me and left the turkey on the edge of the counter while he finished setting the table… we had two very happy turkey fed German Shepherds that year.
Then there was the BirdCall ornament. Some genius invented some ornament you plug in and it makes bird calls…or rather the call of ONE bird. Over and over. Why? No idea. Why did we have *2* of them? Really no idea. So my brother and I hid it every year and plugged it in at strategic times to drive the ‘rents bonkers. We maintained that they bought it, they should suffer as well.
Pesky on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:39 am #
ROFLMAO Sheridan, Birdzilla! Love it!
SuzyQ on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:22 am #
Karen, sounds like the same ornament only mine is all blue. I think they were very popular back in the 50’s.
Kat on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:28 am #
My mother still tells the story of our Barbie Pink Christmas tree — she was attempting to self-flock a tree in a red color and forgot to add extra coloring since flocking is white. I was about 4 or 5 years old and all the presents were mine anyway — mostly Barbie, so she says the tree was for me too. Of course that was the year she got me out of bed at 5 am and sleepy faced I asked her ‘why she bought me everything?’ and tried to go back to bed. . .
Ah, fond memories.
nancyg on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:50 am #
Mr. G’s family has a tradition going back now about 20-30 years. One year, Mr. G’s grandmother had this black feathered hat that was gifted to her. As a joke, she gave it to his mother as a “white elephant” present. Every year since then, another member of the family has received the hat as a present. It’s their job to keep it for a year, change boxes, bags, etc. and re-gift it to another member of the family. There’s always a level of surprise on who’s going to get it. and yes, we do tend to pick on new family members
There’s a scrapbook with the each year’s recipient’s picture in the hat. It’s fun to look at people from decades ago, some of them no longer with us, wearing the crazy feathered hat!
Julia London on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:51 am #
Have you ever seen a devil’s claw weed? It may only be in the southwest, but when the flowers fall off, the stem gets hard and looks like a claw. We had one that we painted and glittered and made into an ornament when we were little kids. It began to deteriorate after a few years, but we hung it on the tree until it had turned into dust. Really sort of disgusting after a few years, but it was our special, dirt-poor ranch kids ornament
TrishD on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:58 am #
Nancyg… I love that tradition!!
Janae on 10 Dec 2009 at 11:29 am #
Michelle B – my brother was stationed at Clark when Pinatubo erupted and evacuated, too. He has some interesting stories from those days.
KarenH – When I was 5 my mom decided that we should act out the Christmas story on Christmas Eve. No one ever really wanted to be Mary. We’d fight over who was going to be the angel, shepherds, and ‘wisewomen.’ Both my younger brother and sister made appearances as Baby Jesus. Then, there was the year that it was taped. It was the best year to be taped because my sister, T, was Mary that year with my youngest uncle (just 8 years older than me) as Joseph. My grandpa was the narrator. Things seemed to be going along smoothly until the part where it says that Mary was heavy with child. That’s when T let her cabbage patch doll drop from underneath her costume/nightgown. Everyone started laughing, but tried not to since it’s on camera – didn’t work. My uncle laughed so hard that he fell down. When you watch the movie, you see the camera shake. We did the rest of the story snickering. We talk about it every Christmas, and T still blushes after 25 years.
Claudia Dain on 10 Dec 2009 at 12:22 pm #
The only “broken” Christmas memory I have was the time I was trying to rearrange the glass ornaments (they were all glass back then) onto a higher branch by standing on the arm of the sofa. The words, “Be careful you don’t knock the tree over” had just left my mom’s mouth when, you guessed it, I knocked the tree over. Onto the linoleum floor. All the ornaments on the ‘down’ side of the tree shattered. I took one look at the toppled tree…and ran like fury into my bedroom, certain I was going to get the spanking to end all spankings.
I didn’t.
But did my mom save those broken ornaments? Heck, no.
Madeline Hunter on 10 Dec 2009 at 12:23 pm #
Ah, trees.
We had live ones when I was growing up. Cheap live ones, because we also had little extra money. So every year there was the evening my father would try to get the lopsided bargain tree to stand straight when it was crooked to the core. One year my mother actually tied on branches to fill a glaring gap in the tree. Since we put tons of stuff on it, no one knew.
I grew up assuming that evergreen trees just grew that way, all lopsided and crooked. And, when I was first married and we went out to buy a tree, I was stunned at the cost of one that wasn’t! A few years later money was tight and I did it my parents’ way and my husband got to fight that tree into the stand and try to make it sort of straight. That year I went out after Christmas and bought my first artificial tree and never looked back. I used that bargain artificial tree for over twenty years, and only retired it recently. It was long past its prime, with floppy branches and big gaps, but I was attached to it and kept it going a few years longer than its appearance justified.
Freshechelle on 10 Dec 2009 at 12:41 pm #
We’ve had the tree wired to the wall scenario too and we’ve also had the cat hiding in the middle of the tree. We had one cat chase another up the tree which led to “timber” moment.
I once broke my mother’s first Norman Rockwell Christmas ball which caused a reaction of biblical proportions. Apropros of the origin of the holiday but maybe not the spirit.
Every year Grandma would crochet a few ornaments. The collection includes wise men, snowmen, skiers, angels, snowflakes, candy canes, etc. They seemed copious at the time but now they’re a nice memory of Grandma.
As for sad trees, every year we’d go to my aunt & uncle’s house knowing that my cheap uncle had bought the saddest, most inexpensive tree on the lot. Seemed odd that he didn’t just buy a fake one and be done with it but he did like to keep a good joke going. Every Christmas season, we’d make the pilgrimage too mock his Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I miss that uncle.
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:32 pm #
Trish D, that’s so cool that your dad kept his ornaments for the safe, top of the tree. I bet they are cherished. I hope you find your deer! I have a nubby, once-felt-covered ball that I hang every year. It’s gotten unsightly, so I put it on the back of the tree, but it’s still there.
Sheridan, you guys have had a LOT of laughs at Christmas! If those aren’t memorable moments, I’m not sure what is. I hear you on the bird thing … that would drive me batty, too. Brava on finding the perfect Birdzilla Revenge!
SuzyQ, it does have that 1950s panache! I’ll see what color my elf is when we get him out, which will be this weekend.
Aly on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:33 pm #
At first, I couldn’t think of any! And then I remembered the year that my mother almost burned down our kitchen after she finished making the latkes!
In truth it wasn’t her fault – the wiring on the stove top decided to short out and start a fire in the counter. We were very lucky that someone went in the kitchen for more applesauce because with a fire roaring in the fireplace, we never would have noticed the smell!
But the best part of this entire story…nothing like the firefighter (my dad) having to call the fire department to come and save the day! So my mom’s Hanukkah present that year ended up being able to get rid of the 1970’s yellow counters
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:37 pm #
Kat, I’m confused about ‘flocking’ the tree. What exactly IS that? I understand there is dye involved (I think), but … can you explain?
Nancyg, what a GREAT Christmas tradition! And to have it chronicled in photos is equally awesome. That’s a terrific idea. My family had a frozen zucchini that they passed around for years until someone let it thaw and well, that was that. We all winced if we got the ‘cold present.’ Blech.
Janae — BAHWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my gosh, how FUNNY! I bet T does blush – ah, the joys of youth. I had to snicker when you said ‘no one wanted to be Mary.’ She is pretty lackluster when you realize other people get to wear cool costumes and ride in on donkeys, etc. Heh!
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:46 pm #
Julia, I love your ‘dirt-poor ranch kids’ ornament. Some of the best ornaments — most memorable ones — are the homemade ones, glitter-glued and safety-scissored into barely recognizable shapes of snowmen and reindeer. They are all so precious.
Claudia, how funny! We had a rabbit who overturned our tree once when he kept nibbling on the bark. We lost a good number of ornaments but many of them we managed to glue back together. Still … whew, what a mess!
Madeline, I plan on keeping my tree until I need to tie on the bottom branches, too. I won’t, of course — I’m no where near as handy as my dad, but I’ll think about it. I love the personal quirks of a real tree … and the personality of an older, well-loved plastic one, too.
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:52 pm #
Fresh, I’m glad you survived the Epic Normal Rockwell Ornament Destruction year! I love the idea of having Christmas ornaments made by a grandmother — those have to be precious now. And such a variety. I’ve only seen crocheted snowflakes. I had no idea there were so many other shapes.
Aly, sounds like your mom came out the winner in that Christmas disaster!
I’m so glad no one was hurt, and you’re right about not smelling smoke when you have a roaring fire in the fireplace. Glad your dad was a fireman, too — that had to have helped!
Suzanne Enoch on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:54 pm #
We three girls made baker’s clay reindeer ornaments with my mom one year, and they go up on the family tree every year. Last year we pulled out the ornaments and one of them had a busted leg, but it went up anyway, with the leg glued back on. Those things must be 35 years old. I’m amazed the dog hasn’t eaten them or they haven’t turned to dust. I love seeing them, though. It reminds me of being a kid and making them.
Fiona on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:08 pm #
We have two trees–one for my collection of angels, bells, and other “nice” ornaments and then there is the tree in the family room. It is covered in ornaments from trips, strange ornaments, and the ornaments I cross stitched when we were first married and had no money to buy ornaments. It is topped by a starfish–our first three Christmases we lived in FL.
TrishD on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:40 pm #
My grandmother was an amazing painist. You could sing a song to her once and she could play it back for you. Christmas time was one of my favortie times with her. She would sit at the piano at my parents and play carols all night long. One of her favorites was Silent Night. One Christmas before her Alzheimer’s got too bad she was sitting at the piano playing carols. She went from Silent Night to Jingle Bells to Silent Night to Away in a Manager back to Silent Night. She kept asking us to give her suggestions and after playing our request she would go back to Silent Night. My boyfriend at the time looked at her and with a straight face said, “How about Silent Night?” My grandmother’s face lit up, “I love that one, of course I’ll play it.” And she proceeded to play Silent Night.
Because of the Alzheimer’s she left us many years before she passed away but we all still smile whenever we hear Silent Night.
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 4:31 pm #
Suzanne, my kids used to make these cookie looking ornaments at their day care. I love those things, but they really do look – and smell – like cookies. It’s surprised me that the dogs haven’t eaten one yet, but so far, so good!
Aw, Fiona, what a LOVELY tradition — a beautiful Christmas tree and a memory Christmas tree. I love that. You get the best of both worlds!
TrishD, how nice that your grandmother was able to be such a centerpiece of your Christmas festivities! I’m glad, too, you guys have a song that makes you grin when you think about her. This is my first year without any grandparents and it’s very different. I miss them all.
Deb Maher on 10 Dec 2009 at 5:16 pm #
First Christmas, first apartment. Decades ago. My roommate and I scraped up $3 for a gangly “Charlie Brown” tree. Her mom gave us an old string of colored lights. We couldn’t afford ornaments but my roommate crocheted and knitted and had bags of scrap yarn. Great for pom-pom ornaments. Her fiance came over, then my brother showed up. We put them both to work. My brother’s made a pom-pom masterpiece…blue and rusty-brown, with white on top and bottom. He called it the planet Earth. Since there was much more brown than blue, we decided “Mars” was a better name.
The day after Christmas, my roommate’s fiance showed up again, this time bringing a friend of his I’d never met. His friend was amused by our pom-pom covered tree. When I introduced him to “Mars” he gave me an odd look. “Really?” he said. Then he told me his last name was Maher (pronounced Marr). We started dating. About 4 years later, we married. Each year since, the Mars pom-pom is the first ornament hung on our tree.
Sabrina Jeffries on 10 Dec 2009 at 5:36 pm #
My husband inherited the garlands that his family used on their tree. These are real metal tinsel–they’re formed in a spiral around string. He had yards and yards of it. I think it’s the coolest stuff ever, but it is fragile. Every year we hang it–every year, I have to cut out pieces of the string where the tinsel is gone and tie it carefully together so there are no bare spots. But I love it, and he loves it. I’m hoping we never have to get another garland. It looks so antique to me!
Sabrina Jeffries on 10 Dec 2009 at 5:38 pm #
Karen, people used to “flock” trees all the time. I don’t think they do it much anymore. The “dye” version is actually something I’ve never heard of, but the flocking comes out of a can. You spray the white stuff on your tree to make it look like it has snow on the branches. I think it’s made of spray foam or something.
Karen Hawkins on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:26 pm #
Deb, awwww! What a wonderful story! And you still have the pom-pom to celebrate that first meeting. That’s so adorable.
Sabrina, I want to see a picture of those! My grandmother had tinsel like that. You never see it any more and you’re right, it does look very antique and gorgeous. It really catches the light.
As for the ‘flocking’, I’ve never heard it called that; I’ve just heard it called ‘artificial snow’. Interesting!
Michelle B on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:15 pm #
Janae, as interesting as the evacuation stories are, my DH stayed behind and closed the base down, his stories are really wild.
That same year we were all separated for Christmas, our first Christmas a part. Our DD#1 was 4 years old. We sent Daddy a small Christmas tree and DD snapped the star off her wand from her fairy princess costume at Halloween. Dad recognized it from the pictures and was so touched. It was attached with a paper clip.
Moonsanity on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:01 pm #
My mother-in-law gave us this horrible TALKING Cmas tree that’s about 2 1/2 foot tall. Wow, was it annoying. I decided to “lose” the electrical cord, take off the hat, and make it into a mini Christmas tree that we put out each year. The kids decorate it with smaller ornaments, and we even have a little topper for it. This year we took it out of the plastic tub and it was crooked. We kept looking at it trying to figure out what was going on, then we realized it had bent and when we tried to straighten it broke right off! The kids were sad, so we took the top part and made a MINI tree out of it. BAHAHAHAHAHA It’s one homely tree, but they were happy.
ladydawgfan on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:38 pm #
What a GREAT topic!! We have a LOT of precious ornaments on our tree and around the house for Christmas. The oldest of all of them is the angel that sits on top of the tree. She was purchased by my parents for their first Christmas together – in 1958!! Her hair has been replaced several times, she no longer lights up unless she is sitting on top of a bulb, one of her wings is cracked, and yet, it wouldn’t be Christmas without her on top of the tree.
She watches over a bunch of ornaments that have been gathered over the years – Mom’s “special ornaments.” They include all of the ornaments that we kids made for her in elementary school, the crocheted bells and angels that were made when half of the ornaments were destroyed somehow and there was no money to replace them, and other collectible ornaments that she insists on hanging on the tree.
Around the house, we have an elf in a mistletoe throne that hangs in the dining room and is almost as old as the angel. We also have a “MistleTOAD,” a frog wearing a Santa hat that I found in a Hallmark store. He hangs in the living room.
We have many more Christmas decorations, and the house is literally filled with memories!
Louisa Cornell on 10 Dec 2009 at 11:20 pm #
The leland cypress outside my kitchen window has blue and white lights on it and has every year since my deaf Great Dane died. She is buried under the tree and we call it Glory’s tree. She used to love to sit and watch the Christmas tree lights. Every night I would turn them on and she would lie their watching, her tail wagging. I had to turn them off to make her come to bed. Now when I turn the lights on I can still see her, lying there enjoying the lights, tail wagging.
The angel on my tree is one I made. I made one for each of the three “Fairy Dog Mothers.” Ladies who worked with the humane society and with whom I have done all sorts of rescue work. The angel on my tree is the one I gave Rebecca. She was a tireless champion for animals. Her angel is a beautiful porcelain doll I dressed in burgundy velvet with charms of dogs and cats all over her skirt. In her outstretched hands is a porcelain puppy and at her feet are two porcelain cats. She has broad white wings and a slightly crooked halo. We lost Rebecca to breast cancer five years ago. Her husband gave me the angel back so it could sit on the top of my tree the way it did on theirs.
evlqn on 11 Dec 2009 at 1:05 am #
I can only remember having one artificial tree when I was a kid, daddy hated it so we had live ones ever after.
We had a mismatched Nativity set, Mary was larger than Joseph and Jesus was plastic. The shepard and angel were the same size but the Wise men weren’t. And the creche was cheap cardboard but it went up every year in a place of honor for as long as I could remember. Then my first year here in Oregon someone came in and stole a bunch of our decorations including the Nativity. My sister and I bought Mom & Dad a stunning Lladro set but it just doesn’t have the same feeling as the old one and no one really cares about it. We have ornaments that have been made for us by people we love, like the ceramic gingerbread man my youngest son made for me and the ceramic heart. For years I had the paper plate angel my oldest made, i have no idea where it went, but I’m not happy. I have the dragon ornament my sister painted for me and the fabric mice a friend from LA made over 25 years ago. I recently talked on Facebook to her daughter about them, Amy had forgotten until I reminded her. We frequently get our Charlie Brown’s and then fill them with love, lights, and ornaments.
Karen Hawkins on 11 Dec 2009 at 1:26 am #
Michelle B, that is such a lovely story … and the details are precious. I could just see the wand star attached with a paper clip.
Thank you for sharing!
Moonsanity, the coolest thing is how your family took that tree and made it yours — over and over. I love that!
ladydawgfan, it sounds like your whole house is filled with memories! I love your MistleTOAD. I’ve never seen one of those but it sounds sooo cute.
Louisa, I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your dog and your friend, but what a beautiful way to remember them! I’m sure your Christmas is filled with thoughts of them both. Btw, one of my dogs loves to sleep beside the Christmas tree. That always makes me smile.
evlqn on 11 Dec 2009 at 1:51 am #
Our dog Tanner loved Christmas and the color red. He would trade you a toy for a red ornament. He would take the ornament off the tree and put a toy in the branches where it had been. Tanner hated when you didn’t go for a trade and took his ornament back.
Karen Hawkins on 11 Dec 2009 at 10:23 am #
eviqn, I love your Charlie Brown Navity story! My grandmother had a set like that when I was a child and I always played with it. It’s so cool that after all these years, it’s still precious to you and your family — that’s a definite keeper set!
I’ve never heard of a dog that traded out Christmas ornaments before. What breed was he? That takes a smart dog!
evlqn on 12 Dec 2009 at 1:46 am #
Tanner was German Shepherd, rottweiler, chow, lab and wolf. He was the best dog on the planet and we miss him everyday, even though we love our new dog, Spencer.