WARNING!!! This post is not for the faint of heart! It is ugly. Really Ugly. IF you're looking for eye candy, scroll down a few posts, or visit my other posts... or head over to the Nester or some other first rate home decorator because... this is terrifying. and LONG...What? You're still reading? You asked for it!!
No, that is not a piece of barbed wire... that is the tip of one of my Christmas tree limbs... and they ALL look that way! Every side of this tree should go towards the wall.
This is my tree. If it looks like it's leaning a little, that's because it is. Severely. I used to call this our Charlie Brown tree... now it looks more like a bunch of the Grinch's fingertips stuck together. Doesn't it?... LOOK at it! THIS IS AN UGLY TREE!
AND, it's balding. It's more like a deciduous than an ever green. It's even losing it's limbs.
Of course, that might be from the year when the mice nested in it and the hubby vowed he could fix it (I secretly prayed it would be the end) and he hosed the thing down 3 times with bleach (I thought we'd have a turquoise tree!) and let it sit WET for days... then hosed it down again... thus the rusty tips. I TOLD YOU this would get terrifying! Yes, we're using an old un-smellied mouse nested tree!
I'm not sure where I went wrong. It might have been when I started the tradition of letting my kids help decorate the tree.... to make memories. This is how they make memories.
That's an ImagiNext guy. We have a tree full of them....
and these.......
Yes, amid all the decorations-none of which match because I thought it would be another great memory to give my kids a different ornament each year that was unique to what they did that year.- We house our own Sherwood Forest. AND each year I unpack the tree, I find a few Merry Men hanging out in the branches that were somehow attached too well to be shaken out like the rest of their gang the year before.
Oh yes... minus the beautiful ribbon (Thank you Costco for your 4.95 per 50 yards of wired ribbon) and the tree skirt, this is it. Wires and all. Every year I unpack this tree cursing and whining and dreading the event. No pre-lit here. We do this mess ourselves. My kids hang the ornaments (we all draw straws for the lights... just kidding... I do them every year- Don't you just love those cords? This year I finally passed off the duty to my son).
It's not a beautiful tree by any means and I can't ever justify taking $200 out of our budget to go toward a beautiful tree that opens up as easily as an umbrella... I just can't.
Each year I curse this tree, but each year it works. The kids are STILL excited to haul it out, decorate it, redecorate it, hide their "Guys" in it and redecorate it AGAIN. And each year as I watch them content to play with our tree I think, "I can wait another year. They'll only want to play with the tree for a short while, then I'll be trying to keep them home during the holidays instead of out with friends." Sometimes beauty isn't what adorns the Palace rooms but what love and joy is found within them. This Palace has beauty, and love, in the same room as the ugly tree... and somehow that tree isn't ugly any more... it's a beautiful memory.
Stay tuned because this year I'm going to the extreme to give this tree a face lift and hopefully another year of use, I just bought 6 cans of spray paint:) I'm spraying it red.
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15 comments:
But memories are priceless :) Love all the "guys" in the tree!
We get our tree from Ikea every year- $20, and if you return it to the store in January they give you a $10 gift certificate, and recycle the tree to make furniture. :)
LOL. I loved it. We've had our fake tree for almost 14 years now and it's ready to retire. We might snag a new one the day after Christmas when EVERYTHING is 50% off.
Um, you might want to look into doing the same! LOL
Blessings,
Kim
That is an awesome post. You me laugh and shudder in terror at the same time. We bought anew tree last year because our old one (which wasn't in great shape) wasn't due to arrive in country (we were in the middle of a move to Germany) until Dec. 20th. With all the household stuff coming at once, I knew there was no way we'd get a tree up if we didn't do it before our stuff arrived. We went to IKEA to buy cheap ornaments and it turned out to be one of the prettiest trees we've ever had.
Have you thought of buying a tree at one of the big after Christmas blow out sales? Then you could give your poor Charlie Brown tree to the kids to decorate and you could put up a pretty tree.
We came full circle last year getting a faux tree. When my kids were babes we had fake but have been getting real for at least 15 years. Last year hubby brought home a fake one ~ not prelit either {I mean, I can deal with fake but at least get it pre-lit!}. I am sure I will be cursing on Thanksgiving as I put it together ~ by myself and get the lights on it.
I share your pain. We finally got rid of a similar tree--after it fell on our daughter. Apparently the only thing holding it up was the pile of gifts underneath. Once they were removed---crash! Good luck!
Last year I waited until Christmas was over and got my $200 tree for $20. They don't want to store that tree til next year. Check out the deals after Christmas. :)
When I was a senior in high school, I begged my mom to let me spray paint our pitiful tree white. I was going to do a red/white/blue themed tree. At the time, I LOVED it. Thought it would have outdone all the neighbors trees on the block. When I see it now, though, I ask my mom what she was thinking by letting me do that. And then I ask why she hasn't bought another tree, especially now that no kids are in the house. Hopefully yours will look better than my pitiful paint job!
I know it's been done before, but my concern would be the spray paint being a fire hazard with the lights on the tree. Just be safe and check it out first. Hopefully you can find a new one during the "after" holiday sales.
LOL! You're hilarious, girly. But you're definitely NOT ALONE. I, too, have made my Christmas tree last WAAAYY longer than it needed to. I even went so far as to purchase plain greenery, and stuff it in the middle of the branches to make it fluffier. Okay, this REALLY WORKS. You have no more excuse. It's inexpensive, and your tree will look oh so nice and FLUFFY!
As for the "leaning," I have no idea. Maybe make it lean away from or into that corner? That might hide it... or just fill the tree with "leaning tower of Pisa" ornaments all over it...
LOL YOU are indeed MOTHER OF THE YEAR!!!.Your kids will always lovingly remember that tree. They may even carry on the tradition with their own children someday. lol
~Debra The Capers of the Vintage Vixens
This was my tree for years... It got passed on to my son's apt. Then to my daughter's and guess what??? It's baaaack!
Ornaments make a HUGE difference, don't they!?!
Breath and keep Praying~~~
Maria
I have a similar tree... but my was white when purchased. Every year I say I'll get a real one, but then I remember that we're traveling a lot and who is going to keep the dog/baby out of the water?
Our tree growing up was ugly, too - but do you know, I miss that tree? Seriously! When my oarents bought a new one (we never had a real tree b/c my dad is allergic to pine) when I was in college, my sibs and I were all sentimental for our old tree that we had since we were little.
I enjoyed your post! Get that paint and have at it! Last year I spray painted a tree and it worked out GREAT! I put LED lights on the tree and they are cool to the touch, so I don't believe it is any kind of a fire hazard. You can see the process and the results here:
http://christmasnotebook.com/2008/11/30/thanks-hgtv/
The tree looks a lot better this year than it does in that post. Lots more ornaments. :) ~~Rhonda
I just bought a new tree and would send you ours but it is pretty heavy so shipping would be outrageous I'm sure. Otherwise, check out the after holiday sales!
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