Remember when I said I was planning to write a “happy-go-lucky sunshiney post about how excited I am for the HOLIDAYS!!!” And then I didn’t? Well, the time is upon us!
I. LOVE. The Holidays. I love snow and eggnog and cider and Frank Sinatra and feasts and fireplaces and giving people stuff for no reason other than I hold them near and dear to my heart. I love hats and scarves and mittens on a string. And I love YOU, whether you like it or not. (Vomitous, I know.)
Christmas has always been a Big Deal in my family, not for the religious aspect, but for the togetherness of it all. In the past 25 years, Christmas at my grandparents’ farm in Poughkeepsie every year has become a tradition that I can’t imagine living without. Everything is the same, from the meatball chowder and one present from Santa on Christmas Eve, to the box of Russell Stover’s under the tree from him the next morning, the stockings that overflow and take an hour to get through, the Yankee Swap with my Uncle Paul‘s inevitable ham, this year’s silly hats or noses (and the requisite picture of all of us wearing them)… the hors d’oeuvres and mimosas and tears and hugs and LOVE of it all are just absolutely amazing.
As such, now that I have My Own Home for the first time, I had my heart absolutely SET on getting a real tree (none of that synthetic bullshit) that filled the room with its piney scent, and decorating it to make our living room glow with Christmas Spirit. Imagine my joy when, right on our own little corner in the District, a vacant lot was turned into a mini Xmas Tree farm! All we had to do was pick one out and make it our very own.
B supported my whims and fancies, but put a reasonable cap on the amount we could afford to spend on a tree (about 1/6 of our bank account balances combined). Last night, we headed over to the lot and found a cute little (emphasis on little) 5-footer, bought a $10 plastic stand, and dragged it home.
Today I went to CVS in search of some cheap lights and ornamental balls. I found the ornaments… but not the little paperclip-thinigies to HANG them. An enlightened employee informed me that yes, on December 2nd, they were out of the hooks. (REALLY?!?) Oh well, I figured, they still have a wire loop, maybe we can thread them onto the branches.
So I got home, all excited, with 12 shiny balls and a 100-string of lights. We prepared the tree and plugged them in.
Half of them lit up. Only half.
After much poking and prodding, we determined that nothing and no one was bringing those 50 bulbs back to life.
“It’s fine,” I said, “I’ll just string the 50 that are working and we can hide the rest of the wire behind the tree.”
So I did. And then I threaded a few of the ornaments onto the branches, and stepped back to admire my handiwork.
“Hmm,” I thought… “Maybe it won’t look quite so pathetic if we turn out the lights…”
Oh, well. I tried.
Tune into tomorrow for the infamous TMI THURSDAY…
Happy Holidays, lovahs!
{ 35 comments }
Your tree looks so sweet! Now, imagine how great it will look when you throw a skirt underneath (an old tablecloth or sheet will do) and then add a wrapped gift or two. Love it!!!
Thanks for sharing your Christmas traditions!
AW, your tree sure is special.
You know how I feel about Christmas. I am sorry I am a grinch, but hopefully we can work past this.
It’s very sweet!
You know, paperclips work in a pinch if you can’t find the wire hooks for the ornaments.
Also, tuille makes for a very, very inexpensive tree skirt, but puffs up under the tree looking like snow.
Awww…as someone who has lost ALL of her Christmas trimmings, I am…almost weepy.
OK, all better now.
I’m sure it’s lovely and tasty, but the phrase “meatball chowder” this early in the morning just made me gag a little.
I would leave the lights on. Which is weird, because I thought everything looked better in the dark.
But it’s still light years ahead of the ghastly thing I bought a few years back. Yours has branches and tons of little needly leaf things. Mine was so lame, so undernourished, so bare. I picked it with the same kind of affection you have for the fugly. Found it at a non-brand name gas station. We had to tie a string around it and nail it to the wall though, just to keep it upright.
Heh heh heh…She said ornamental balls…heh heh heh. Twelve of them…
That’s a very pretty little tree LiLu. Even better than my miniature silver fiber optic tree that changes colors.
My family always had the fake trees. As I got older and my parents got lazier, they would move the tree to the basement without taking off the lights and decorations on it; saving time for next year.
You’re so fking cute!
I’ll admit I’m with Lemmonex on this holiday – Bah Humbug. But it sounds like you already have enough holiday spirit for the three of us…
Your Wee Tree is darling!
So, I think that if anyone asks you what you’d like for Christmas this year, tell them a “tree bauble” that way you’ll have more for next year and every one you get, will have someone specials memory.
I’ll send ya one sis!
My Christmas tree is LITERALLY the “Charlie Brown” tree. From Urban Outfitters. I bought it two years ago for $25. And now it won’t assemble properly. Grrr.
It doesn’t look scrawny and malnourished– pretty nice after all
)
make that one more bah humbugger, but just for this year. your christmas spirit is pretty catchy though.
the tree isn’t so bad…
now why the hell are they blinking!?– tell me you know the song.
It’s very cool that your love for the holiday is all about togetherness.
Poor little tree…it looks cute, though!
I’m going to bring you some extra ornaments on Friday. Remind me. They are pink and sparkly. B will hate them!
The only five minutes I ever recall my parents being really happy was when they decorated the Christmas Tree each year. They took so much joy in remembering all of the things associated with each special ornament they had for each year of their marriage.
There will surely come a time when the pictures of this tree – along with the special ornament that you may or may not be getting this Friday – will make you so happy.
I love this tree.
NothingFancy: They tried to sell us a skirt for $4. After sweeping 3 nights in a row, I wish we’d gone for it.
Lemm: YOU are special, my dear. And not in the short bus way. We will get through this!
LMS: Those are 2 FABULOUS ideas! Thank you so much!
Fearless: Aw. I’ll leave them up til you come down, and you can bask in my Christmas glow.
f.B: Awww! I totally get it- you saved the wee fugly tree! It’s like picking the three-legged puppy at the shelter.
Foggy: See? I told you I had something purty for you today.
HI Ninja: Ha. I’d probably do the same if I had a fake one. My family spends 3 hours drinking cocoa and putting each ornament on, one by one, while we recount WHERE IT CAME FROM and WHAT IT MEANS TO US. And no, I’m not kidding.
Jules: Thanks lover, and yes, I believe I do. As I told her, I will shove my Xmas Spirit in your faces!
Fiona: I wish you could see how small it actually is in the photo. It definitely needs some more decorational love!
Malnurtured Snay: I saw those! I wanted one desperately. And now I have my very own.
Madame Meow: It looked worse in person, but I’m glad it’s so photogenic.
Brookem: Me + trivia, especially of the lyrical sort = You are disappointed. I’m sorry, lover… fill me in?
Zandria: It is cute, in a pathetic kinda way.
Frecks: He WILL hate them, but he already allowed my pink kitchen utensils! Slowly but surely…
That’s why I appreciate being a Jew. All the family yummy stuff, but no tree crap to deal with. I don’t have to worry about how things look, cause all I have to do is pull out my menorah and some candles, and sit back and relax. Of course, I’m also lazy, so it all works out in the end.
And you better bring it tomorrow. I bet I scare more people away than you do
i get it…you all are minimalist. so is the tree.
I LOVE the holidays too, and am definitely not someone who dreads spending time with my family. We never had fights or drama, and Christmas was always a wonderful time.
This year will be my 12th (!!!) year away from my whole family and the 10th (!!!) away from my parents. So, a couple of girlfriends are also away from family, so hosting xmas this year at my place. Got all the decor (my parents place always looks ridiculous with decorations), and need to put my (tiny little 3′) tree up. I use the fake tree though — growing up in Brazil nothing says christmas to me than a big fake tree
Refugee: And of course, you’re right- it already does make me happy. Especially after all of the lovely and heartwarming comments here. I have a new outlook on my little tree, sad though it may be.
Doug: Like Donkey Kong, my friend. LIKE DONKEY KONG.
dmb5 Libra: Ha! That’s good… I’ll go with that.
Beach Bum: You totally get it. And YES, in your circumstances, I believe the faux tree is definitely the way to go
OMG you are adorable! I about pee’d my pants when i saw that tree. Thank you.
i gave B an ornament for your tree. i love real trees! who cares what size it is.
If you want to brave NoVA, you can help me Holidify this weekend…
Venomiss: I am truly honored that I almost made you pee your pants.
J: Thanks, chica! The saddest little tree will wear it with pride.
Katherine: Is there booze involved?
Is Frank Sinatra Santa Claus?
I always figured he was.
steal some paperclips from your office and make them into ornament hanger things…
not like i’ve ever done that or anything.
girlfriend you need another strand of lights on that tree!
Now I wanna be Christian!!! Will you adopt me for Xmas eve?
When you were done raping your tree with broken lights and sparse ornaments, did you spill toner all over it?
I like your tree. And you know what, you will always remember this tree.
I wish we could get snow out here in California for just one Christmas. The West coast never gets a real Christmas. We just get to wear shorts and tank tops while opening our gifts.
YAY For TMI Thursday.
when I read all the things you love about Christmas I got that warm fuzzy feeling…. I f’ing love christmas…
Christams at my parents is the BEST, wouldn’t trade it for anything…
you tree reminds me off the one I had in college, except mine was decorated with beer cans and bar coasters… but it was a special little tree!
I’m jealous. I totally want a real tree, but there’s really just no room in a studio. I’m just making do with advent calendars and holiday music for now.
Thank you for literally making me laugh out loud today!
Of course there is booze involved. There is ALWAYS booze involved. You might also have to help carry the tree, though…
rs27: Shhhh. I don’t think he wants that to get out.
Maxie: I can’t believe I called them “paperclip-thingies” and didn’t realize that we could use actual paperclips. Which I have a million of. Um, DUH.
Alexa: The saddest part is, I bought another string of lights, and they’re LED. Ie, ridiculously bright, like car headlights, and completely unacceptable.
Brett: Alas, we’ll be up in Poughkeepsie on Xmas Eve.
FattyLumpa: Shaddup.
LBluca: We will always remember it, that’s for sure!
Woolly: You get me, you really get me.
Liebchen: They have 3-footers! If you can believe it, you can achieve it..
Kate: You’re welcome, my dear.
Katherine: Get well, hooker, so you can HANDLE the booze again.