I grew up with a live tree. When I married, our first tree was a huge Mexican wrought iron bird cage on a stand, filled with presents sitting in our first apt in Del Rio, TX.
We were moving to Clovis, NM for three months right before Xmas, and then to Ft. Walton Beach, FL for another three months before DH left for Viet Nam. Not a great Xmas memory.
When he returned, we went to Randolph in San Antonio. Found out DH had allergies, so we bought an artificial tree and dragged it around the country for quite a few years....even to Hawaii for 3 yrs. When we settled in Austin, I decided we needed a new tree and got a big one. By that time we had accumulated lots of ornaments from all over. This tree has lasted nearly 20 years!
When our daughter and family moved this summer, I offered her the big tree. Their new house has glass across the entire back. (She already had all the Hawaiian ornaments, as well as most from the Orient). We had decided to get a small tree in our advanced years.
As I got ready to take the tree down last year, I took a photo of it to remember how it looked, crammed with memories. Well, turns out the kiddo is looking for their own memory maker and my tree is mine at least one more year. We did buy all new lights last year. There were so many of the older ones that we had to put a note on the microwave......Do Not Use Without Turning Off The Christmas Tree Lights..... It would trip the circuit breaker every time.
I do miss a real tree, but I don't miss worrying about it drying out or having to vacuum up needles from the rug and carpet. I did copy the link to HD's ScentSicles! And I still have that bird cage hanging in our oak tree out back!
