Ry and I always swore we wouldn't buy a fake tree for Christmas. For our nearly 8 years of marriage, we bought a real tree. While they varied in size and beauty, every year there was a real, sap dripping, water sucking, formerly living tree in our living room. And this year? Not only did we buy a fake tree, we bought a 4 foot tall fake tree.
We decided that since we were going to be in Illinois for a significant portion of time right after Christmas, it made sense to have a small tree that would be easily taken down and not turn into a fire hazard during our trip. We briefly considered not having a tree at all, but Gummy Bear is so into Christmas this year that it just wouldn't have been right.
So we went to Target and bought a tiny little tree (for less than we would have spent on a real tree, by the way), brought it home and decorated.
As with so many things with young children, it looks like we had a lot more fun than we actually did. This is mostly due to the fact that Cheeky Monkey took the opportunity to rip apart an ornament every time one of us had our back turned. In the end, I removed anything remotely break or tear-able and anything of sentimental value. I was impressed by the sheer destructiveness of a 2-year-old on a mission. He destroyed a wooden ornament by ripping off her arms, and two Hallmark ornaments by pulling off the Grinch and snowman, respectively. We had a tree the year Gummy was almost 2, and he never showed such disdain for ornaments. Clearly, I underestimated the possibilities.
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| Which one can I mangle before I get caught? |
Still, I'm glad we have a tree. Gummy Bear had fun making the Angel tree topper and Monkey seems to have decided the remaining ornaments can live. So, Merry Christmas!
And Bah Humbug.
4 comments:
We got a fake tree years ago and I love it mostly because it came with the lights already attached and I hate stringing lights! Our cats run off with an ornament or three each year and we inevitably find a couple in the weeks after the tree has been taken down, but it's not quite the wanton destruction you describe here.
I'll be in Iowa for Christmas so I won't see you, but we'll have to hang out next time we're both in the same state.
The boys are so big I want to cry! And welcome to the club...we find its just much easier. Although I just discovered that Eric has never, in his life, gone out and cut down his own tree. So we may need to fix that...
melydia -- we should definitely hang out soon. I'm sure we'll be back in Oz again this summer.
Cathy -- They are huge, I know. You should definitely cut your own tree at least once in your life!
You're still doing better than us! We've never had our own Christmas tree, alive or otherwise. One of these years we'll get our act together, but since we're always with family for Christmas Day it seems a bit of a waste.
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