The Perfectly Decorated Christmas Tree
The Perfectly Decorated Christmas Tree
When it comes to decorating our house for Christmas, I don’t put out a lot of decorations. Our Christmas trees, on the other hand, are an explosion of ornaments. I have never underestimated the number of ornaments a Christmas tree can hold. When you think the tree can’t possibly hold anymore, I can always find room for more. I have a methodology for decorating a Christmas tree. I don’t always follow it, but I am most successful when I do.
I grew up in a house where three large, fresh, blue spruce Christmas trees were decorated to the hilt each Christmas. The majority of decorating was done by my father. My mother, sister and I were diligent, auxiliary staff. I was also part of the procurement department. My father and I would head out, most years in bitterly cold, snowy weather, to canvas the expansive hillsides of our local Christmas tree farm. My father was a perfectionist. Perfect Christmas trees started with finding perfect trees. This always resulted in at least two treks on both sides of the valley where the tree farm was nestled. We were searching for tall trees with plenty of space for large ornaments to hang unencumbered, and ones with straight trunks that would be easy to position in the tree stands. We would mark potential candidates with a discreet marker as we trudged our way through the fields. We never wanted to draw another family’s attention to our prospect. More than a few times, we plodded back to our best contender to find a family wooing our tree. On one occasion, my father quickly jumped into action. He pulled a tape measure from his waistband, to measure the height of the tree, and asked the family, “How tall are your ceilings?”. We lived in a very old house with uncommonly high ceilings. It was probable that the tree we scouted was too tall for the young, happy family ogling it. We were fortunate that time. The tree was too tall for them, and as soon as they walked a halves breath away, my father was on his back and under the tree cutting it down. We weren’t always that lucky. Sometimes we returned to find our tree gone, and sometimes we were unable to find our very discreet markers, so it was back to the hunting grounds. The process took hours, and the frigid weather was brutal! Fortunately, the farm had a blazing fire between the two hillsides where we would thaw out our frozen fingers as we hiked hillside to hillside. The trees were beautiful year after year, and I really did love the process, but it was the time spent with my father that made these outings memorable.
I live in the desert now, and it is just not practical to have a real tree. Yes, after that long yarn, I’ve gone fake! My parents eventually started erecting artificial trees when manufacturers started making them look more realistic. My parents were steeped in tradition and loved the look of a true spruce tree. I am not all that traditional, so I love that artificial trees come in so many styles and colors now. Don’t be deterred by an ugly artificial tree. We have had an aqua blue flocked tree, a purple tinsel tree, a red tinsel tree, a white tinsel tree, three silver tinsel trees and an array of traditional pine versions, and by far, the ones that were ugliest when naked were the most beautiful when decorated.
The secret to my success is quite simple. I learned from observing my father painstakingly decorate his trees year after year. I place the ornaments on the tree starting with the largest ones first. I distribute them evenly around the tree trying not to place any two alike together. I reserve the ends of longest branches, which have ample open space below them, for long ornaments. The long ornaments get placed next. I continue the process of evenly dispersing them around the tree. The medium sized ornaments get placed next. I hang all of one kind, again evenly spacing them the entire way around the tree, before moving on to the next set of ornaments. Don’t forget to place ornaments inside the tree near the trunk. The space there is usually sparse with branches, so it is a perfect way to hide the center pole of an artificial tree. Because there are fewer branches there, the light is brighter, so I hang my most reflective ornaments there to bounce light out of the tree. The smallest ornaments are next, and the ornaments with clips, like birds and butterflies, get placed last. They are like the earrings to a pretty outfit. This process sounds simple and straight forward, but it is also time consuming, so I often get tired and distracted. That’s where a wicker basket, a crystal bowl, a ceramic tray or any small vessel that looks pretty under the tree comes into play. I always finish our trees off with a collection of ornaments in a basket, bowl or tray under the tree. People think that it is part of the decorating, and it does look pretty, but it’s really just the ornaments left unhung when I got tired. I will maybe hang a few more over the next several days before Christmas. When I spot a vacant spot, I grab an ornament out of the basket to fill it.
Decorating the Christmas trees was a source of great consternation for my father. My sister says she learned how to swear while watching him put the trees in their stands. He labored over his trees for days. They had to stand perfectly straight with lights meticulously and tightly wound in and out each branch. Every dim bulb was replaced, and every ornament was delicately placed to show off its best side. The relationship between ornaments was rhythmic; it was a dance of sorts. His trees were perfect. I have to say that my trees don’t always meet his standards. Occasionally, I hit one out of the park, and when I do, I think of him and smile. The trees between those perfect years are no less special. After all, it’s really not about the perfect tree. It’s about the memories! It’s about the experience and filling your family’s heart with love and joy. It’s about making them smile. If your desire is a perfectly decorated tree, you will get there because you have the desire. Until then, enjoy the journey!
Merry Christmas!
