The Great Tree Experiment Of 2012

As some of you may remember, last year we did not put up a Christmas tree.   We were in agreement that a tree would be too dangerous for our children who had only been home briefly and would likely be the source of a lot of reprimands toward them rather than inspire wonder and joy.  It was a great decision by which we still stand in hindsight.

We hadn’t made up our minds yet about how to decorate for the 2012 holidays until the Christmas trees started showing up in stores (you know, right after Halloween – grrr).  That’s when we realized that both of our children were mesmerized by them, so we knew we had to do something.  The plan was to protect the fancy and more expensive Christmas tree we own and buy a cheap one instead.  We were on the hunt for it when our friends, Nate and Whitney, mentioned that they were going to throw out an old six foot Christmas tree.  I quickly asked if we could have it and they said, “Come and get it.”  Several days later, we picked it up in a big box that held not only the tree, but also a bunch or decorations.  Thanks, Nate and Whitney, for giving our kiddos their first Christmas tree.

Once we had the tree home, we knew we had to phase it in slowly.  First, we simply put it up in the living room.  Both kids took note, gave it a few timid touches, but otherwise ignored it.  Hmm, not what we were expecting.  A few days later, we decided it was time to turn on the lights and anticipated a big reaction from that moment as well.  Again, we were wrong.  The kids took a few seconds to acknowledge and admire and then went on their merry way.  Maybe this whole thing would be easier than we thought.  It didn't take long, however, until the tides started to turn.  Rex overcame his disgust with the sensory input from the needles and pulled the tree down on himself several times.  Unfortunately, he thought this was incredibly funny.  Emilia decided that the best place to play might be the corner right behind the tree, so there was a small collection of toys accumulating there.

Finally, Craig and I decorated our tree.  We did not use any of our fragile ornaments.  I specifically went through our Christmas boxes and pulled out only what cannot break: wooden, metal, and straw ornaments.  I also made a popcorn chain which led my nephews to want to eat popcorn from the tree every time they visited. 

At the top of the tree, I put all the symbolic ornaments.  The dove for peace everywhere, the mittens for winter, the hearts for love, the angels for our children, and the pomegranate to represent Armenia.  Next year, we will have an ornament from Bulgaria as well. I made the tree topper, a simple bird house that says Martini.

Over the December weeks, our tree was toppled by Rex at least a dozen times.  After the first few I stopped rearranging the ornaments once the tree was upright again.  At some point one of the falls made the lights in the upper third of the tree go out and we could not get them back on.  Really, for most of the month our tree looked like it was hit by a minor windstorm.  But you know what, we had a tree and it was pretty in reflecting what our family is all about right now.


Our 2012 tree was unlike anything our home has seen since we got married.  Usually we have silver, white, purple and blue glass ornaments.  We have icicles and snow.  We never have a tree topper either on our normally very sparkly and elegant, slender tree.   In 2012, we had reds and naturals on a wide tree and a very rustic, traditional, topsy-turvy feel.  As always, I was reminded that we are in a certain season of our lives right now and that things are just as they are meant to be.