Tree of Dreams?

For the first time ever we have a fake tree in our house! I know there are lots of people who have many trees ~ my mom has a half dozen or so in her house. My aunt, goodness, she was the first person I ever knew who had multiple trees in her house. We thought she was nuts! Who needs that many trees? Turned out she was just before her time, because it has become quite fashionable.

Us? We're the type who always got one real tree and then, January through July, the tree sat in our side yard and lost it needles before we got around to disposing of it. I know you, with your snappy ideas, you might want to remind me that the waste management will pick the tree up for FREE, but before you share, please remember that I've known this for some time, I can never remember the day for the free pick up, and it doesn't matter since my tree is rarely if ever undressed and unlighted and ready to go on whatever that day is. I think we were able to take advantage of this service one time in the last 15 years.

After Christmas last year, I went and bought a fake tree on clearance ~ I think I paid around $15 for a pre-lighted 6 foot tree. I wasn't too keen on having a fake tree, but the price was right and, for the record, I'm so lazy it's amazing I didn't have one of these before.

And it was great, because the day after Thanksgiving, I went out to the shed and pulled out the box and set it up in my living room. No fighting about the lights! Oh tree, you had me at hello.

Christmas tree lights typically shave 3 to 4 months off my marriage each year.

There the tree sat, for about a week. Oh yes, boys, your dad will get the ornaments out of the rafters. Okay, I'll get the ornaments out of the rafters. Eventually they called bullshit and decorated it themselves, using whatever was handy.

Which, in our house, means hot wheels, legos, and blocks. The entire tree is spruced this way. And we love it so much!

And here's what you get when you ask my boys to stand next to the tree for a second so you can take a picture of them.