We have not had a Christmas tree in several years, well not one that met the minimum standards of the wife and kids. During our first Christmas in Texas (2006), we lived in a second floor apartment. We did not have a tree for Christmas. We put the presents in a pile by the couch if I remember correctly. I don’t even think we wrapped most of them. It was our first Christmas without a big family gathering though my cousin and (then) fiancé came over for Christmas breakfast. The day after Christmas, my mother arrived from Indiana and brought us a 3’ tall Christmas tree that she purchased on clearance at a Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way down. It had Christmas lights built into it and came apart in (2) pieces for easy storage.
By 2007 we had moved into a house that we were leasing. We re-used the 3’ Christmas tree but still stacked the presents up near the couch (there was not much room under that small of a tree). I think we tried to repeat this same set up in 2008 (we were still in the same leased house) but by that time we had either lost the little tree or it was broken. The next Christmas (2009) had us back in Indiana again and in a house that we purchased but we still did not put up a tree.
Previous to 2006 we had always had a tree (even before our children were born). Early in our marriage (when we lived in a house with tall ceilings) we bought a 9’ real tree and put it in the front entry way. I remember that I had to climb up the stairway to decorate the top 1/3 of it. We bought an artificial tree after that and drug it out year after year. So, our current draught of Christmas trees is (4) years as we decided not to pack the tree in the moving van on our way to Texas.
If I had my way, we would continue this glorious run of no Christmas trees. As you can probably tell, I am no big fan of Christmas trees. They are a pain to put up, a pain to decorate, a pain to maintain (e.g. keep the pets off them) and a pain to take down and put away (a sad reminder that the Christmas season is gone). I am no Scrooge, I just don’t get into Christmas trees. The wife and kids have (unsuccessfully) lobbied for a tree each of the last (4) years. They use the same bullet points each year (evidently using the “let’s wear Daddy down” technique). This year they are starting early (last week) but they appear that they do not have anything new to bring to the table for their side of the argument.
As I was thinking about this recently, I remembered a made for TV, Christmas special called “Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas” that I watched over and over when I was young. I seem to recall it being on HBO quite a lot so there were opportunities to watch it 10+ times each year. I even found a copy on DVD at the local library a few years back and made the kids watch it (they were not impressed). Anyway, the reason I remember this show is that Emmet Otter and his mother (Ma Otter) did not have a Christmas tree. Apparently Emmit’s father (who evidently had died some years earlier) always meant to go out and cut down a Christmas tree each year but instead always returned with only a branch, a Christmas branch. He just could not bring himself to kill a tree in honor of the holiday. I like this idea. I like this idea a lot.
I offered this concept to the wife as a compromise. We have plenty of evergreen trees on our property and we could even make it a family tradition. She was cold to the idea initially and still is. However, if I use their technique against them (the “wear them down” technique) I might be successful. I have high hopes. There is still plenty of time for more arguments to be made, more appeals to tradition, more sad and pitiful children’s eyes looking up at me begging. I will have to be strong.
I will keep you posted and share pictures of either our tree or our branch (hopefully our Christmas branch).
Jon
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