calmkate

Christmas tree

After searching about for the biggest Christmas tree Dad finally settled on a sturdy one that brushed against the ceiling. But then realised that he needed a large paint bucket filled with sand to hold it in place.

Rather than make a mess in the lounge he prepared it in the backyard and then struggled up the stairs trying to hold the bucket and the heavy tree. BANG he dropped the lot on his foot, broke his big toe and bruised his foot severely.

The tree remained outside at the bottom of the steps and next year it was replaced by a tiny artificial musical tree. One that neatly folded up and could be easily set up by us kids.

This remained our only tree even after it became mangy and moulted … we never had a real Christmas tree after that!

Have attended one ‘creative writing’ class where the regulars shared humorous Christmas stories. The main theme being the adored family pet [dog or cat] eating the roast chicken and the clever way doting mothers substituted that to satisfy the hungry hordes. Or finding a replacement for Christmas eve gift deliveries when Santa fell ill. So will post a few more fictional seasonal stories … join me if you want with fact or fiction.

© 2020 poem and photo Copyrighted https://wordpress.com/aroused.blog

32 comments

  1. Christmas is not just a time for festivity and merry making. It is more than that. It is a time for the contemplation of eternal things. The Christmas spirit is a spirit of giving and forgiving.” ~ J. C. Penney

    Have a wonderful Christmas and joyous days ahead with warm laughter. Take care.

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  3. It is fun to share family stories about the holidays. I remember a relative that had one of those plastic lifelike trees that didn’t weigh all that much. They decorated it the first year they got it, then covered it in plastic and stored it in the basement until it was needed again. Sort of takes the fun out of some of the holiday I think. But then this was the same relative that had a ‘company room’ where when not in use all the furniture was covered in plastic and the children weren’t allowed without permission.

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  4. This story takes me back to a Christmas long ago. It would be my oldest daughter’s second Christmas, and we decided to cut our own tree in the nearby national forest. With permit in hand, found a “perfect” tree, and returned home to find it was much bigger than anyone thought. We had plenty of room, but we had to make due with our scarce ornaments.

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  11. A fun read Kate. Today is the first Sunday of advent and as per tradition almost every family in my neighbourhood has put up Christmas decorations. I like watching such decorations.

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  12. My husband loved Christmas and delighted in getting and setting up a real tree a few days before the holiday every year. I didn’t do Chrismas as a child, so I found it all fun. The year he died, my son and I got a tree from a roadside vendor, a little smaller than usual but still would fill the window. We tried and tried and couldn’t get it to stand straight, no balance, kept adjusting it from falling. It didn’t last long after the day. After that, instead of getting a fake tree, we just decorated around the house with the ornaments, and lit the Hanukkah candles as usual.

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  13. What a story, your poor dad. But you have all those memories. Your picture is beautiful, reminds me of back home at the seashore before the ravages of time took their toll.
    Growing up in hot South America, we used freshly picked cotton and wrapped it around a small tree branches to simulate the snow most of us had not seen at that time.

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  22. This reminded me of a non-fictional Christmas tree. One year we got one that was cut unevenly on the bottom and would not stand up straight no matter what we did. We finally tied a rope around it and secured it to the wall. Not the most attractive solution, but it worked. Last real tree – next year we got a more cooperative fake tree which has lasted forever.

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