Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories ~ The Christmas Tree

It's my favorite time of the year!  Christmas has always been a special time to me, visiting with family and friends.  The beautiful decorations and lights.

Grandma & Grandpa's tree late 1970's

I don't remember what our family did for a Christmas tree when I was very little.  After my Dad's passing we moved in with my Grandmother.  She had a beautiful artificial tree, it had been the tree her and Grandpa had used.  I'm guessing that it was bought in the late 1970's.  It was tall reaching almost to the ceiling, there was just enough room to place a decoration on top.  Some years we used an old light up Santa, some years a star or snowflake.
I remember it took us a long time to put together that tree each season.  The trunk was made up of 3 pieces that had to be pushed together.  The base was made up of plastic legs that had to be pushed, some time hammered into place.  Only then could you start putting each branch into the trunk.
Each branch had a number and you had to carefully line up the branch with the row number on the trunk.  After they were all in place you could fan out and bend them to fill in nicely.
Decorating the tree was done by everyone in the family.  Each year the theme was different.   I remember some years the tree was done up with blinking lights, silver garlands and glass balls.  Other years it was all silk balls.  Some years all hand made ornaments.  I still have a few of the decorations we used when I was little.

Our first tree, notice the top bending over!

When my hubby and I first got married he was not a Christmas person.  But he humored me  had a great time anyway.  He decided we should go and find a real tree, living on a farm at the time that was not a problem!  There was a little snow on the ground but it wasn't to deep.  So he hooked the wagon up to the tractor and we headed down to the back fields.  Some of the fields were over grown and there were quite a few spruce and pine trees.
We walked around for quite some time trying to find the perfect tree.  Finally I found one, nice and full.  Hubby cut it down and loaded it into our wagon and we headed back up to the house.  But that was the easy part!  Once we got up to the house, we realized how BIG this tree was!  We could NOT get the tree into the house! LOL!!
Hubby had to trim it quite a few times before we could fit it through the door.  That tree looked much smaller out in the bush then it did by the house.  Finally after taking about 2 feet or more off the tree he got it inside.  Once set up in the living room, it took up a LARGE corner of the room and still touched the ceiling.
Hubby still teases me about picking out such a huge tree, but it sure was pretty and full. LOL

Christmas Tree 2009 decorated by our kids

A few years later we were living in an apartment with our first child.  We bought a small artificial tree, that I lovingly call Charlie Brown's tree as it's not very full.  Eight years later we are still using this little tree, it's starting to get worn but has many memories.
Maybe next year we will replace it with a new artificial, or maybe a real one.  I wonder how many times we'll have to cut it to get that one in the house!