Christmas tree
Dec. 14th, 2010 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marinessGrumble.
I have the wrong Christmas tree.
Thanks to the house renovations and a few other things, I've been rather behind on the whole Christmas decorations thing. Usually, I put the (very little) tree up right after Christmas, let the cats knock it down a few times, put it back up, let them knock it down a bit more, and then once we're all done with this (which varies; the Grey One LOVES Christmas trees with a deep and abiding passion), decorate a week or so post Thanksgiving, leaving the tree up until, say, Martin Luther King Day or until the cats knock it down again. (I use soft or unbreakable ornaments for a reason. And those of you thinking that I'm just decorating for the cats, no; I like the lights, and plus, my tree has little Star Wars figures shooting one another in a happy demonstration of the true meaning of Christmas.) It's tradition. It makes me all warm inside.
This time, however, my ornaments and other Christmas things were scattered in different boxes (I'd used them to pack up different corners) and I decided that really, the house needed a bigger tree. So I found a decent one at Target, then realized it wouldn't fit on the trike. So I waited until my mother could take me…then realized the one I wanted had sold out. So I went with a second choice, which was, fortunately enough, I thought, on sale. Destined, kinda. It was just a little bigger, I told myself. Not really a problem. And finally, last night, I took it out of the box. It was all cold and frosty out (really! yes! in Florida!) and I had hot cider and warm cats and all was ready for tree decorating time.
I was only partly right about the size. What I was wrong about was the decided cheapness of this artificial tree. You certainly do get what you pay for, and in this case, what I've paid for is an artificial tree that is dripping more fake needles than a real one would, has poorly attached and drooping branches, and, yes, is a bit too big for the living room, which ordinarily I'd live with, except that we have various people coming by to see the mostly more finished house in the next couple of weeks, and I'd rather like them not to feel that a tree is OVERWHELMING THEM AND WILL FALL ON THEM. (Also, the cats are loudly objecting that although it's in a perfect position to be jumped on it is also blocking the BIRD WATCHING WINDOW and do I have no sense of priorities?) I'm rather hoping that once it's decorated (so far I haven't put anything on it) it won't look that bad, but right now I must admit I'm wondering just how Grinchy it would be to dump this tree on Goodwill and see if Target has my smaller, more expensive but better for us tree back yet.
It says something, I guess, that the one ornament out and ready to go is my large Christmas jester. Now, if I can just find a blaster for him to aim at the R2 D2 robot, we are all set to go.
I have the wrong Christmas tree.
Thanks to the house renovations and a few other things, I've been rather behind on the whole Christmas decorations thing. Usually, I put the (very little) tree up right after Christmas, let the cats knock it down a few times, put it back up, let them knock it down a bit more, and then once we're all done with this (which varies; the Grey One LOVES Christmas trees with a deep and abiding passion), decorate a week or so post Thanksgiving, leaving the tree up until, say, Martin Luther King Day or until the cats knock it down again. (I use soft or unbreakable ornaments for a reason. And those of you thinking that I'm just decorating for the cats, no; I like the lights, and plus, my tree has little Star Wars figures shooting one another in a happy demonstration of the true meaning of Christmas.) It's tradition. It makes me all warm inside.
This time, however, my ornaments and other Christmas things were scattered in different boxes (I'd used them to pack up different corners) and I decided that really, the house needed a bigger tree. So I found a decent one at Target, then realized it wouldn't fit on the trike. So I waited until my mother could take me…then realized the one I wanted had sold out. So I went with a second choice, which was, fortunately enough, I thought, on sale. Destined, kinda. It was just a little bigger, I told myself. Not really a problem. And finally, last night, I took it out of the box. It was all cold and frosty out (really! yes! in Florida!) and I had hot cider and warm cats and all was ready for tree decorating time.
I was only partly right about the size. What I was wrong about was the decided cheapness of this artificial tree. You certainly do get what you pay for, and in this case, what I've paid for is an artificial tree that is dripping more fake needles than a real one would, has poorly attached and drooping branches, and, yes, is a bit too big for the living room, which ordinarily I'd live with, except that we have various people coming by to see the mostly more finished house in the next couple of weeks, and I'd rather like them not to feel that a tree is OVERWHELMING THEM AND WILL FALL ON THEM. (Also, the cats are loudly objecting that although it's in a perfect position to be jumped on it is also blocking the BIRD WATCHING WINDOW and do I have no sense of priorities?) I'm rather hoping that once it's decorated (so far I haven't put anything on it) it won't look that bad, but right now I must admit I'm wondering just how Grinchy it would be to dump this tree on Goodwill and see if Target has my smaller, more expensive but better for us tree back yet.
It says something, I guess, that the one ornament out and ready to go is my large Christmas jester. Now, if I can just find a blaster for him to aim at the R2 D2 robot, we are all set to go.