Friday, January 2, 2015

The Tree Went Out - aka - How Soon (After Christmas) Do You Evacuate the Tree?

Our beautiful live Christmas tree, banished to the back yard.

When do you undecorate from Christmas?

Oh, the memories of years past, when I was still at home, living with my parents and three siblings. We can all tell you exactly when Dad wanted to take the tree out.

That would be, most of the time, on Christmas Day morning, even before we opened presents.

Yes. He would begin to verbalize his plans for taking out the tree, lights, ornaments, tinsel and all, tossing it on the rubbish heap or wood pile or on the top of some other pile of yard stuff. Seriously! We barely had time to open our gifts, let alone play with them, before he was unplugging the tree and dragging it out the door. Pine-needle bespeckled kids, mountains of wrapping paper trash, scattered toys, various animals in the midst of playing in the papers, mom trying to watch us enjoy Christmas...and there would go dad, announcing the soon-to-be-upon-us-tree-removal. Barely having heralded his intentions, the tree would be marched away.

Another Christmas tree down the drain.

Surely, I tell you the truth with only slight extensions. The family joke has become how soon my Dad can convince my Mom to let him haul out the tree. He starts in even before Christmas Day. We know the game.

And guess what? In my house at least, I have a very hard time leaving the tree decorated and in place AFTER Christmas Day! His Christmas Day destruction of the holiday décor has jumped to my generation.

This year, we managed to remain decorated for one day past December 25th. Maybe less. We undressed the trees, repacked the storage boxes, removed lights, cleaned, and generally put the house and yard back to normal. On December 26.

I know. It's a sad, sad thing. But I can't seem to help myself. It doesn't help that the hubby agrees.

January 1st? Winter décor is all in place, and nary a Christmas bauble left in sight.

I guess there's always next year and the hopes of letting the decorations of Christmas hang out until the New Year. Here's to Christmas 2015.

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