Yep, this week you get to give opinoins–about a subject that is near and dear to us all, our Christmas trees. Just finished decorating ours, and it is…well, beautiful. It smells piney and has some endearing imperfections, but it’s the real thing. There are many different thoughts on what makes a beautiful Christmas tree, and maybe some might not like that adjective. Perhaps it should be clever or funny or sporty. Well, let’s see where you weigh in.
1. Whatever your favorite type is (a Douglas fir, a Frasier fir, a spruce, a concolor), why do you choose it?
a. price (oh, yeah, they are all more expensive this year, having to do with a dought in Texas, they say, and I thought they were all grown in Lenhartsville)
b. size–does it have to dominate or just fit in
c. shape–are you a round and fully packed or a svelt and sleek tree lover?
d. layering of branches–must the ornaments hang vertically or can they look layed on
e. will it fit in the stand–or do you have to get a bucket of sand and ropes to fortify it
f. all of the above
2. When do you get and trim your tree?
a. Halloween, when the stores do theirs
b. Thanksgiving, between football games
c. early in December
d. when I’m finished marking papers
e. when I finally get around to it
f. Christmas eve, because Santa brings it
3. Lightin preference
a. tiny little white lights because they’re elegant
b. colored lights–the more colors the better
c. ones that chase each other around the tree
d. bubbling candles (remember those?)
e. whatever I found on my grandmother’s attic
f. the cheapest ones I could find at Ace Hardware
4. Ornaments–
a. traditional balls
b. I’ve got a theme tree
c. ones my children made–love those construction paper chains
d. ones I made in school–love those snowflakes and origami birds, but they’re getting a little yellow around the edges
e. the cheapest ones I could find at Ace Hardware
f. anything left after the cat knocked the tree down last year
5. What do you do with all of those little fuses and bulbs (and all of those little tags that say CAUTION and UL listed–what does that mean?)
a. throw them away
b. use them, of course, I haven’t had to replace lights in decades
c. put them in a desk drawer and now I have a collection of more than 1000 of them
d. glue them together to make little garlands for a miniatrure tree
e. what fuses and extra bulbs?
6. What goes on the top of your tree?
a. a star
b. an angel
c. a partidge in a pear tree
d. nothing–can’t reach it
7. Final touch?
a. garland
b. tinsel/rain/ice cicles
c. popcorn and cranberries
d. angelhair (remember that?)
e. it looks good the way it is
8. Who loves your tree the most?
a. the cat
b. the puppy–has eaten everything half way up
c. my mother (she loves everything I do–especially at Christmas)
d. my grandchildren
e. me
I hope you chose “e” for the last one. Enjoy it all!
Ellen