graciegirl:
Grew up with the notion that Santa put up the tree. After many years of doing that, my parents quickly allowed that they did it!
As we brought up our kids, my wife and I maintained a number of traditions stemming from our childhood trees.
1) Must, of course, be balsam or spruce.
2) Must be as fresh as possible.
3) Must be at least 9' tall (so that I always had to take some off to make it fit).
4) Must have several ornaments dating from as early as the 1920s (which came from my in-laws).
5) Must have lots of tinsel.
6)
AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, must have real candles on it!
The candles always were lit Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and Twelfth Night - at a minimum.
We began with the "put it up as late as possible" attitude. Over the years, we adopted the "not before the 18th, no later than the 21st" approach!
Now, of course, I have a small fake tree, pre-wired with colored lights. I still decorate it each year, but it takes me about an hour, not the two days of St. Louis days!
I have abandoned the candles, sadly - although I still have a few holders!
I may have to abandon tinsel, at least this year, as The New Kitten is a terror and will eat every strand and may well destroy the tree, too!
SWR
