Originally published December 23, 2016
Ghosts of Christmas trees past
My son arrived for the holidays to find no Christmas tree at
my new place. I’m sure it did not faze him. I put up two wreaths, decorated
windows with gel clings, found a place to dangle the mistletoe, hung our
stockings, and set out more holiday décor.
But I miss it.
So many of my ornaments inspire memories of Christmas trees
past
I gave away my artificial Christmas tree as it was too big
for the apartment. It found a new home with someone who needed a dose of
Christmas cheer.
I shopped around Beaver Dam and online, but could not find a
tree I both liked and could afford. I do not want a pre-lit tree, as I prefer
the tradition of stringing lights while venting my spleen with colorful
phrases.
I came across many of my favorite ornaments while unpacking
the other holiday décor.
Nestled away are a pear, two golden hearts and tiny pandas.
They represent my first Christmas 20 years ago with my son. My parents gave me
an artificial tree before they moved from Michigan to Wisconsin that year. As a
single mother still in college, I did not have the budget for enough ornaments
to fill the top two-thirds of the tree. (My son could reach the bottom third.)
So I dug through my jewelry box and secured a necklace pendant and two pairs of
earrings to ornament hooks to help fill the gaps.
The gold balls I splurged on for my first Christmas tree
have remained packed away for 13 years. They are not shatterproof, which is a
problem with a cat who persists in tree climbing and knocking off ornaments.
Other favorites include hobbyhorse ornaments my mother made
when we still lived in White Pine, Michigan. Our Christmas trees there were
live, usually decorated with tinsel and C5 lights in addition to our ornaments.
Our first Christmas tree in Colorado was also a live tree,
and it was the first year we lived in a house with a fireplace mantel for
hanging stockings. It was a bittersweet Christmas, as it was the first year we
did not travel to my grandparents’ farm for the holiday.
One year we brought home a flocked Christmas tree and decked
it with blue lights and blue bulbs to recreate one of my father’s favorite
childhood Christmas trees. After moving back to Michigan, we expanded to two
Christmas trees – one in the living room and another in the family room. We
decorated one tree with the usual ornaments, and gave my mother no end of grief
for her choice to dress up the second tree with fake red apples.
After moving to Ohio and before moving back to Wisconsin
again, my mother passed down many of the family ornaments to my sister and me.
I have bells made out of beads, a ski jumper with my name engraved on the
bottorm and several ornaments with pandas on them, as my family nickname is
Amanda Panda.
Ornaments I bought for myself over the years include a candy
cane made of copper which reminds me of my father, who spent much of his career
working at a copper mine in the Upper Peninsula. I also have an ornament shaped
like my beloved U.P.
My son and I will spend Christmas Eve and Day with my mother
and stepfather, where there will be a tree to place presents under.
So while my ornaments will remain packed away until next
year, my memories remain. And I’m reminded of the lesson the Grinch learned in
the Dr. Seuss classic.
“What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.
What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!”
May you have a safe, healthy and happy holiday weekend.
Merry Christmas.
Original column
