Categories: uncategorized
Date: 21 December 2005 21:21:54
Well, today seems to have been a day devoted to Christmas trees. It started this morning with a trip into the loft to look for the Christmas tree, which turned out almost like a panto ("It's not up here", "Oh yes it is", "Oh no it isn't"). It wasn't. So, the next place to hunt was the garage, which confusingly enough is not connected to my parents' house, but is about 4 streets away, in what was previously my grandfather's house. Much hunting eventually revealed it, although not one of the family had any recollection of putting it there.
So, then I was left to it to try and build the tree, which is a pretty frustrating task at the best of times, bearing in mind it's one of those ones where you have to hook all the branches in individually, and that each branch has a particular level it has to go at, and the labels on the branches are deliberately subtle so you don't see them later. Then I had the thoroughly joyous task of attempting to squish a very wide tree into a fairly small alcove. I know that last year I somehow managed it by removing a few of the branches, bending others, and lots of fiddling about, but today it just wasn't going anywhere.
Eventually, we decided to admit the fact that a 6ft high and very wide tree just doesn't fit in my parents' very small living room, and that it might be time to buy a smaller tree that actually fitted. So after a couple of attempts (how many people really want 7ft trees, by the way - they were everywhere?), we came across a tall but slim artificial tree which, when measured, was exactly the right size to fit in the alcove with a bit of spare space. The downside was that the one on display was the only one they had - or at least this was a downside until they offered to sell us the display one for a third of the normal price, including the decorations on it!
I'm sure I have done something that felt sillier than waling out to the carpark holding two-thirds of a constructed and decorated tree (one third in each hand), and accompanied by my father who had the remaining third. He reckoned the time he'd come home drunk with a sack of brussel sprouts over his shoulder had been odder...but at least he had the excuse of being under the influence.
Driving home with two-thirds of a Christmas tree on the back seat was a bit odd, and then I had to un-decorate it (silk butterflies on a Christmas tree?!) in order to have it properly decorated for our household. You see, we have a "historic tree", where my mother can tell you exactly when each ornament on it was made or bought - "We got that one your first Christmas", "Your brother made that at junior school", "That used to be on my granny's tree" etc.
The only thing on our tree that no-one can explain is the white woolly octopus, but since it got into the box at some point, its reason for being there seems to be that no-one knows why it's there. In that case, maybe I'd better get rid of the silk butterflies quickly, or they'll be on the tree next year!