21st Century Christmas Traditions

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I love the magic of Christmas! I'm like most people; it is my favorite time of the year. I start planning in July for any changes to my decorations and for my home-made Christmas cards.

When we were newlyweds, we would visit the Christmas tree farms the week following Thanksgiving to find the perfect tree. When I would travel up the hill, I would play a Christmas cassette of John Denver and sing along with the tape. Despite my husband's hatred for the song, "Daddy, Please Don't Get Drunk This Christmas," we played it every Christmas, creating a tradition. We would travel from lot to lot looking for a tree which was not too tall, perfectly round without any gaping holes, straight trunk, etc... In other words, we wanted the perfect tree. Usually at the end of the day I was tired, cold, cranky, and telling him to cut down the next tree he saw.

After getting the tree home, we started the process of setting it up and getting it secured. In previous years, in order to keep the tree stable and prevent the cat from knocking it over, we had to secure the tree to the wall with wires. By January, there were tree needles all over the floor, no matter how diligent we were in watering the tree. A huge family of bugs came along for the ride a few years ago, so we inadvertently become hosts for them for two months. It was always a mess to deal with and, as the years went on, it seemed more and more tedious to pick up after our live tree.

At last we got smart and bought an artificial tree. I honestly couldn't believe that I would be as happy with an artificial tree as I was with a live tree. But I loved it! The branches are hinged and pre-lit, so no more tangled light strings to wrestle with. Setting it up is easy, making it faster to get to the fun of decorating it. When the New Year starts, there isn't a mess to vacuum up on the carpet where the tree had been. There are no creepy bugs in our home.

However, we no longer have the annual Christmas tree fight that I had grown used to. We have since replaced it with new traditions. When the tree is being set up, we play Christmas music and I bake cookies. The house has a wonderful Christmas smell because there is spiced cider boiling on the stove. Even though I lost my John Denver tape, I am not mad. Our new tradition doesn't require it anymore.

We now have a new wreath for the front door that matches our beautiful new tree, and we purchased pre-lit garland to decorate the fireplace mantle. Pine scented fragrance diffusers create a smell that mimics a real Christmas tree but does not create any of the mess.

Even though you are using an artificial tree, you won't miss out on creating new traditions. Have a wonderful Christmas.


About the Author:
Marlia Brightston loves to decorate for Christmas, especially since she purchased some lighted christmas trees from classychristmastrees.com. LED Christmas trees work great for both her home and her classroom and give her much more time for other important things, like her children.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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