Every year, my wife "encourages" me to get a Christmas tree. But every year, it doesn't happen for one reason or another. Last year was kind of close if you count going out and buying some ornaments. It was a small first step.
But this year it finally happened. And my wife is excited. Except, she is not so much into the go out and choose the cutest christmas tree, or even the decorating. She just likes to have a christmas tree in the apartment. Actually, to address the decorating part, I think my wife would enjoy the decorating piece, except I "sometimes" tend to have ideas on how things should be. And when you have a husband who's telling you on one hand to go ahead and decorate, but then on the other hand he tells you "oh but not there" it can't be too fun. Sorry my dear.
But in the end we worked through "my differences" and I think we have a beautiful, pine scent Christmas tree. So here were my observations about the whole experience...
Selection of the tree
1) I wanted a Douglas Fir. I was really surprised that the majority of people were buying the Noble Fir's. But Douglas Fir's are the tree I grew up with, and there is nothing better than its strong pine scent.
2) My wife wanted a smaller one, so we choose one that is just under 6'.
3) Amazingly, our selection of the tree was very easy. We found one that has a great shape and is very fresh.
4) Our only mistake was selecting one that didn't have enough trunk at the bottom (6" - 8" inches would have been good for a perfect fit in the stand). We could of had it trimed but there were too many branches close together and we were worried it may be thinned out too much.
Transporting the tree
1) We brought the Subaru and decided to stick it inside. I didn't want to scratch up the top of the car and there was really no one to help us tie it down. You really don't go to home depot for the customer service. You go there for the price. So we got a great deal on our Christmas Tree, but it was definitely a do-it-yourself experience the whole way.
2) I would consider going to a tree lot, and paying a little more for some expert advice and some help next time. I think I'll do that next year.
3) We layed down blankets inside, to catch all the loose pine needles, and it worked out perfectly. Now all we have to do is take out the blankets.
4) The tree fit perfectly inside. It was definitely the perfect size.
Decorating the tree
1) I had selected ornaments last year, but never used them. So it was a great feeling to finally be able to use them. As an amateur Christmas ornament shopper, I didn't realize that they didn't have any ribbon to hang them. Fortunately we had lots of ribbon laying around.
2) After much "discussion" we finally agreed that we would use our left over wedding ribbon. We had bought lots of beautiful ribbon for our wedding projects that we never used. It was a great symbolic tie linking our wedding to a wonderful Christmas tradition, the decorating of the christmas tree. I'm glad that it worked out that way.
3) I only had one mishap when putting on the lights. Our stand is a little mickey mouse. Home Depot ran out of Christmas tree stands (can you believe that?) and so we had to pick one up at Target (I'm convinced Target is really the answer for lots of lifes problems). Although it does the job, it is not the most stable stand in the world. So as I was adjusting the lights in the back, I accidently knocked it over and allowed most of the water to spill out. OOps. But it wasn't too bad.
4) We decorated while we watched ABC's "For One More Day". I think it turned out really nice. And we finally got our Christmas Tree.
This was really the first Christmas tree my wife and I got for ourselves. Despite all the hassles of picking one up, and decorating it, it is totally worth it to bring the Christmas spirit into the house.
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