Got Christmas?

This year we won't be home for Christmas, we will be visiting my family in Louisiana. We go there every other year, so in those odd years, I typically put up our tiny fake tree instead of a real one. We have had this 6' fake pencil-thin tree since 2002, when I bought it for $20 at Target. It was our first year living in Albany after leaving New York City in the wake of 9/11. In the tiny apartment years that followed, this tree served us well, and we have many tiny ornaments that suit this tiny tree.

Since we bought a house in 2006, we have had a real tree a total of two times, in 2007 and 2009, both years that we stayed home for Christmas. To my  mind, nothing can compare to having a real fir tree, despite the mess and hassle it brings. So this year, looking down the barrel of yet another Christmas trip to Louisiana, I just couldn't face putting up that pencil tree again. You see, I would like to buy a nicer, taller, fuller, prelit fake tree for the odd years, but in order to do so two things need to be in place: 1. I need to be in the area the day after Christmas in order to take advantage of the great fake tree sales, and 2. I need money, and post-Christmas, I am usually beyond broke. So probably out of spite and resentment for having to go on another frustrating and drama-filled family visit during the holiday, I proclaimed this year would be the No Tree Year.

After saying this to anyone within earshot for the past week, yesterday I caved in and put up the damned fake tree. I can't explain what came over me, but suddenly I was seized by the Christmas bug. It was almost as if some internal programming kicked in, and took over my reason.  As a compromise, I only decorated the tree with the smaller ornaments, the vintage Shiny Brite ornaments I 'won' from eBay years ago, the smaller crystal ornaments, and the 'retro' Target finds. The collection of massive, beautiful glass Santas and globes my mom has given me over the years will sleep through this Christmas tucked in their original boxes, safe inside the plastic red and green bins in the basement.

I rode the Christmas wave as long as it lasted--I put up the outdoor lights, put the tree together, wrapped it with 4 strands of lights (wrapped on the branches, not draped), and then we decorated it together last night, after doing a little shopping and addressing 25 Christmas cards.

Now, we wait. Wait for the rest of the gifts to arrive by mail, wait for the days to pass so that we can do our final round of last-minute shopping before we have to start packing, wait for the inexorable experience of Christmas to happen as it does every year.