Hmmm… Christmas. I don’t think I’ve heard more people unenthusiastic about the Holidays than this year. Of course, here in the country, I run into a tiny fraction of the people I used to when living in cities…so maybe it’s different right in amongst the masses! For a variety of reasons, the Farm was extremely quiet this time around. I looked at the Tree—it’s been up since early December—as a sign of the times. Until a couple of years ago, the decades-old tradition was to cut one from the strip of woods at the north end of the farm. Then, suddenly, we got an artificial tree. It’s deluxe, tall and slender, and a perfect fit for the narrow corner between two doorways in the kitchen-dining room. It’s the first thing you see when you enter the house. I don’t remember why the change, it wasn’t me that did it. I think it was just convenience winning out over a dwindling connection to the tree-cutting tradition. In any case, the new guy is a fine looking facsimile tree that needs no watering, poses no fire hazard (I think it’s fire-retardant, you know how crispy these old farmhouses can get), and due to location delivers way more upfront Christmasy ambiance than the real trees used to from their old spot further back in the house. The decorations are elaborate and cheery as well, with a designer old-time feel, the classic balls and streamers and tiny Christmas lights, along with tons of little, antique-looking doll ornaments: puppets and wise men, songbirds and Santa bears. They’re all mostly plastic, but quality, non-plastic-looking plastic. All in all, a beautiful (and practical!) MODERN farmhouse tree that should last for years and years! Great. Then again, it’s up to people, not trimmings, to make the season. Happy Holidays to all! :)
I quite like Mr. Santa Bear!
Happy Holidays to you too Mike.
Cute little guy…and so very right, it is indeed the people not the trimmings! Kim
I’ll just echo the above. Hope you plans go well next year.
Oh No!!!
Not you tooo!
Humbug!
I got a real ax to grind when if comes to fake Christmas greens.
Maybe it’s from my days as a professional commercial display designer & doing Christmas decorating for local businesses.
I can understand fake plastic trees if you live in Arizona or Nevada, but I will never understand how convenience could win out if you live somewhere where live trees are readily available.
If mean if you don’t have time to cut a tree..how about supporting your local small family owned tree farmer and buy one?
Last I knew there were 4 major Christmas Crap factories located along the Pacific Rim that were producing all that stuff.
The exploitation and human misery involved in the “global” Christmas kitsch trade is pathetic.
No to mention the environmental pollution – lead, PBCs etc.
Come on…get honest..would you give a woman a plastic rose or fake pearls?
How about laying a plastic wreath on you grandparents grave or a fake fruit bowl in the kitchen because perfect fruit & flowers have “ambiance”?
A Christmas tree is really no different from a flower bouquet – it’s just much bigger.
Celebrate Life with Life.
Sure living things can be some trouble and are transient.
But so are life’s most important moments.
Hope you are sufficiently chastised :-)
All the best to you in the coming year.
The Best to you and yours in the New Year.
BTW my wife and I celebrated a quiet ( snowed in ) Christmas around a ceramic tree made by her mother twenty years ago! We had a construction project going on and no room for the real tree from our Christmas Tree field.
We’ve had an artificial tree for many years. We put our tree up before Thanksgiving and don’t take it down until just after the New Year. That’s a really long time for a cut tree to be in a heated home. With our artificial tree we save gas (not driving to a lot or a tree farm – the closest one to us is a LONG ways away), don’t worry about a fire from too dry needles, don’t have to clean up the mess a cut tree leaves or worry about disposing of it. We save money since we don’t have to buy a tree every year. Works for us, but may not be everyone’s choice. That’s what’s so great about freedom to choose even about the small things in life!
Hope you have a peaceful and joy-filled 2009!
We just didn’t have the energy to hunt for Xmas trees this year so we put lights up around our 4 foot tall house cactus–it looks great!
That was an interesting range of opinion! I was unintentionally a little cryptic in this post, things can get complicated here on the farm, beyond the tiny farming part. In any case, granny miller, it wasn’t my choice to go synthetic, and I didn’t get involved in the decision. (In general, I’m probably of a similar mind to you, based on the things you say… ;) If it was just up to me, I dunno if I’d even bother with a tree these days. A giant cactus sounds cool to me!