A decorator might find our Christmas tree mismatched, haphazard, an unpleasing balance. And to be honest, it is all that. We don’t have a color scheme. We don’t have a snowflake or Santa or Victorian theme. What we do have is an abundance of ornaments made out of construction paper. We even have some made of paper plates with tiny hand prints in flaking red and green tempera paint.
To be honest, our tree is mismatched and there are some very homely ornaments on there. There is even one that is truly – trash. But that year my son thought the chocolate coin wrappers were beautiful and he stuck a hook through one and hung it on the tree. He was so proud of his creation that I didn’t have the heart to take it down.
Our ornaments aren’t thoughtfully placed for balance—but put wherever we happen to hang them. Some years we’ve had an abundance of ornaments hung low, because the boys could only reach up or see so far. When you’re only two feet tall, it doesn’t much matter what the top of the tree looks like! This year we didn’t hang many low because of our new puppy’s tendency to chew whatever she can get her teeth on. Some years we hung all the glass ornaments at the very top.
But to me, our tree is beautiful. It is a family tree. It is full of mementos from our vacations. It is full of memories, it holds something from every year of our children’s lives. And it reminds me that families are like our tree–they shift, making room for a new baby or a new puppy. They shift as the babies and puppies grow.
While we decorate the tree, we break out the gingerbread cookies and apple cider. We listen to Peter, Paul, and Mary’s Christmas album. And we talk about the ornaments that we hang on the tree.
I could have a beautiful, designer tree. But it wouldn’t mean a hundredth of what this tree means to me. And it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.