I can probably attribute the decision to a number of factors, but the bottom
line is this: this year we opted out of setting up our full-length Christmas
tree.
Maybe we did it because 2020 has been such an awful year anyway.
Maybe we did it because, quite honestly, getting it down from the attic,
decorating it, putting away the boxes, then getting the boxes back down,
putting everything away, and stowing everything in the attic again is SUCH
a pain in the neck.
Yeah, probably that more than anything else.
Kiddo confirmed she was onboard, but we couched it in a particularly
sensitive way: I green-lighted Laurel getting a new kitten, and reasoned
that having a Christmas tree would just invite a lot of trouble we really
don't need. Or want.
Kiddo's reply was basically that she's of the age where she cares much
more "about the process" — dinner, gifts, family
time — than in the actual tree.
Still, I feel like we're losing something by letting this go. Don't get
me wrong — setting it up and taking it all down really is a
collossal pain in the neck. But I've always loved to just sit and admire
the lit tree at night. It takes me back to childhood, and memories of laying
beneath the tree and looking up at the colored bulbs.
My grandparents had a tiny tree they sat on their console television set.
When Christmastime would come around, they'd bring it up from the basement
or bring it down from their attic and remove the garbage bag that covered it
for it's spring/summer/autumn nap. My grandfather would go to the local
bank and get us each a crisp, new $5 bill, and place them in money envelopes
on the little tree. Once the holiday was over, the annual black bag job
happened again, and the little tree — decorations and all — went back to
it's place for its long nap. My grandparents were in their 70's in this
story. They weren't into wrestling a 7' artificial tree down and up flights
of stairs.
For some reason, especially this year, we get it.
Laurel bought a small holiday display we'll put up instead. I think it's
a tree or trees in a sleigh. Pre-lit.
If we decide to bring down the big tree again, we can set the small one
in a window facing the neighborhood or something. Speaking of the neighborhood,
there are services that will put up lights on your house for you and take them
down again. One such company (well, it was a guy, really) estimated his services
were worth $700.00. I don't have the jingle in my pockets to afford that.
I'll miss the magic of the large tree. I know I will. But I'm not willing
to pay the price of spending hours hauling all that shit up and down the
attic stairs four times. At least not this year.
Perhaps this is a slippery, snowy slope: maybe we're headed for TV trays
(my grandparents ate their dinner on them in front of their TV) next.