Okay, let's be honest. Who put the tree up in your home when you were a kid? Maybe I'll feel better that my teens don't want to hang out on a weekend night to decorate.

I have to admit it was mainly Mom and Dad who did the bulk. They got out all the decorations. Mom sorted them. Dad did the tree and outside lights. Hmmm, what did the kids do? Not much as I recall. We may have helped if we were around, but it wsn't a big performance. If we had something else to do, we did it. If we were home, we helped.

Okay, I've made myself feel better after recalling this. This is basically how we do it at our home, except Ross hangs with me until the decorations are all on the tree. I don't know if my dad did that. He may have pooped out after the lights were done. Way to go Mom. Another reason to be thankful for the women who helped make my childhood Christmas memories so joyful.

What would our families do without us during this season?

Well Dotsie I have to admit my Mom "organized" the decorating of the tree but we ALL participated in decorating it. I just loved getting the old ornaments out every year and looking for my favorites. I still have a couple of them - ones I made in Brownies over 50 years ago! Remember the styrofoam balls, ribbon, sequins, and straight pins with pearls on the end??? I have THREE of those beauties (?) that hang on my tree every year still. HAHA

I also remember that when I was little the day we put up the tree was on December 19th, my Mom's birthday.

Nowadays my husband and I put our tree up together - and since it's been our "tradition" to get an ornament on our travels everywhere we've been we have a LOT of great ornaments with nice memories attached. When we take them out and put them on the tree, inevitably it gets us talking about our trips. It's a great thing to do together.

I'm doing tree and inside/outside decorations this weekend as long as the weather holds out!

As a kid the tree was always put up late at night after we were asleep and the next day whalla...there it was....

My sons and I put the tree's up every year from the time they were about 5 years old....

Now I reach into a tall box, lift out the 5 foot tree already decorated, shake it open and stand it on the counter....ho ho ho marry Xmas!!

Well I remember it was so cold one winter night Dad would get the tree from the church lot where they would be selling them . He would put the tree in a old bucket outside of the back door and sometimes the water would freeze in the bucket and Dad would have to let it thaw out before we could trim the tree. We always had a real tree them back in the 1950's an 60's . Dad would help to put the tree up , but stand back and let my brother and I trim the tree. Dad would get so mad when my brother and I would threw the icicles on the tree. We would make cookes and have christmas music playing .

Oh, that was fun and the house was so warm and cozy inside ..

Thanks for the memory,

Nancy

[ December 04, 2004, 08:38 PM: Message edited by: Nancy50 ]

My mother tells me that on my first Christmas when I was eight months old she and Daddy bought me a lot of presents and carefully hid them from me until Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Eve, Daddy walked into the woods near the house and looked almost all day for the exactly right tree which he cut down and dragged home. When he finally got there it was almost dark.
They had no real decorations, so after I was asleep, Mom took big gumdrops and threaded them then hung them on the tree. They lit candles and the sugar sparkled. She says it was the prettiest Christmas tree she has ever seen.
Thanks for that memory.
smile
When my kids were teenagers, they skipped out on the tree trimming too dots.

Smile, great story. I yearn for simpler times.

We are in the middle of decorating the house and the Raven's game.

I remember that as kids we were always responsible for putting the tinsel on the tree.

Now, I'm the one responsible for the tree. We have a 9 1/2 foot tree that we used to put up but our living room doesn't have room for it anymore .. not after my husband put in a 400 gallon room divider (some of you will read this as aquarium!)

Now, I have a 3 foot tree that I put on the coffee table. It's fun to decorate with all the miniature ornaments and garland. Even little lights.

Is this topic right up my alley or what? Go to www.penwomanship.com and read my December article titled, "Decorating the Tree or, Where Did Everybody Go? "

I think it speaks for a lot of us! ha!

JJ

The boys are both away but last night we put up the tree with my daughter who was able to hang baubles very competently (not bad for a 3 yr old!) It put us all in a good mood...peace reigns...(or maybe thats because the teenagers are not at home?)

Jawjaw, loved it. Could totally relate.

Julie, I remeber ding the tree with the little ones in there footy pajamas. Precious.

I remember them having friends over to help decorate as they got older. Many hands make light work. The tree was decorated inno time.

I also remember the next stage where the kids came to help, hung two ornaments, and lost interest.

Now Ross and I pretty much do it ourselves. I love talking about all the ornaments, who gave them to us, where we got them on vacations, etc.

Lots of fun memories.

Many are from Mom, or remind me of Mom. That part is bittersweet.