Originally published December 9, 2013
Christmas always comes with some drama. Ripped from the pages of Facebook, here’s the epic saga of my tree decorating of 2013…
Plugged in every strand of lights to make sure they were working before putting them on tree. Plugged in every individual strand of lights to make sure they were working after putting each on tree. Decorated tree. Plugged in tree. Everything fine for about 15 minutes.
Entire tree goes out.
Went searching for problem strand. Determined it was one of two strands at bottom of tree.
Figured out which one it was.
Carefully disentangled said strand from branches and ornaments. Discovered kids had hung ornaments on light strand. Discovered that 10 year old, despite a lifetime of instruction, is still hanging multiple ornaments on a single branch like so many bunches of ripe cherries. Discovered it is much easier to take lights off a tree when there are no ornaments on it. Discovered a 44 year old spinal column ain’t what it used to be.
Plugged new strand of lights into end of previous working strand. No worky.
Prayed.
Contemplated tree with no lights on bottom branches. Imagined offspring in years of therapy due to improperly lit tree.
Prayed again. Considered that this was probably the stupidest prayer God had ever heard.
Replugged a different way. Worky. Restrung working strand of lights. Yay. Tree is now completely lit.
Stepped back and discovered side of tree -heretofore unnoticed- looked like a giant had taken a bite out of it (disproportionately short branches). Decided to rotate tree so “bald spot” would be in back.
20 degrees- bald spot still visible.
45 degrees- bald spot still visible. Tree protests being moved by dropping two large jingle bells on my head.
90 degrees- bald spot in back, but now all front ornaments are in back and back ornaments are in front. Also, all breakable ornaments are now dangling precariously over bare tile floor in back instead of over padded tree skirt in front. Some appear ready to commit ornament suicide any moment.
Redecorate approximately 40% of tree. Discover angel topper now at right face instead of facing front. Climb on hearth to rotate angel. Tree drops more jingle bells.
Due to rotation, tree is now too close to couch. Perform origami on spinal column again and attempt to slide tree closer to fireplace. Foot of tree stand gets hung up on edge of a tile. Tree sways but stays in tact.
Operation “Outsmart Christmas Tree” complete. Merry Christmas to me :0)
2016 Update:
Tree shopping and decorating
My husband says the angel looks like it’s
about to launch into orbit!
Oh no, not again!
Fixed!
2018 Update:
Still not the picture perfect tree, but we love it!
2020 Update
This year all the lights stayed on, but the tree ended up being a little shorter than we liked, so I wrapped up a milk crate like a present and the tree stand is sitting on top of it. Also, the angel topper that we’ve had since we got married gave up the ghost a couple of years ago, so we had to replace her with a new one whom we’ve affectionately dubbed “disco angel” due to her LED lighting. (Yes, I know real angels don’t look like that. Don’t @ me. :0)
2021 Update
We always grab a snack or dessert after tree shopping. This year it was Mexican ice cream!
The tree looks pretty much the same this year as it did last year, so I thought I’d show you some of my favorite decorations instead:
The first ornament that was “ours”. We bought it the Christmas before we got married. 
There are 6 red, green, and purple balls in this “Names of Christ” set: Redeemer, Lord, Savior, Emmanuel, Jesus, and Christ.
2022 Update
This could, conceivably, be the last Christmas any of the kids will go with us to pick out the Christmas tree. The last two in the nest are 19 and 20 respectively, with full time jobs and their own activities to attend to.
2023 Update
The Lesley Way is for everybody to pick out and advocate for the tree he or she thinks is best. Then, Dad (who’s the one who actually has to trim it), makes the final decision. Mom has veto power, but, since Mom would be happy with almost any tree in the place, and since we all have similar taste in trees, it’s rarely exercised. This year, we picked Laura’s tree.
Probably one of my favorite Christmas tree pictures ever.
Bonus pic of my husband and me goofing off at our local Christmas parade.
Every Southern girl needs a big, floppy Ouiser hat to keep the sun at bay!
2024 Update
This year was the very first time we have ever gone Christmas tree shopping without at least two of our children. It’s one of those things that most couples experience when they first get married, and here we are, after almost 32 years of marriage doing it for the first time! We have always loved picking out a tree together as a family, but this was a different kind of fun – a “date day”!
My dad passed away this past January, so after the funeral we spent some time helping my mom sort, donate, and downsize some things. She very kindly allowed my girls and me to go through all of her Christmas decorations and take the ones we wanted. I’m so glad we will all have these precious heirlooms and the memories that go with them. I have been waiting almost a year to hang them on my tree. Wanna see?
If you’re around my age, you might remember decorating glass balls like this. Elmer’s glue and glitter, baby! We all had one with our name on it. These are my mom’s and dad’s, which will henceforth hang on my tree. My husband’s and mine – new this year, and purchased on a trip to a retreat I spoke at – aren’t quite as elegant, but we like them.❤️💚❤️💚
Before there was “Elf on the Shelf,” there was elf on the tree. Circa the 1960’s, I’m pretty sure.
The three glass balls, the gold filigree Star of David, and the aqua/silver tinsel Koosh Ball-looking thingie, my parents bought in sets in Germany when my dad was stationed there before I was born, so they are all about 56-57 years old. My sister and I used to have great fun throwing those tinsel thingies at the tree, and I kept the tradition when I decorated this year! We got the straw stars when the Army moved us to New Mexico when I was a child, so those are probably 45-50 years old. We threw those too, but they didn’t stick as well as the tinsel ones. :0)
It looks like the middle section isn’t lit as well as the upper and lower sections, but that’s just because the branches are a lot thicker right there.
2025 Update
Our second year searching for our Christmas tree as empty nesters! We think this year’s tree is the best shape and size we’ve ever gotten!
I did have issues with the lights again this year. They were all working when I put them on the tree, and then a strand and a half went mysteriously dark. But here’s the wisdom of age for you – this year, I didn’t take the lights off the tree. I shoved the infernal quitter strands all the way back to the trunk where they’d be invisible and went out and bought a new 250 light string to replace them.
I was pretty happy until I reached for an ornament tote – which I had already gone through this year, mind you – and found four brand new boxes of lights that I’d bought at an after Christmas clearance sale sometime within the last few years.🤨
Oh well.
I thought you might enjoy this little video I made. It was for a Christmastime women’s meeting at my church (so I’ve clipped out the first few seconds for privacy reasons). We all brought something to demonstrate how we “keep Christ in Christmas” in our homes.
