I love everything about Christmas....family, friends, gifts, pretty lights, bonfires, music, etc but the one thing I love the most is a REAL Christmas tree!!! Growing up we always had a real tree and the smell of one still brings back so many great memories of my childhood but I've always wanted to wait to get the "real thing" once Bear and I were married. Well, now we are and on Monday we got our first real Christmas tree!! I wanted to surprise Barrier when he got home from work so I went by myself to get the perfect tree......NOT as easy as I had planned.
The twelve things I learned about putting up our first Christmas tree:
1. You don't have to have your hubby with you to pick out, carry, or load a tree....the guys at Lowe's are more than happy to do it all for you once you choose the one you want. This sounds simple but as indecisive as I am, it took me (and my helper) almost an hour! Did you know there are several types of Christmas trees in all shapes and sizes???
2. Loading the tree into my vehicle was simple because I had someone do it for me....unloading it on my own was a totally different story! I managed to get it onto our front porch and that's when the fun began!
3. Christmas tree stands are a pain in the *@!!**. I have never been so frustrated in my life.
4. Just because a tree stand may look sturdy...it’s not! Once I wrestled the tree into the stand and tightened the screws, I stepped back (very proud of my work) and noticed that the tree was leaning slightly to the right. When I bent down to fix the problem, the entire tree fell on top of me with the BENT tree stand sticking in the air!! I almost started crying
5. For people who are slightly OCD, like I am, decorating a Christmas tree takes a lot of adjusting and then re-adjusting (ribbon, ornaments, branches...you name it!)
6. Make sure, ahead-of-time, that ALL your strands of lights work before you wrap the entire tree with them and then find out the middle strand doesn't! This will cause you to say a few select words out loud!
7. Trees need WATER! I forgot to do this until 3 days later....but I think it's going to survive
8. Don't expect your husband to jump up and down with excitement when you surprise him with yall's first Christmas tree...it's just a tree to them, they don’t get it
9. Great Danes like to eat ornaments OFF THE TREE....hook and all. Our tree now looks bare.
10. I thought the tree I picked out looked tall and full.....it's full alright but lacking height so now it looks like a mini-me in our den
11. I don't think my tree will ever be as pretty as my mothers or Tricia's (my grandmother) :)
12. Do they make trees that come fully loaded...ornaments and all? I may look into this for next year
