OMG! It sparkles in different colors!
Dec. 4th, 2009 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xerinmichellexThere is a time honored tradition in my house that dates back a few years. It happens after the turkey's been eaten, the in-laws have left, and my brother and I hand over our Christmas lists for the year. It is a race to see whose tree can be put up first. We have two--three counting the Whoville tree I bought at Urban Outfitters a couple years ago. My mother likes the generic green, 7 foot tall fake tree. The one my father and I prefer is...one of a kind.
For the past two years, my mother has succeeded in getting her tree up first. This year, my father and I won.
This is our little monster X-mas tree for 2009. Isn't it shiny? And sparkly? And...retro?
The back story for this tree is it belonged to my maternal grandparents. My mother grew up with this tree--hence why she probably hates it so much. When my grandmother died ten years, my father found the tree in her basement. My uncle didn't want it and it became his loss. It was so grimy and caked with dust, my father cleaned it with chandelier cleaner--which gave him a nice high--and re-glued each one of the branches so the silver tinsel-thingy stayed put. Then, for our last Christmas at my grandmother's house, he put that tree up in all its glory. My cousins and I loved it. We had never seen a silver tree before. We ooo'ed and ahhh'ed the crap out of that tree. And then, it came home with my family and was stored away in the attic to my mother's happiness.
Flash forward three years ago: My father and I constantly teased my mother about dragging that silver tree out and putting it up while she was at work for years. And years. Finally, it became "Why tease about it, when we should do it?" We did it the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2006. We put that silver tree sucker up. My mother came home late and screeched, "Oh God! Not the silver tree!" Once she was over her shock, she ran out to Target lickety-split and bought the red ornaments for the tree. A friend bought her golden glass ornaments upon hearing The Tale of the Silver Tree. I think the red and gold looks nice against the silver.
The two years after that my mother managed to get her tree up, fearing my father would scurry up the attic ladder and drag out the old boxes. But, not this year. My father and I planned it all out in advance on Halloween that he and I would take the silver tree out when my mother went to work last weekend. Our plan was a successful one, dammit! Unfortunately, the original shock of my mother was lost this time around. She is just glad she doesn't have to worry about putting up the tree.
This also means my father and I are in charge of cleaning up the tree after Christmas. Yipee...?
I honestly don't care. I like the silver tree. Who else has a silver tree? There are trees of green and white and red and black--because nothing says "Holiday Cheer!" like BLACK--sold in Walmart and Target. No silver trees what-so-ever!
Our tree even has not one, but two! color wheels that "color" the tinsel. There's no need for lights! Which is good because the lights--unless LED--would melt the tree, and Christmas is not Christmas without a Christmas tree.
And here it is all lit up! Oooo, ahhhh. Pretty!
Here's the red, the brightest of them all. I'd say something nasty about it looking like we killed Santa Claus in this room, but I would like to be on The Nice List this year.
This is the yellow section of the wheel. There's also green and blue on the color wheels, but they didn't turn out so hot.
The base even rotates and plays "O Christmas Tree"...all at the same time. Take that, Rockefeller Tree in New York! Hee, I *love* this tree.
For the past two years, my mother has succeeded in getting her tree up first. This year, my father and I won.
This is our little monster X-mas tree for 2009. Isn't it shiny? And sparkly? And...retro?
The back story for this tree is it belonged to my maternal grandparents. My mother grew up with this tree--hence why she probably hates it so much. When my grandmother died ten years, my father found the tree in her basement. My uncle didn't want it and it became his loss. It was so grimy and caked with dust, my father cleaned it with chandelier cleaner--which gave him a nice high--and re-glued each one of the branches so the silver tinsel-thingy stayed put. Then, for our last Christmas at my grandmother's house, he put that tree up in all its glory. My cousins and I loved it. We had never seen a silver tree before. We ooo'ed and ahhh'ed the crap out of that tree. And then, it came home with my family and was stored away in the attic to my mother's happiness.
Flash forward three years ago: My father and I constantly teased my mother about dragging that silver tree out and putting it up while she was at work for years. And years. Finally, it became "Why tease about it, when we should do it?" We did it the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2006. We put that silver tree sucker up. My mother came home late and screeched, "Oh God! Not the silver tree!" Once she was over her shock, she ran out to Target lickety-split and bought the red ornaments for the tree. A friend bought her golden glass ornaments upon hearing The Tale of the Silver Tree. I think the red and gold looks nice against the silver.
The two years after that my mother managed to get her tree up, fearing my father would scurry up the attic ladder and drag out the old boxes. But, not this year. My father and I planned it all out in advance on Halloween that he and I would take the silver tree out when my mother went to work last weekend. Our plan was a successful one, dammit! Unfortunately, the original shock of my mother was lost this time around. She is just glad she doesn't have to worry about putting up the tree.
This also means my father and I are in charge of cleaning up the tree after Christmas. Yipee...?
I honestly don't care. I like the silver tree. Who else has a silver tree? There are trees of green and white and red and black--because nothing says "Holiday Cheer!" like BLACK--sold in Walmart and Target. No silver trees what-so-ever!
Our tree even has not one, but two! color wheels that "color" the tinsel. There's no need for lights! Which is good because the lights--unless LED--would melt the tree, and Christmas is not Christmas without a Christmas tree.
And here it is all lit up! Oooo, ahhhh. Pretty!
Here's the red, the brightest of them all. I'd say something nasty about it looking like we killed Santa Claus in this room, but I would like to be on The Nice List this year.
This is the yellow section of the wheel. There's also green and blue on the color wheels, but they didn't turn out so hot.
The base even rotates and plays "O Christmas Tree"...all at the same time. Take that, Rockefeller Tree in New York! Hee, I *love* this tree.
