The Trahan Family Christmas Tree

With the holidays inching ever closer, we spent this past weekend searching for the perfect Christmas tree. Taking after my dad, I like to find the largest, fattest tree that will still fit in the room. And, since the new family room has a vaulted ceiling, I was looking for a tree more than 8 feet tall.

So, off we go to the first Christmas Tree farm. We headed to a place about 30 minutes south of the house which also had a petting zoo for kids. After walking the majority of the farm, with Mikie in toe, we left. There wasn't a single Douglas fir that was taller and me and was full.

On our way back to the house for more directions, we pass the second Christmas Tree farm. This one was less than 15 minutes from our house. Unfortunately, they had a sign hanging across the entrance saying "Sorry, Sold Out for the Season". December 9th. . . sold out for the season? Either everyone is cutting their Christmas trees down in November, or they didn't have a lot of trees to start with.

I remembered the year my dad went out on Christmas Eve and bought himself a 10 ft Christmas tree for $20 at a lot. Maybe I need to go to a lot to have any luck finding the perfect tree. And there we found "The Trahan Family Christmas Tree".

We get the tree back to the house and set it up in the tree stand. We have (or rather, had) a commercial tree stand where you screw an insert onto the tree. The insert that sits inside a base. You can easily adjust the tree to make sure it is straight, and then lock the insert into place. Amazingly, we get it straight on the first try. . .

15 minutes later, it falls over, spilling hot sappy water all over the carpet.

We put it up a second time, but realize it is crooked. And, in our effort to adjust it, we broke the locking lever.

So, with Mike holding up the Christmas Tree (and Mikie scolding Mike not to knock it down and scolding the Christmas Tree not to make a mess), I head out to the store in search of the same tree stand.

Unfortunately, each one of the six stores I went to sold the same, $9.99 cheap plastic tree stand with four screws to hold the tree in place. If my tree fell over in a commercial stand, some plastic thing is not going to work. Luckily, store number six had a heavy cast-iron stand with a wide base. Armed with the new stand, I return home, 90 minutes later.

For the third time in one day, we put the Christmas tree up in a stand. Now comes the decorating. . .

I failed to realize that being only 5'3" tall, it is difficult to decorate a 10' tree. Especially when your ladder is sitting in Pennsylvania, 300 miles away. Mike ended up precariously balancing on top of a stop stool positioned on top of a bar stool in an effort to put the angel on top of the tree. And, I, his loving wife, rather than be concerned, was in tears trying to keep from laughing at the absurdity of the situation. With the help of Mike's cousins we had the tree decorated by Sunday night. You can see the results of our hard work:
And, as if the whole experience wasn't reminiscent enough of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the tree truly is full with "a bit of sap". We have been scrubbing it off our hands for days.

Merry Christmas!
Love, The Trahans