A holiday blog in three parts
from author and speaker Liz Curtis Higgs
Part Three
Finally it became unhandy to have our Christmas tree in the center of the busiest room in the house, so we moved it out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Then the family room. Then the downstairs bedroom. Only lost a couple of ornaments that time.
When friends asked us if we still had a Christmas tree in our kitchen, we smiled sweetly and say, “Oh, no! It’s in the guestroom.”
By Christmas Eve, our traveling tree found a home for the holidays: the dining room. A bit worse for wear, but still a glorious sight. We hadn’t lost a single twinkling bulb in all that hauling around, and the angel stood proudly at the helm, looking up at a freshly painted ceiling just inches above her halo.
When Bill’s parents arrived for our traditional bowl of homemade soup and bread, we hurried them in to see our tree. “It’s lovely!” my mother-in-law exclaimed. “It was free,” our son, Matthew, said proudly.
When New Year’s Day came, traditionally the day for taking down a cut Christmas tree and sweeping up the dried needles, I came to a wonderful realization: this tree would never lose its needles. We could enjoy it right through Epiphany.
By mid-January, still cozy in one corner of the dining room, the tree continued to look fresh and green, though a tad off-season. I removed all the yuletide ornaments and left only the twinkling lights and a scattering of white snowflakes on the branches. “It’s a January tree,” I informed the family, and there the tree stayed.
When February came along, it seemed appropriate to replace the snowflakes with valentines, so the kids and I had a ball covering the tree with paper hearts. Not every family has a valentine tree, I thought warmly.
Frankly, the shamrocks in March got lost amid all the green, so on the first of April we moved quickly to Easter eggs of every hue, with pink cellophane grass dripping from the branches. It was my favorite month so far.
Friends were less impressed. When my in-laws came for Easter dinner, they took one look and said, “Well!”
When I explained, “It’s an Easter tree,” they said, “Yes, it is.”
By May it was getting harder to keep the branches dust-free. The little flags in June were flagging by month’s end., and even my cheery sunflowers couldn’t overcome the Christmas-in-July look. By August the tree was history: a two-piece memory shoved back into a corner of the garage.
November rolled around, and it was time for my annual holiday presentation for that very charitable organization. With a request for my speaking services came their generous offer: “Liz, may we give you another tree this year?”
“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ll take a wreath.”
About Liz:
Newsletter: http://www.lizcurti
Thank you Liz….I’m so blessed to have seen you at Retreats. It brings your story’s alive. I love the O Tannen Bomb Story! I can hear the laughter in your voice, see the facial expressions and join in fun as if you were right in front of me telling the story. Thanks for making me smile! You are a gift.
We are putting up our tree this weekend. My husband takes forever to lay the track and puts a train layout around the tree….so we don’t take it down right away…actually usually not til summer….and I decorate it like you did. One year I only took it down because our daughter was getting married…it was October 20th…LOL…so glad to know I am not alone in my insanity.
Liz, I can always count on you to brighten my day with your humor and your excellent writing. Latest with me – totalled my car a few weeks ago – bummed up leg but walking better – still making my daily trips to nursing home to visit husband, but cut back to only 1 a day. Thanks for all you do to brighten the world for all of us. You are a blessing!
Liz, you always know how to tell a story that will bring a smile to the faces of all who hear it! By the way, I believe if we admitted the truth, many of us would leave up our tree all year!
I love your story and just can imagine you standing in front of me telling it and laughing—so great!
That is funny and so Liz Curtis.
As always Liz, a delight. After two near all-nighters completing my masters I needed a belly laugh this morning. Thank you.
(I had to keep it quiet as I am proctoring a final, but I assure you the tummy is still jiggling!)
You crack me up!! Loved the three part blog!! Love you!!
Merry Christmas Liz,
You never fail to teach me something new about Scripture with you great sense of humor.
God Himself can be the funniest ever!
Blessings!
Kathleen
Love it! When our youngest son was deployed to Iraq for 7 months, I put up the Christmas tree in September, as that was the last time he was going to be home before deploying on October 1st. I decorated the tree with autumn leaves…then turkeys…then Christmas…then stars (for Epiphany)…then hearts…then shamrocks…then Easter eggs. The tree was still up when he arrived home safely shortly after Easter, so we celebrated all of the holidays at the same time! I kind of missed that tree when we finally took it down in time for Mother’s Day!
Love it! Love it! Love it!