When my two boys were little, we always decorated elaborately for the holidays. I grew up with a loving mother and father, but neither were "into" decorating the house. Each year Mother left it to Daddy and my sister and me to find and decorate a tree. I still have one bulb from that time, plastic, with a wire hanger, to remind me of our searches for the right tree, getting it leveled in the stand, and winding the lights on it. We always used tinsel, because then we were not allowed to have a pet in the house. Now, we don't use it, for fear that it would hurt the dogs and cats. My sister hung the tinsel carefully, branch by branch... while I hurled it at the tree to get it on quickly! My mother confessed years later that she was depressed each holiday, and hated dealing with it. In her apartment she had one rocking horse ornament to remind her of Christmas, which she kept in her heart. I have many happy pictures of her celebrating with us at the original Calamity Acres.
Halloween was one of our favorites when my own children were small. Each year the house would be dressed, and even though we went out trick or treating, we wanted our house to look special. I still decorate for the grandkids and this year we will have a small party to take pictures and enjoy the children, playing simple games and making a treat for them to take home to their parents. I have already started decorating, and Keith and I will wear costumes to get into the "spirit" of the season.
He flickers!
Bought at Santa Cali Gon in Independence, on Labor Day weekend.
The top of the sideboard.
Love your decorations and holiday stories. The last time I put tinsel on my Christmas was probably 40 years ago. I noticed the cat box was sparkling and knew my cat was eating the tinsel. The cat had also climbed to the top of the tree and reminded me of Snoopy's Vulture. Chris and I would go to a tree farm in Edwardsville to pick out a tree October 1. We would go back the day after Thanksgiving and they would cut it. The last time I had a real tree was in 1970. We brought it home and after decorating it, stood back to admire it and the whole thing crashed. Many ornaments were broken and I have been buying them back over the years. Now it's a prelit tree fastened securely in the stand. Mary G.
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