Befriending My New Christmas Tree

It was the second year of putting up (with) my new artificial tree. A decision years in the making. I took the plunge. We were no longer having fun shopping for trees without the kids living home. I heard it said that the artificial tree is environmentally friendly, and of course, economical.

I wasn’t convinced it took less to mass produce plastic pine, but I knew that entering my sixties, it was becoming more difficult and time consuming to bring the tree home, decorate it and clean up after the season ended.

Here is what you can do, as I did, to welcome this change into your life.

1. Don’t call the tree fake or artificial. Call it your Christmas Tree.
2. Give it a name. Mine is Fern.
3. Talk to your tree and welcome him/her into the family.
4. Play music for your tree and dance or sing around the tree.
5. Pray over your tree.
6. Give your Christmas Tree lots of space. Don’t back your new friend into a corner.
7. Add some real pine cuttings to any hollow spaces that might exist. Ask for free clippings from the local box store or tree vendor. Enjoy the scent.
8. Admire from across the room. Working close up may be unsettling.
9. Rearrange ornaments with stronger hooks or string loops as the branches will be firmer.
10. If your tree comes in three sections, you can always use just the upper portion alone as a tabletop tree. Add a string of battery operated lights as the prelit may not work without all the parts.
11. Use an ornament display stand for additional or special ornaments that may not feel ‘right’ on the new Christmas Tree. If you purchased a Christmas tree with pre-strung lights and they stop working, donate the tree. Someone can fix them or remove them. With the price of a living tree, they may not have had a tree otherwise. Purchase the under $200 post-Christmas tree price. Once you’ve adjusted to making your holiday easier, you can always upgrade to the expensive, realistic Balsam Hill. But then, how authentic is a cut off pine tree deteriorating in the middle of your home? Fern thanks you all the love and for saving the pine trees.

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Tracy Duffy is published in Bacopa, Writers Alliance Gainesville; P’AN KU, BCC Student Literary/Arts Magazine; Tiny Seed Literary Journal; Labyrinth/Open Door Magazine; Anti-Herion Chic; Passage. She has lived in Pa, NY, Florida, raised two daughters while working in cosmetology and medical services with BS Management.