John almost missed getting a real tree this year. His grandparents put up their tree on Christmas Eve, but that doesn’t work in this part of the South. People here in Western North Carolina have their trees centered in a prominent window and lit the weekend after Thanksgiving. He went tree-hunting on the 5th of December and found most of the tree farms closed for the season. He found one place still open. They were no longer cutting fresh trees but had a few available. He brought one home, moved it inside before our big snowstorm, and dragged it to the living room the day before he went to pick up grandson David.
Neighbor Shawn noticed the bare tree when she came over. She said she’d never seen any tree as intricately decorated as our past trees had been. Teasing, she said she wanted to be there to watch John decorate it. She said, “I don’t think I could bear to watch him very long. I’d have to leave.”
When John began putting the ornaments on, I texted Shawn that she could come and stay as long as she could stand it. She couldn’t come, but she laughed at the invitation. David and I went in the living room to watch. Before long, David was on the floor being drawn into the operation.
Minutes later, he was adding ornaments himself.
I persuaded the men to pose with the finished tree.
I’m glad they didn’t take pictures of me. While they were decorating, I prepared the frozen salad for Christmas dinner and de-boned chicken for the main dish. We were doing well to have all this done a full week before Christmas Eve.
Mehrling Muse 
Awesome night! I love it when people put their tree in the window:)
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You have a lovely tree Anne. I like how John decorated it.
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It will be fun to see one of his trees again this year. They really are a work of art!
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Gorgeous! That’s one tall tree!
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Our ceilings are higher here than in NY, giving John a little more chance for the tree of his dreams. Once he bought one that filled our living room. We couldn’t sit on the couch!
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Wow! That is early for a real tree! It’s beautiful.
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Some of the trees we see are real. People here put them up a day or so after Thanksgiving and throw them out on Dec. 26. We cling to ours until Epiphany, January 6.
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Good job John, how many train ornaments?
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Thanks! John says we don’t have many train ornaments, maybe a dozen. Most are angels and manger scenes. He’s forgetting all the Crismons.
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Hi Anne,
A work of art. David looks like he’s missing Nathaniel. Are there really train ornaments ?
Where do you get your decorations from ?
My daughter puts up our tree( plastic) on December 1 every year.
Susie
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David and Nathaniel keep in touch by text and phone. They are looking forward to being together next week. Yes, there are train ornaments. Someone just asked how many, and he said about a dozen. We’ve collected our tree decorations for over 50 years. Most were bought in New York, but we also have some from our Christmases in England and Germany. I collect angels, so there are an inordinate number of angels on the tree and in every window.
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Wow, Anne. My daughter will be so interested. It is her hobby to decorate our trees every year. She doesn’t have many ornaments but she does try to make the tree beautiful.
Susie
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what a beautiful tree!
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Thank you. My main contribution is putting out cookies to celebrate the completion of the decorating.
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Well that is a mighty good deal!
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Your tree is beautiful Anne!
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That tree is a work of art!
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I’ll tell John you said so.
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Beautiful, they did a great job!
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Thank you. John always does a good job, and it was great that David was here to help him this year. When David was little, John would put him on his shoulders so that David could put ornaments on the higher branches. That was a giggle-filled activity.
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