It only seems five minutes ago that I was putting the Christmas decorations away and now, here we are again and it's that dreaded time of buying the tree !!! Around mid-December, a deadly hush descends on the 'Home' household.
... a bit of background :
Many Italians arrived in Hertfordshire in the late 1950's and it was small market towns like the one I live in where they chose to settle.
From small acorns grow big trees and when a local farmer sold off some of his land, a few Sicilian families bought it and started their own market gardens. Along with fruit and vegetables came plant and flower nurseries and joining the Italians came many Dutch families, and so the area became rich in garden centres.
Usually, I have every tree out for inspection, hum and haw over this one and that one, change my mind back and forth before choosing 'the' tree but, in the last few years it seems to have got easier ... don't ask me why !!
... a look at the carousel ...
... and a mulled wine or hot chocolate watching the skaters and the tree is bought for another year .....
..... and, I'm happy to report that not a tear was shed nor cross word uttered between us !!!
Putting it in the stand was another matter altogether and nearly resulted in divorce proceedings !!!
XXXX
image 1: via zsa zsa bellagio, images 2, 3, 4, 5,& 7: via me, image 6: via van hage
Mine (like last year) will come from the top of our Leylandii hedge. A 6 ft sprouting growth makes a good tree, and doesn't drop needles. We've just bought replacement lights today (the old lot perished), so we are ready to go. I will attack the hedge next weekend.
ReplyDeleteYour Leyland branch sounds perfect Cro { and a lot cheaper than our tree which is a plus !!! } I do bring in Yew and ivy and anything green from the garden for the mantlepieces.
DeleteWe too bought new lights this year .... I got 720 on one wire so that should be easier to put on the tree and, the plug bit is so much smaller now isn't it ?
We tried to put the tree in our old stand and it broke so I'm waiting for a new one !! The joys of decorating the home for Christmas .... I can remember my sister and I having words with our Dad when we were little, when decorating the tree !! XXXX
Yup, Holly and Ivy will dress our fireplace too.
DeleteI've been waiting for a Christmas post from you Jackie! This year I am not decorating (we'll be away for Christmas) and keep marveling that everyone else is. You'll give pictorial updates as you go on, I hope! I love the picture of the empty skating rink. So serene. Have you ever seen it like this. Happy decorating!!
ReplyDeleteReading this post through, it's a bit of a muddle Shawn !!! I shall show some more of my ' Home ' decorating when I've done it !!!!!
Delete..... and, a couple of years ago, we went to the garden centre late afternoon and, just as we were about to choose the tree they said they were about to close ..... that's when we saw the empty skating rink !! We have always had a real Christmas tree and, I will try to have one every year until we are too old to lift it !! { sorry about my exclamation marks .... I always feel bad when I use them in my replies to you and think how you must be tut tutting me !!! haha XXXX
I'll miss our tree this year but am hoping there will be decorations on the Queen Victoria for this little cruise! We'll be in Torquay from the 22nd though and will be celebrating with cousins and friends who have hopefully decorated. Christmas must have a tree - the loveliest symbol of our most special Christian holiday.
ReplyDeleteYou look amazing dear - such gorgeous hair! Sitting in Southampton hotel waiting taxi to Queen Victoria. Raining, raining, raining - but don't mind. Went shopping at Zara and M&S this morning - I'm so naughty!!! My luggage is really stuffed now!
Happy Christmas dear Jackie.
Mary x
Hi Mary and welcome to rainy old England ..... we have had the most glorious weather up until now but that's England for you !!!!! We always have a real tree, greenery on the mantlepieces, decoration on the stairs and a wreath on the front door and that's it !!
DeleteLove Zara and M & S is a must when visiting ..... not naughty at all.
Have a wonderful time and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours Mary. XXXX
Yes, each year used to bring a lot of fussing about getting the tree just right and leveled. I decided I'm not Scrooge, but the Grinch. Love looking at everyone else's decorating, just don't want to myself. Show us the finished product. Happy holidays dear one and I always think of your son doing the music for the New Year's display.
ReplyDeleteOh Donna ...... how did you remember that about our son ? He has done the music for the London New Year fireworks fior about four years but, I don't think he's doing it this year ( I think it was quite a battle with the Mayor and all who sit on the committee ..... they all had an opinion !!! ) I am waiting for a new Xmas tree stand to arrive so I'm fiddling about with all the other decorations today !!!! I'll show you when I'm done !!! XXXX
DeleteIt probably was only 5 minutes ago. I am forgetful these days too...
ReplyDeleteThe older I get, the quicker it seems to come around !!! I thought that you'd like to know that i'm titivating ! XXXX
DeleteWhoohay!!!
DeleteO no !!...hahahaha....That is why we have never had no tree....happy married for almost 24years ❤️❤️❤️ lol !.....enjoy this time Darling....for me it is hard to enjoy things the grieve is too strong Yet....it take time i know...i Will feel better once......i promise love Ria xxx
ReplyDeleteVery difficult for you this year Ria ...... be strong. .... I'll be thinking of you. XXXX
DeleteLovely . . .
ReplyDeleteI have such fond memories of picking out my trees . . .
And testy moment memories of cutting a bit too much off the trunk . . .
Love those branches just so . . . almost on the floor . . .
Happy Merry Days Jackie . . .
Most of my Christmas tree buying memories are good apart from the ones that took place in the dark and pouring rain ... there have been a few like that Lynne !!! Wishing you happy Christmas preparations!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteWe might have a tree. I got the lights out yesterday and although I put them away carefully last Christmas
ReplyDeletethey were all knotted up and in an impossible muddle. How does that happen I wondered. Oh well it took my mind off Chelsea..
Haha ..... We are still playing the ' lulling you into a false sense of security ' game ..... all part of the grand plan !
DeleteLike Cro, we had to buy new lights this year and a new stand for the tree .... it's beginning to be a very expensive Christmas this year .... I am a lemming !! XXXX
Our family issue when I was a child was the tinsel. As kids we found it fun to lob it on from a distance of 6 feet, but Mom wanted each strand separated and carefully placed. Yeah, like that happened! It's all fun and games until you get sent to your room.
ReplyDeleteYes.... we had some of that Z ..... quite a lot of 'sending to our rooms' in the build up to Christmas .... it wasn't all joyous !!!! XXXX
DeleteMy decorations are all safely still tucked away under the stairs waiting to see daylight but I don't put the tree up till a few days before Christmas. The thing I like is unwrapping the decorations and getting a surprise each time - oh I forgot about that one and oh remember this one - I have my favourites that go on the tree every year - do you have a different colour scheme each year or is your tree a mixture of memories like mine.
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine ..... I would say that my tree is a mixture of memories ..... I always buy one new ornament every year but bring out the old ones every year. Some years, a few fall by the wayside but get used a few years down the line ( after 40 odd years of marriage we have collected more than we need so they get rotated !!!) I bought a tiny Swedish fairy about 35 years ago and it always goes on the top of the tree ..... I think that it's lovely to make memories. XXXX
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ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post, Jackie!!!! I hope you'll post photos of your tree and home decorations once they are complete! xox
DeleteThanks Carol but it was a bit of a muddle !!!
DeleteI am going to decorate the tree today and do all the other bits so will post a few photographs when it's done !! XXXX
Hello Jackie,
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas to you and your family. Your hair is beautiful and you always look stylish. I bet you turn heads wherever you go. There is nothing to compare to a real Christmas tree. The smell and texture add life. I am very behind this year and it will be Christmas week before we get decorated.
Lovely to see you posting.
Fondest wishes
Helen xx
Hello Helen and a Merry Christmas yo you and yours.
Delete.... you are very kind .... I have had the same hair all of my life because it's dead straight and I don't have to do anything with it !!! .... and, If I turn heads it would be for all of the wrong reasons !!! haha
I was talking to my sister yesterday and we were saying how we used to always decorate a week before Christmas but it seems to get earlier and earlier every year !!
Sending fondest wishes back !! XXXX
I have a very good fake these days. I miss the smell of pine though. I wonder whether I could fool people if I burnt a candle behind it. I'd burn the tree down most likely.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with a fake tree Anna ... they are so good nowdays aren''t they ? I just can't give up the real tree !!
Delete..... perhaps burn a pine candle somewhere safer !! haha. XXXX
My nieces made me a Christmas tree from an old telephone directory, added some glitter, put a star on the top. Simply beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love your coat Jackie!
Greetings Maria x
Your tree sounds brilliant Maria ..... I was sorry to hear that you are not feeling so well. Sending healing vibes and hope that you are feeling 100% very soon.
ReplyDeleteP.S: that coat is quite old and I wear it to choose the Xmas tree as it's a dirty job, pulling out all of those wet, muddy trees !!! Look after yourself Maria XXXX
I can feel the vibe and lot of kindness - thank you, Jackie xxx
DeleteWe gave up buying real Christmas trees many years ago. We got fed up with all the needles dropping off. We bought a small artificial tree which is still going strong over 30 years later. Luckily we both agreed on the switch, so no divorce proceedings!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the coat. It may be quite old but it's fabulous.
We have a real tree every year .... I just can't give it up !! XXXX
DeleteLovely post, Jackie!! Would you believe we just got our tree this weekend. And it was easy as the first one that I looked at was perfect! Thankfully they come with stands - so no fussing with that. I have it halfway decorated, my daughter is flying in tonight so I will enlist in her help to finish it. Have a very lovely Happy Christmas with all of your loved ones Jackie! xxoo Wishes for a happy and healthy new year for all!
ReplyDeleteBy now, your tree will be finished and beautiful Cathi .... wishing you all a wonderful family Christmas. XXXX
DeleteDear Jackie - the choosing of a Christmas tree is a very delicate business! My father drove my mother wild by always waiting to the end - son informed me that Bavaria now has a sort of law that the last Christmas tree sold is not cheaper than the first. Right they are!
ReplyDeleteIn our family tradition there is the Astrid Lindgren's book: "Lotta can do almost everything" (might has another title in English) where she manages to get a Christmas tree in the end, when everybody had already given up hope.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And thank you for your almost so wonderful photos!
Dear Britta ..... my thoughts are with you and all in Berlin ..... I hope that your Christmas will still be a happy and joyous one for your family and friends. Much love. XXXX
Deletehello again after a long time....Happy Holidays beautiful Jackie...love your tree but love your hair and "that coat" even more...
ReplyDeleteHi dear Cynthia ..... you are always in my thoughts and thank you for your lovely comment. I'm just about to do a post and you will see me in another coat !!! { I have a 'thing' about coats !! }
DeleteWishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas. XXXX
You are so funny Jackie! You know how much I love your sense of humor and it's posts like this that make me love you more and more. I already know your tree was perfect and that you are still married., but there's always next year :)))
ReplyDeletemuch love...
Awesome blog, i always enjoy & read the post you are sharing.Thank for your very good article...!
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