Favorite Christmas’ – Ultimate Christams Tree

It was our first Christmas as a “blended” family. Dad had married Janet the September before and we were all still getting used to each other. Janet and her two son and one daughter, plus a foster child, had all moved in with Chris, Dad and I. We lived in one of the newer (at the time) housing developments in Canby. This house had vaulted ceilings. Pretty high at the top. Over 20 feet maybe? 18 at least. Also, at the time, there was a Christmas Tree Farm on the edge of our neighborhood. I’m not sure how far. Not more than a half mile, if that.

So, ALL of us walk to the Christmas Tree Farm to find a tree. We agree on a big, fat, tall, ten foot douglas fir. Beautiful!  But we didn’t know how beautiful until later. We cut ‘er down and all of us found a part of the tree to carry, and we carried it the half mile home.!  We got it set up, and decorated. It was AWESOME! To this day, the standard that all other Christmas Trees are measured against.

It was fat, but tall. VERY full. Very fun to decorate!  Not only was it the bestest, beautifullest tree ever, but it was an early bonding experience for a blending family.

Favorite Christmas’ – Charlie Brown Tree

I was maybe sixteen? fifteen? Either way, Chris and I went to San Diego to spend Christmas with Mom. Of course, that meant the added benefit of being with Grandma and Grandpa Pagliaro! Of course, that meant that spaghetti was waiting for us when we arrived :-)

We got there and it was very close to Christmas. Just a day or two maybe three. We needed a tree! Turns out, everyone was pretty much sold out. We ended up getting a Charlie Brown Tree! At least, it was brown!! It was maybe 3 feet tall with just a hint of green. We covered that thing with tinsel and ornaments and made it look like a Christmas Tree.  Best part was, it proved that being with family was way more important than the pomp of Christmas. Besides, we had a LOT of fun with it!