Have You or Would You Leave A Tree Up All Year Long?

 

My sisters and I took a weekend trip and were pleasantly surprised to see the Christmas trees still up at our hotel. As I am methodically packing away our holiday decorations, I've been toying with the idea of leaving the balcony tree up and simply changing out its decorations throughout the seasons. 

Pros: it's pretty, and it adds extra light during a season when we can have many dark days. 

Cons: I will need to purchase more decorations and possibly lights, and the cats will continue to disturb the tree if it's up. 

I have a friend who would put up her tree for Valentine's Day, Easter, and Halloween. I'm not sure anyone has left a tree up for twelve months... except in the novel The Twelve Months of Christmas by Sheila Roberts, which I highly recommend. 

Have you or would you leave a tree up all year long? 

This or That? - Real Tree or Artificial Tree

Image by lyashenko on Freepik

I grew up in an apartment, so all I ever knew at Christmas time was the artificial tree my father pulled out of the basement each year for us to decorate. Imagine my surprise when he remarried, and his new wife wanted to go to the Christmas tree lot to choose their tree and then drive it home tied to the top of the car once it was time. 

As if that weren't odd enough, we had to cut this one down so it fit standing up in our living room, and then had to water it so it didn't catch fire and burn down our house. Like, what! I know it smells good, but one year my Christmas decorations were up until March. Could you see how dangerous a real tree endeavor could be for some people?

I'm still mostly an artificial tree person. It gives me the flexibility to put my trees up as early as I want, and they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. 

Do you put up an artificial tree or buy a real one each year? What are some of your traditions surrounding putting up your tree?

Evolution of Our Christmas Tree

I thought it would be neat to share what our Christmas tree has looked like through the years. We didn't have a digital camera until 2003, so from 1999 - 2002 is missing. We bought a new tree last year, so not sure what the plan is yet.

2003 - 2011 (Living room)

2012 (No ribbon/garland and move to the family room)

2014 (Ribbon is back)

2015 (Ribbon gone again)

2016 - 2017 (Two sets of ribbons)

2018 (New color ribbons)

2019 - 2021 (Ribbons gone again)

Last year for this tree

This tree has always held our most precious ornaments: the ones that used to hang in Aunt Jean and Uncle Phil's home until they passed, ones that used to hang in my apartment before I married my husband, the gifts from family and friends, the treasures our children made at school, and the personalized ones we bought for the kids. 

Proving I am only mildly sentimental, I had little problem tossing the tree that was older than both of our girls. We bought it at Walmart when we moved into the house two weeks before Christmas in 1999. Since that time, we have welcomed nine cats into our home, having lost five of them already. We have also welcomed our dog. In the 24 Christmases we have celebrated in our home, we have entertained many friends and loved ones, some of which have left this earthy life. Luckily, we know the hope that was born on that first Christmas night burns brightly thanks to the Resurrection, and we will seem them all again one day. 

I'm not sure how the new tree will look, though I'm sure my decorating ability won't improve. Thankfully, I've learned to be happy for the memories and not be so caught up in creating perfection. 

What are some of your favorite ornaments? Do you use ribbon or garland? Is your tree topper an angel, a star, or something else?