III: The Trees of the Season
Trees are the ultimate symbol of Christmas. I don't want to get into the history of it, but suffice it to say, in my lifetime, the holidays have always involved a decorated tree in the home.
When I was little, our first tree was a fake plastic one. The branches and needles were this thick green plastic that I still remember vividly. It was quite a process to assemble the whole thing. We would put it up in early December and had the decorations stored in the Amana Microwave box. The earliest lights I remember were multi-colored and were surrounded by clear plastic "flower petals." I loved that tree even though it was very cheap looking by today's standards what with those thick plastic "pine needles."
Eventually, we bought another fake green tree that was slightly more realistic looking. That was probably when I was around 10 or so. Through the years we collected more and more ornaments, but Brandon and I developed a rivalry over our favorite ornament, a diorama within a clear, red, plastic "gift box," which featured a small Santa figurine standing next to a Christmas tree with a gift under it - all very "meta" - as it was a tree ornament shaped like a gift box that featured a scene of a tree with a gift under it! Brandon and I would fight over who got to hang this ornament and where it would go, and inevitably we would take our chance when the other wasn't looking to rehang it in our own special space on the tree.
Some other favorite ornaments that come to mind where a ceramic globe with a fireplace scene on one side of it which my Aunt Sharon had made for my first Christmas; silver plastic ornaments with multicolored "stained glass" patterned plastic in them that you would hang in front of a light so it would show through, and a stuffed snoopy ornament my Grandma Strecker had made. I remember I would get kind of sad when, after awhile, some of the older ornaments were "retired" in favor of newer, flashier ornaments.
My Grandma Strecker used to have a small artificial tree, a couple of feet tall, that she may have used at school or something and at one point she decided to give it to me. So for years, I would put that little tree up in my bedroom as my own personal tree, and would decorate it with little ornaments and lights. I always liked decorating my bedroom for the holidays.
When we moved to our house on Country Lane in Hays, for the first time ever we decided to get a real tree. This was the biggest house we ever lived in, and it had both a formal living room with a window that looked out to the street, and a family room with big windows that opened to the deck in the backyard. We decided to put the fake tree in the front room and decorate it very tastefully, and put the smaller, real tree in the family room and use the more special, assorted ornaments to decorate that tree. I loved finally having a real tree!
The first Christmas I celebrate where I lived on my own (besides the dormitory my freshman year in college), I lived in Russell with Mike, Christina and Scott. We went and got a real tree and decorated it with ribbons and other cheap ornaments since money was tight. The thing I remember most about that year was driving to Denver, CO, early one morning for a day-long shopping spree. By the time we got back to Russell that evening we were all like walking zombies, completely beaten from the long drive and the marathon shopping!
The next year, Brandon and I lived together back in Hays at 111 E. 4th and I got a special, all white artificial tree that I decorated with silver and purple glass ornaments. It was very unique and festive looking! I used this tree for the next year too, but when I moved to LA it was too big to fit in the car with me. So, my first Christmas in LA, I had to go buy a small, cheap fake green tree which I decorated with Orange and Pink ornaments from the 99 cents store. I remember I had a small holiday party there with my friends Ben, Mikey and Dudley in my little studio apartment in Winnetka that year.
2001 is the only year I don't really remember what tree I had. I was living in North Hollywood with Dudley so I'm sure we had a fabulous tree, but I just don't remember anything about it. I'll have to dig through the photo albums to see if there's anything to remind me there.
By 2002, I had gotten my own apartment in Koreatown and my parents had driven out from Kansas for a visit, which allowed them to bring my special white tree out for me! So that first year in Koreatown, I had my white tree back and I decorated it with these silly stuffed bunnies that my friend Denny had given me, left over from some party at the bar where we worked I believe. It was a very kitschy tree! Unfortunately, over the next couple of years, the white started turning yellow from the heat of the lights, and being in the sun I guess. Dylan and I used the white tree a few years in a row but eventually it looked so gross and discolored that we had to get rid of it.
So we decided to get a real tree. Unfortunately, our apartment is positioned so that the strongest sunlight enters through our living room window in the late months of the year. In December, we have some of our hottest days because the angle of the sun's rays comes directly in through our big picture window. Because of this, it virtually fried the tree in a couple week's time, and by the time Christmas arrived, our tree was a brittle, browning, sad little thing.
We decided we wanted a silver tree, like one of those vintage ones like they used to have in the lobby of my middle school, with the color wheel that would turn and cast the tree in alternating glows of primary colors. I had looked all over for a vintage one, or a replica of it, but they were all too expensive. I ended up finding a modern version of the same tree, but with thicker, fluffier branches more like a real tree, but it included the color wheel. However, this was a modern, LED color wheel, which instead of actually being a spotlight and a wheel, was just an LED sort of cannon that would alternate colors. It wasn't actually bright enough to really light up the whole tree so we just ended up adding more lights to it which sort of ruined the intended effect.
This year, we have a new tree that Robbie gave to Dylan for his birthday and then proceeded to come to our house and set it up. It wasn't my first choice - actually, Dylan and I had agreed to try a real tree again this year. The tree she got is really an outdoor yard tree, very sparse looking and mean to handle weather. But the one upside, besides her doing most of the work setting up the tree, is that it seemed to be the most "Bootsy-proof" tree for our new addition's first Christmas.
And that's a wrap-up of my Christmas Trees throughout the year.
When I was little, our first tree was a fake plastic one. The branches and needles were this thick green plastic that I still remember vividly. It was quite a process to assemble the whole thing. We would put it up in early December and had the decorations stored in the Amana Microwave box. The earliest lights I remember were multi-colored and were surrounded by clear plastic "flower petals." I loved that tree even though it was very cheap looking by today's standards what with those thick plastic "pine needles."
Eventually, we bought another fake green tree that was slightly more realistic looking. That was probably when I was around 10 or so. Through the years we collected more and more ornaments, but Brandon and I developed a rivalry over our favorite ornament, a diorama within a clear, red, plastic "gift box," which featured a small Santa figurine standing next to a Christmas tree with a gift under it - all very "meta" - as it was a tree ornament shaped like a gift box that featured a scene of a tree with a gift under it! Brandon and I would fight over who got to hang this ornament and where it would go, and inevitably we would take our chance when the other wasn't looking to rehang it in our own special space on the tree.
Some other favorite ornaments that come to mind where a ceramic globe with a fireplace scene on one side of it which my Aunt Sharon had made for my first Christmas; silver plastic ornaments with multicolored "stained glass" patterned plastic in them that you would hang in front of a light so it would show through, and a stuffed snoopy ornament my Grandma Strecker had made. I remember I would get kind of sad when, after awhile, some of the older ornaments were "retired" in favor of newer, flashier ornaments.
My Grandma Strecker used to have a small artificial tree, a couple of feet tall, that she may have used at school or something and at one point she decided to give it to me. So for years, I would put that little tree up in my bedroom as my own personal tree, and would decorate it with little ornaments and lights. I always liked decorating my bedroom for the holidays.
When we moved to our house on Country Lane in Hays, for the first time ever we decided to get a real tree. This was the biggest house we ever lived in, and it had both a formal living room with a window that looked out to the street, and a family room with big windows that opened to the deck in the backyard. We decided to put the fake tree in the front room and decorate it very tastefully, and put the smaller, real tree in the family room and use the more special, assorted ornaments to decorate that tree. I loved finally having a real tree!
The first Christmas I celebrate where I lived on my own (besides the dormitory my freshman year in college), I lived in Russell with Mike, Christina and Scott. We went and got a real tree and decorated it with ribbons and other cheap ornaments since money was tight. The thing I remember most about that year was driving to Denver, CO, early one morning for a day-long shopping spree. By the time we got back to Russell that evening we were all like walking zombies, completely beaten from the long drive and the marathon shopping!
The next year, Brandon and I lived together back in Hays at 111 E. 4th and I got a special, all white artificial tree that I decorated with silver and purple glass ornaments. It was very unique and festive looking! I used this tree for the next year too, but when I moved to LA it was too big to fit in the car with me. So, my first Christmas in LA, I had to go buy a small, cheap fake green tree which I decorated with Orange and Pink ornaments from the 99 cents store. I remember I had a small holiday party there with my friends Ben, Mikey and Dudley in my little studio apartment in Winnetka that year.
2001 is the only year I don't really remember what tree I had. I was living in North Hollywood with Dudley so I'm sure we had a fabulous tree, but I just don't remember anything about it. I'll have to dig through the photo albums to see if there's anything to remind me there.
By 2002, I had gotten my own apartment in Koreatown and my parents had driven out from Kansas for a visit, which allowed them to bring my special white tree out for me! So that first year in Koreatown, I had my white tree back and I decorated it with these silly stuffed bunnies that my friend Denny had given me, left over from some party at the bar where we worked I believe. It was a very kitschy tree! Unfortunately, over the next couple of years, the white started turning yellow from the heat of the lights, and being in the sun I guess. Dylan and I used the white tree a few years in a row but eventually it looked so gross and discolored that we had to get rid of it.
So we decided to get a real tree. Unfortunately, our apartment is positioned so that the strongest sunlight enters through our living room window in the late months of the year. In December, we have some of our hottest days because the angle of the sun's rays comes directly in through our big picture window. Because of this, it virtually fried the tree in a couple week's time, and by the time Christmas arrived, our tree was a brittle, browning, sad little thing.
We decided we wanted a silver tree, like one of those vintage ones like they used to have in the lobby of my middle school, with the color wheel that would turn and cast the tree in alternating glows of primary colors. I had looked all over for a vintage one, or a replica of it, but they were all too expensive. I ended up finding a modern version of the same tree, but with thicker, fluffier branches more like a real tree, but it included the color wheel. However, this was a modern, LED color wheel, which instead of actually being a spotlight and a wheel, was just an LED sort of cannon that would alternate colors. It wasn't actually bright enough to really light up the whole tree so we just ended up adding more lights to it which sort of ruined the intended effect.
This year, we have a new tree that Robbie gave to Dylan for his birthday and then proceeded to come to our house and set it up. It wasn't my first choice - actually, Dylan and I had agreed to try a real tree again this year. The tree she got is really an outdoor yard tree, very sparse looking and mean to handle weather. But the one upside, besides her doing most of the work setting up the tree, is that it seemed to be the most "Bootsy-proof" tree for our new addition's first Christmas.
And that's a wrap-up of my Christmas Trees throughout the year.
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