I’m sure as I type this most of you still have your Christmas tree up. I mean, I don’t blame you, I would too-normally! We’ve always left our tree up until the week after New Years. I figure if I’m going to lug everything out and spend all the time decorating I’m going to leave that stuff up as long as I possibly can. PLUS the house feels so empty after it’s taken down. The Christmas decorations just make it more “homey”.
Well…………..this year, there’s a whole lotta empty and a whole lotta needles all. over. the. freakin. place. We purchased our tree the week after Thanksgiving-which is actually 2 weeks late for us. We usually have the tree up before Thanksgiving-I know I know, I’m an over achiever, but it’s because of the above said reasons. Long story short…..our tree was dying 3-4 days after it was put up. At first I thought that it was just the loose needles that were falling off, but it was a few days later when I just walked by the tree and it sounded like a rain stick while all the needles fell to the ground. Then, we’d be watching TV and all of a sudden we’d here a rustling noise and then like Pinko, you’d see a bulb falling thru the tree. Some of them took the direct route and just fell directly onto the ground-those ones couldn’t be saved-poor little suckers! I’m happy to say, we didn’t loose any of the heirloom bulbs or the “special ornaments” that we’ve been buying every year. We just kept our fingers crossed that we could at least get away with keeping it up until Christmas Day. I wanted to be able to take photos of Mallory opening her gifts in front of the tree. So we bit our nails and prayed it would last! We managed to keep it up until Christmas Day but that evening, we began to take it down. It had just become too much of a fire hazard AND well without the twinkle lights on, it just looked sad and pathetic! When we were finished un-decorating, there was NOTHING BUT BRANCHES left of our poor tree! Mallory seems to think if we talked to it more than it wouldn’t have died…..if she only knew! LOL
We weren’t angry, we weren’t mad….and as a matter of fact we laughed so hard and it will probably be one of our favorite holiday memories….it sure made for a good laugh! We’re told that our tree had a disease (and no it wasn’t the tree farms fault, there is now way they could have known) and I promise you dear Internet, we watered it faithfully. We were also told after the fact the type of tree we picked wasn’t the best to pick for a Christmas tree….either way, I’m just convinced that next year to avoid the mess and having to take the tree down too early, we’ll probably be using an artificial tree-before you boo and hiss…..it just means I get to keep it up even longer and I won’t be in a hurry to take it down. I’ll just burn candles to make it smell like we have a real tree…..tee he he he!!!
So here we have “before” while we were decorating…
During un-decorating………..
…….and the final product. Purty, isn’t she!! 🙂
wow!! that is one bare tree! great photo story tho 🙂 looked very pretty when it started….
i noticed that some places are now selling artificial trees that look like douglass fir trees – really convincing. NOW is the time to buy – they want them OUT of there. think of it this way – if you don’t use it yourself, you can always write it off as a prop purchase 😉
i think i saw them at sears….
HOLY CRAP ! I thought my tree was losing needles…. We put ours up the first weekend of december which is actually early for us. It started losing needles a day or so before christmas but nothing like that! We cut ours out of the field, brought it home and recut it and then cold cold water all the time.
It’s losing about 1 handful of needles every couple days which I think is probably normal for this time… We get a live tree every year (Its an affliction from my youth) I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to change.
Just think of the charlie brown tree photo series you could make out in the yard with that thing!
That is exactly why we invested in a gorgeous artificial tree about 3 years ago. We were afraid the house would catch on fire. The heat dried out out even though we did water it. You know, its ok to be practical : )
Oh my! I’ve never seen a tree lose needles like that before! Did Santa leave a note asking what happened? Lol
The tree is a Norway spruce and this species is notorious for losing its needled easily. If they are cut fresh at a choose and cut operation and immediately put in water on the cut surface, then they reasonalbly hold up for 2-3 weeks. If you are going for longer periods decorated and in the stand inside, then you’ll need a Fraser fir, Scotch pine, or Douglas fir. These hold up much better and keep their needles even if they are abused by missed water in the stand or warm temps in the room with the tree. Hope you’ll try a real tree once more. It’s more eco-friendly being a renewable resource and a carbon sink for the co2, usually ending up as chips on a parks walking path if recycled.
Thanks Chuck! Ohh we will absolutely try a real tree again! I love real trees….and last year is going to be one of my fondest memories form the holidays…it certainly served for SOOOO many laughes! LOL I’m just using an artificial one this year because of my schedule. I’m not sure I’ll be home to take it down in a reasonable amount of time….so trust me, next year..we’ll certainly have a real one! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
This is too funny! I had a bad tree experience once. My sister and our spouses went to the woods and cut our own. They were not more than six feet tall, and very full. When we got them in our warm houses they “fell out”. My tree was about 8 feet wide, her’s about 10. She had to take furniture out of her living room, while I had to move furniture tight against the wall. We still laugh about the trees that took over our homes. In photos, they are pretty much ball-shaped. One of the most memorable Christmases ever!
Oh my gosh!!!! WAY TOO FUNNY!! And you captured it beautifuly with you wonderful photography 🙂 I could feel that poor tree’s pain thru your pictures! LOL! A friend of my mothers who lives up in Maine out side of Bangor, on purpose, goes into the woods each year and seriously “looks” for the “saddest” looking “Charlie Brown” Christmas Tree she can find and then takes it home and nicely decorates it. She sent me a picture this year and it is the funniest thing to see 🙂
Oh my goodness LOL now I’m nervous, this is our first year trying a real tree (Noble Fir) and something like this is one of my fears lol I’m so terrible with any plant that I’m sure I’ll kill it by accident.
This is exactly why we went to a fake tree this year. Granted my trees were never that bad but too many yrs w/ trees dead before Christmas.
I’m a weirdo, but there is a certain beauty to the branches without the needles. I don’t know, maybe it’s your amazing photography skills that brings out the beauty! 😀
well, it was beautiful while it lasted!
You have no idea how much I needed to LOL today! I’m sorry that your beautiful tree had a disease, and hope your next one will be just as beautiful if not more beautiful than your first..seriously, thanks for the LAUGH~ I LOVED the pictures!
Jen, it looks so artsy cool naked. I vote you string some lights back on it and decorate it raw. If you haven’t already tossed it.
actually the bare branches do look beautiful-spray paint the whole thing white, add glittery snow and it would have been a beautiful back drop for pictures!
hahahahahahaha I <3 this ... and the pictures to boot 🙂
That naked tree looks sad….like it’s actually frowning… the pics were great and your Christmas tree story wouldn’t have had the same impact without them 🙂