The Brad Hole

I've mentioned in past articles about my fondness for things that remind me of my childhood: Kenner Star Wars figures, McDonaldland glasses are two. And now I'd like to add Christmas to that list.

My parents weren't particularly well-off, but neither were they scraping by. As such, our Christmases tended to be pretty good, all things considered, and the memories that go along with them linger to this day. I can still clearly envision my parents' tree: articifial, green, Sears, and tall. It had these pipe-cleaner like arms, color-coded at the inner tip, that you stuck into a wood base. It looked pine-tree like and to this day stands as my definition of The Christmas Tree. We strung colored lights around it, some garland and we had a ornaments that we used for well over 30 years. Some would break, new ones would be added, but the tree today isn't much different from the one 30 years ago.

Yesterday evening, Beth and I started down this path. As a new family, we now have a new family Christmas tree. It's not too different from my ideal: green, artificial and tall. As a kid, our family tree seemed gigantic, but it was probably 7 feet tall, give or take. This new tree is gigantic - 9 feet. That was perhaps a mistake, but it's ours now so we'll live with it. It also differs from my parents' tree in that it doesn't resemble a pine tree, it resembles a fir. But we've strung it with colored lights, garland and a brand-new set of ornaments. As the years go by, I'm sure some will break and new ones will be added, but it'll probably look much the same as it does today.

My parents bought a new tree around 10 years ago - it's solid white and around 9 feet tall. They put it up most years in addition to the green family tree, but sometimes they only put up the family tree. My mom was telling me today that while the white tree is nicer, she's always thought of the green tree as the only one that matters around Christmas time. I don't think they'll ever part with it.