Kendall Lewis
English 101
Adam Weinstein
November 13, 2007

How to Find and Decorate the Perfect Christmas tree

As a child, we had a family tradition that every year after Thanksgiving my family would take a trip to the Christmas tree farm put on by the Boy Scout troops to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. Every year my parents would let my sister and I pick out the Christmas tree for our house. My sister and I would search around for a large, green tree with a straight trunk and all of its branches still intact. When we found the perfect tree my daddy would cut it down and my sister and I would help haul the Christmas tree to our house in my daddy’s black Ford F150 truck. It was always so exciting arriving at our house because we knew the fun was about to begin. It was now time to decorate the tree.

As my sister and I got older my parents decided it would be easier to get an artificial tree because it was hard for my whole family to continue to go to the Christmas tree farm together. Every year as a family we always pick a day after Thanksgiving to dedicate to decorating the Christmas tree since we were not able to go to the tree farm together. First off we have to put the artificial tree together. The dark green branches are color coded into five colors: red, brown, black, green, and orange. The brown branches which are the largest go on the bottom followed by the orange, black, green, and finally the smallest branches which are red go on the top. After the tree is put together the crimson red tree-skirt is put on the floor around the tree. The lights are next. My daddy always put the sparkling colorful lights around the entire tree starting the top and ending at the bottom of the tree. He then sets them so they will flash on and off for a more lively Christmas tree in our house. My sister and I then put the silver garland around the tree weaving it in and out of the colorful lights to add more decoration. My mom and dad would then put on the beads that would light pink and white mixed together. These were wrapped all around the tree along with the lights and the garland. Next came time for the actual ornaments. My family would always start off with the balls. My sister would get a box of twelve balls that were all silver. I would get a box of balls that were red, my mom would get the gold box of balls, and my dad would finish with the blue box of balls. We would all place the balls around the tree putting the different colors all over the place so it made it more colorful. The next set of ornaments we would add to the tree was the ornaments my daddy’s mother made for us before she passed away. Each ornament was personally made for each member in my family. As a family we would pick a spot that we wanted ours to go on the tree. After that the four of us picked out our favorite ornament to put on the tree. My daddy would always go first with his green and white golf ornament that has a player swinging a golf club with a ball on the green by a red flag. This was his favorite Christmas ornament because he loves to play golf. Next, my mommy would put her shinny white cross that was outlined in gold glitter. My sister would then put her ornament on that was a pair of silver scissors, a pink blow dryer, and a black comb. This was my sister’s favorite ornament because she is a cosmetologist and loves doing hair. Finally it was my turn to put on my favorite ornament. It was a zebra printed black and white high heel that was given to me by my sister. It is my favorite ornament because I am obsessed with zebra and shoes. My mother would then add ornaments like reindeer, Santa Clauses, and candy canes that my sister and I had made as young children. It was always fun to watch her put up those ornaments because my sister and I had made them ourselves. We would then add the crystal white cane canes all around the tree. I always loved the way those looked because they made anything look fun and fancy. Lastly my daddy adds the last ornament on the Christmas tree. He adds the beige angel to the top on the tree that holds a candle. This ornament is the most significant because it concludes the decorating of the tree and my family is always together when the angel is added. To finalize the bottom of the tree my family adds nine reindeer pulling a painted sleight that my grandfather made for our family. We then add the wrapped presents all around the bottom of the tree and it is now complete.

Decorating a Christmas tree is enjoyable and exciting. It allows you to spend time with your family and get in the Christmas spirit. It is a chance to bring back memories from years before and remember how each ornament is significant to each member in the family. Picking out and decorating Christmas trees are a way to bring families together to enjoy the holiday season. I look forward to the day that I can pass on the tradition to my family on how to find and decorate the perfect Christmas tree.