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Holidays:  Christmas heirlooms  |
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bougainvillea blooms
Farmgirl in Training
14 Posts
Jennifer
St. Petersburg
FL
USA
14 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 24 2004 : 8:07:56 PM
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Yay! I'm so excited Christmas is almost here!
Mostly because one night this month I get to put up THE TREE....It's a big fake tree my parents bought for their first married Christmas together in 1972....I know a lot of people would never have a fake tree, but dead Christmas trees in the alley on January 10th always make me feel sad.
My tree is the one I saw every year of my childhood since I was born (actually, the tree was put up and taken down on the same night the year I was born, but that's another story) and I remember everything, the prickly branches laid out in bunches according to size (and the color-coded tips of the branches which were different shades of my mother's nail polish--her ingenuity), using the gold tinsel as an extra long feather-boa while my father laid out the lights---the good old days when one bad bulb meant two-thirds of the string was out, and trying to find the culprit was the highest level of infuriation. I can even recall the unusual and varied curseword invocations he used exclusively, it seemed, for the annual showdown with the Christmas lights.
But once it was finally "put up", and the tinsel, glass balls, frosted candy canes and toy ornaments were on....it was the most heavenly thing in my young life. Fat, golden, decadent, with multicolored strands of "flower" and "snowflake" 70's lights twinkling arrythmically (those were the days before synchronized "motion" lights)...well, between this, the fresh snow outside, and my birthday on Dec 9, I would be about to pass out from pure pleasure.
When my husband and I moved to our first house, my mother gave me the tree and all the ornaments, even the lights and decaying tinsel. I hadn't seen it in its full glory for about 10 years (my parents having bought a newer, softer, slightly more tasteful version once I moved away and couldn't argue) Putting it up made me just as happy as when I was a child. There were other things I discovered in those boxes of ornaments, too....old packaging with my beloved, long-dead grandfather's handwriting in the return address, shopping bags from old defunct stores my mom used to take me to in Brooklyn in the 70's...even a tiny box with pictures of my mother, 8 months pregnant with me. I was newly pregnant with my first child at the time and it felt so amazing to have a huge part of my past preserved for my future.
My last string of original 70's lights died a couple years ago, and then I had the brilliant (I hope) idea last January to get some bargain sets off Ebay--- this year I look forward to cursing and pounding the floor for several hours with my beautiful new, old lights... They are the coolest, nothing they make today compares to them. They look like they are straight out of Walt Disney's Fantasia.
Did I rhapsodize enough LOL!! Everyone probably thinks I'm crazy for having so much love for a huge 1970's metal Christmas tree, but this is the first time I've told the whole story (well, not the whole story.....I didn't say why the tree went up only for 3 hours in 1974!)
If anyone made it through my giant article, do any of you have Christmas things from your past that you can't wait to see out every year?
Jen |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Nov 24 2004 : 8:40:56 PM
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Dear Jennifer, I loved your article on your Christmas tree memories of the 70"s! I am surmising you were born around 1975? Yikes, I was 19 that year but oh well your memories made me smile and I well remember those fantasic, colorful, funky 1970's decorations... What a great time to be a child then I would imagine...so hopeful and full of optimism! That is so great your parents passed on their tree to you! As a child of the 60's the big thing was to have a shiny aluminum Christmas tree in the living room with a revolving "color wheel" to shine multicolors on the tree! Every space age baby boom family had these wierd but wonderful trees to celebrate the holidays. My mom hung bright blue satin balls on the tree and we were the talk of the neighborhood! But my mom was of German heritage and she had to have a fresh cut tree in the family room with all the traditional decor. Thanks for bringing back those precious memories Jen! By the way my name is Jennifer also, but I go by Jenny. My Mom would always call out Jennifer! if I was in trouble (which was always)so I go by Jenny... Happy Thanksgiving!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2004 : 2:55:41 PM
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I was only Jennifer when I was in trouble too...smile...
I grew up with my grandparents having one of those funky aluminum trees with the color wheel..I wonder what ever happened to that tree?
I have so many special things to get out for Christmas (we got our fresh cut tree today here in town, but won't put it up until probably Sat.) One of my favorites is from when my two oldest boys were really little.(this would have been about 1980)
Corey was about 3 and Casey was a baby and my beloved Grandma was sick. I called to see what I could do to help and she said she would love it if I could come over and help her get the tree put up and decorated. I thought it would be fun to get her a special new ornament, so the boys and I stopped at a Hallmark store that had just opened in our town. Corey helped me pick out a really cute metal soldier in a box lined in velvet. He just loved it. So we took in to my grandma and helped her put up that tree (the boys were intrigued with the shiny tree) and as we got ready to leave Corey started crying and didn't want to leave the soldier. I tried to explain that we had bought it for grandma and it was her special ornament. Nothing worked. My grandma came up with a wonderful idea..she let Corey take it home that year, but she said that it got to be on HER tree next year and then ours the following year. She said that no matter what we would give it back and forth each year. He was thrilled of course, and was happy to take it to her the next year. It was a really fun tradition. Even when we moved to Idaho for a couple years she sent it off to us and we sent it back..the kids grew up with that soldier being a special tradition. When my grandma died my grandpa made sure that he brought over the soldier and we have had it since. I always think of my grandma and how smart she was and what a wonderful tradition she started whenever I get that soldier out. And my boys (those two are grown now...24 and almost 27) always look to see where it is when they come over to see the tree first thing. I hope someday I have a special tradition like that with my granddaughter (her dad is Corey)
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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bougainvillea blooms
Farmgirl in Training
14 Posts
Jennifer
St. Petersburg
FL
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2004 : 6:06:13 PM
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Wow it's the Jennifer Thread! Only Jennifers allowed! LOL just kidding.
That is the sweetest story of the soldier ornament. How special for you all to have that memory of your grandmother and boys. I often wonder what my children (4 and 1) will remember, that's why I like to make the holidays at least a minor big deal. 
All the ornaments on my special tree used to "talk" to eachother when I was a small child. I wanted the gold elf to visit the green elf, the country mouse to visit the city mouse and Santa and Mrs. Claus had to be on branches next to eachother! I never understood why my parents would maroon them on opposite sides of the tree! They're married after all!
A few of the toy ornaments got married too. The choir boy and the angel with way too much blue eye shadow are still together after more than 30 years. I have had to glue the head back on to choir boy, though. They must have spats now and again while in storage. 
Lest you think me completely unbalanced, I no longer worry about where I hang them on the tree. I think they just enjoy getting out now and again. But I am waiting for the day when one of my children says, "No, Mommy, Holly Hobbie needs to be next to her best friend Molly Hobbie!"
Jen |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2004 : 07:56:37 AM
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Okay I'm breaking the Jennifer chain but not the christmas tree thread! We always had a fresh cut tree and homemade ornaments when I was little and my mom would hang wrapped and decorated ginger or sugar cookie people on the tree that she decorated and part of the fun was finding yourself and everyone else. She always found some feature that we could always tell who was who! I have continued this tradition and added a few I have collected the old blown glass ornaments so we have a very victorian tree but our old ornaments from home always have a place of honor right up front.
There is a beaded stocking, a felt camel, the elf that always hides a
sweet treat for the first person to find him and and a little crochet panda that came from Pearl S. Buck house tour gift shop and a little "jeweled" wreath. These things are as dear to me as anythings could be because they are connections to loved ones that shared them with me. The jeweled wreath came from an enormous collection of my grandmother's costume jewelry spanning many decades that none of us would wear (it was the 80's!)and we decided to make something with them so that we all got a treasure! We took the backs off the earrings and pins, used what we could from the bracelets and necklaces and made wreaths made from little wooden frames we wrapped with satin ribbon. Everyone's looked different but we each had similar pieces so they looked like they were related like all of us! For the pieces no one could bear to dismantle we each got three chances and put our names into drawings for the favored piece. You could use all your chances for one piece to increase your odds or take a chance on three different pieces. Everyone left with something and through the years some of these pieces have been lovingly re-gifted to an admirer so my Gram's love continues to shine out at us like she did while she was with us. She and my Mom taught us that the joy was truly in the giving and hopefully we are all passing that along.
with a happy heart |
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Sandra
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Sandra
Tazewell
VA
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Nov 28 2004 : 08:58:02 AM
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We go to the mountain and cut our tree although this year I'm thinking of buying one of those to plant after Christmas. Our beloved Zoe cat just died the day before Thanksgiving and she's buried next to her "sister", Rings, in the front yard. I'm thinking a tree would make a nice memorial to them both.
Anyway, cedar trees are, I'm sad to say, plentiful on the mountain so we usually cut one of them. I've got our ornaments out of storage so maybe we'll go with a pine type tree this year. I don't think the cedar tree would hold our candles. We've hand crochet starts to put on the tree and the rest of the stuff is mostly hand made. Mom brought me a creche from the Holy Land when she visited many, many years ago and that will be placed at the base of the tree.
Hmmmmm....probably should get off the computer and get to decorating! Merry Christmas!
Sandra @ http://www.thistlecovefarm.com...a grasp on the past & a hold on the future... |
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Sandra
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Sandra
Tazewell
VA
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Nov 28 2004 : 09:00:40 AM
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That should be STARS...hand crochet STARS to put on the tree <lol>!
Sandra @ http://www.thistlecovefarm.com...a grasp on the past & a hold on the future... |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2004 : 4:20:07 PM
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One year we had to walk to my aunt's house due to an ice storm (it was about 10 blocks in the city). When we got there, she had an aluminum tree with the color wheel rotating under it. We had a hard time staying in the room - it was the most commercialized looking tree I had ever seen. My aunt was alway "into" the latest thing, irregardless of how it looked. I miss her now (she's gone about 5 years), but not the tree!
Cecelia
ce's farm
"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2004 : 4:52:02 PM
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So where is the tree now? So funny I didn't like them when they were new and had several friends that got them but this past year my husbands cousin found one on E-Bay and grabbed it. It was new and had never been out of the box. He put it up while his wife was in hospital and surprised her. She loved it!!! You've gotta understand this cousin. She is all about sparkle!!She is a joy to be around and always finds something to give you when you visit that is a sparkle of sorts. She loves all the old rindstone jewelry and has a nice collection of it. She wears it too!
This year I can't wait to see that tree. I bet she finds something wonderful to decorate it with that will not only reflect the colored lights but sparkle as well, like mirrored ornaments or something.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2004 : 5:45:29 PM
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I had to laugh Cecilia about your memory of the aluminum tree I remember when my Mom first got that metal tree I ran across the carpet in my slippers unaware I was full of static electicity and touched the "metal branches" and got such a jolt it almost knocked me on my bum Then it got to be a game with all us kids to see who could get the worst and most painful charge from the tree... I guess we got strange kicks in the 60's?
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2004 : 6:26:38 PM
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| Ah, the aluminum tree! Ours was AQUA!!! My sister and I still wonder about that color choice. Mom always put red and silver balls on it, and of course, there was the color wheel. That was my favorite part! Sadly, my sister and I never realized the shock value of the tree... My parents sent the tree off to recycle/Goodwill many years ago, but the color wheel hung in there for a few more years. I always said I'd only have a live tree, but changed my mind the year our tree dried to fire hazard after being up only about two days. Now we use a "lifelike" artificial and plenty of holly and pine in jars of water just to get the scent of the holidays. If only I could find my old stocking... |
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bougainvillea blooms
Farmgirl in Training
14 Posts
Jennifer
St. Petersburg
FL
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2004 : 9:21:25 PM
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The aluminum trees were crazy...I think a certain magazine has an article on them this year, but since I never look at M.S. Living I couldn't tell you what it said....
My tree is post-aluminum color wheel era, but its stiff metal pine branches make my fingers sore every time I assemble it. I should use gardening gloves this year...the rosebush kind that go up to my elbows.
The idea of going out and chopping down my own tree always sounded rustically appealing, but as I grew up in Brooklyn in the 70's, the country was Westchester or Long Island. It wasn't going to happen.
I never did try to shock myself with the tree...I could see my son trying it...but we don't have carpet here only wood...but I got a laugh imagining kids trying to see who got the biggest charge out of Christmas!
Jen |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2004 : 4:33:49 PM
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I am loving this conversation girls I have to admit I am "aqua" with envy Sleepless over your aqua metal tree! Too bad your parents recycled it , they are bringing enormous sums on ebay! Here's a link all about the trees that never die... My Mom and I were reminicing over Thanksgiving about our shiny tree and she said sadly she sold it in a garage sale in 1972, but she bought a small 4ft one in 1989 at an auction and offered it to me...I declined her offer. Here's the link on the NYTimes...http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/garden/25TREE.html?oref=login
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2004 : 3:28:32 PM
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Hi, I tried this link but got a page that wants me to sign up and not an article. Any way to see the article without signing up?
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2004 : 6:44:43 PM
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I just tried this url and I had previously logged out of the nytimes and it did not work... I am still trying to learn all this computer stuff. I will try to find another source for the article. A couple wrote an expose and photographed aluminum trees and had the history of them. I am sure it can be viewed on Amazon so I'll look that url up...There is another site called www.aluminumtrees.net
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2004 : 6:47:46 PM
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Girls, girls , girls... I nearly crashed the car tonight and had to
pull over! There in all it's tinsely splendor was a giant revolving tree in the bay window of this house that NEVER has the curtains drawn. The room appeared to be mirrored so that the lights were
were bouncing off all the surfaces and it looked like it was snowing in the house!!! It was like a giant silver revolving sparkling mirage!
It was so bizarre other cars had stopped too! I just hope no one crashes , it's a busy intersection! Not my thing but it sure stopped traffic!!
with a happy heart |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2004 : 6:53:49 PM
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Bramble you must get a firm grip on reality... These trees are NOT REAL!!!LOL. Yikes I am batting a thousand tonight here is the corrected url...www.aluminumchristmastrees.net More of the trees that never die You take care Bramble, I'd hate to hear you ended up in the ER telling the staff you had an accident because of a huge aluminum Christmas tree
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2004 : 7:04:33 PM
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Yipeee!!! I am doin the happy url dance...It worked and the article from nytimes is on there too, Happy Reading!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2004 : 10:27:56 AM
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I sure wish I had that digital camera so you could all see the aluminum delirium around the block! I think I am with Cecelia on this one! Can you imagine living in that house? With all that commotion you'd need to take dramamine to walk through the living room !
Epiphany, I don't think so! More like a hallucination from a mispent youth (not mine!)
with a happy heart |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2004 : 6:25:10 PM
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I don't know where the tree is now - I'll have to ask my cousin. She is having a "Christmas Tea Party" (wonder where she got that idea) - this from a woman who doesn't celebrate Christmas!
I got to thinking of Christmas pasts, so I thought I'd start a new topic....We used to have one really ugly ornament - a huge red glass globe. The joke was that we couldn't drop it, ever. I think it took over 40 years for that thing to finally break!
Cecelia
ce's farm
"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo |
Edited by - cecelia on Dec 02 2004 6:36:10 PM |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2004 : 08:30:53 AM
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Ceclia you are too funny! We have the "ugly" elf(mentioned above) and
a green blown glass pickle, do they count?!!! Or perhaps the lobster with snapping claw action?!!! My family is very strange and our friends are even stranger! We had a tree trimming party some 20 years ago and people brought ornaments, things they would never have put on their own I think! It was the tree we all still talk about because they were sure I would have replaced these weirdos but didn't.(It was a huge tree and I didn't have the collection of stuff I have now, so..)
Now they are delegated to a little tree on the sun porch and continue to be a topic of conversation among the kids!
with a happy heart |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2004 : 1:22:17 PM
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Hey the pickle is a tradition!! German I believe. You hide the pickle somewhere on the tree where it is difficult to see and on the big day the person to find it gets a special prize! In our house it is always some wonderful cookie, you know, one of those georgeous, too good to look at to eat hand decorated ones that cost a couple of bucks at a really fancy bakery.
I would like to know who started that tradition with a pickle? It seems like it could have been something else. Was it origionally a real pickle? hmmm?
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2004 : 07:48:50 AM
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UGH! I JUST read an article on the tradition of the Christmas Pickle and cannot remember where I read it!! If I come across the article I'll let you know. One year for Christmas my mom got the whole family glass pickle ornaments from Seckler Pickle Company (with jars of pickles or course) in Indiana.
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2004 : 1:08:04 PM
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I know all about the tradition of hiding it and I also know that it is German but who knows what possessed that first person, maybe Santa didn't like cookies! But a PICKLE?!!! That's about as attractive as a pig snout! (Though rather cute when attached to the whole pig!)And speaking of pigs... does anyone smash the pepermint pig with the little silver hammer? Though rather barbaric the kids just LOVE that one... and dismantling the gingerbread house that took FOREVER to make!
with a happy heart |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2004 : 4:22:37 PM
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Aluminum trees live on!!! I just saw a NEW one for sale in a catalog: costs over $350 AND you can get a NEW color wheel to go with it! Can't wait to get one
Cecelia
ce's farm
"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo |
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Holidays: Christmas heirlooms |
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Christmas heirlooms
