Oh, Christmas Tree

The word is out that Melania’s trees are bright red. You know, like deep Christmas red. Not sure about the choice, but then again, who am I to say anything about festive trees as we have a tree decorated with a colorful mix of mismatch ornaments, with the ugly ones hidden on the back side of the tree. Ugly ones meaning the ones you’ll have to have on the tree because your child made them at Sunday school when they were two, but they really look more like a used tissue that was crimpled up and forgotten in your pocket and then sprinkled over with glue and green glitter that must have mostly landed on their shirts. No amount of love can make me think of them as pretty. They are not pretty, but as a mother I am obligated to let them be hung – on the back side.

Our tree topper, the star, a Charlie Brown version of a tree topper, that even the kids find unappealing, and in all honesty, there really is no way around it, it is hideous. Yet, there it is. Proudly sitting at the very top, a bit lopsidedly, but still at the top, year after year because there was a time when it still was pretty, at least somewhat pretty. It is the first thing to go on, and the last one to come off. The tree topping star that I bought with my husband for our very first tree a quarter of a century ago. The tinsel is no longer shiny and it’s hard to tell whether it’s supposed to be silver or gold, but it’s our little star and there is no way it could be replaced at this point. It is loved the same way as the ornaments glued together by tiny hands and just like the rest of the tree, it’s more about love and history than about looks.

Every year I look at pictures of elegant trees, trees dressed up in white and gold, or maybe just white. And the trees decorated in all red, not like Melania’s, but green trees with all red ornaments or the ones flocked with heavy white fake snow. Beautiful, color coordinated and grown up. I look at them, I admire them, and I wonder if one day, I will have a tree that is straight from the cover of Sunset magazine. Maybe if we had a bigger house? The kind where you have two trees, one to show your guests and the other one with those crumpled up tissues? Or maybe I’m just not an elegant tree kind of a person? But I did collect some of my favorite elegant trees for you and trees I might have If I were different. Maybe you’re the elegant tree person looking for the most fashionable looks of the season.