Christmas tree?

[Steve Miller]

Is that the train museum in Phoenix (Scottsdale?) or is there one in Tucson?

[pique]

Since I got my 1970s Marantz tuner rebuilt and turned the living room into the concert hall, and the den into the movie theater/art studio/gymnasium, we really don't have a place to safely put a tree any more. So I am going to string lights on our gigantic hibiscus in the front hall, and we have a small metal tree with decorated egg and heart ornaments on the piano. Last year I strung it with tiny lights run on a battery, and have left it there all year. (Probably should dust the ornaments).

We are going to have a neighborhood holiday gathering in a week (mostly to get me to clean the house already, but also to stay connected with our neighbors, and friends in the neighborhood), and I'm going to need some Christmas music for the party.

Any suggestions for things I can put in my CD changer? I don't want to keep getting up to change LPs.

[wtg]

@Jack-Frost posted this link last year around Christmas time. Same playlist as the CDs he created for a bunch of WTFers a long time ago. Don't know if you can cast to your stereo.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5v7jcF00F3QE3j08iDaSrX

I have the CDs but don't think there's time to get them to you via snail mail.

My Christmas music CDs run the gamut...The Canadian Brass, The Chicago Brass Quintet, Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas, Tony Bennett, Leon Redbone, and a really nice collection called Carols for Christmas. It's only available used.

https://www.amazon.com/Carols-Christmas-Volumes-I-II/dp/B0000009MV

[wtg]

Step 1 - get Tree #1 in position.

I don't move as quickly as some of you do....

Will decorate the tree and put out the Christmas tchotchkes over the next week or so. Not sure if I'm going to schlep Tree #2 from the basement. Will see if my neighbor will help me; it's pretty heavy and I'm not too confident carrying it up the basement stairs these days.

[ShiroKuro]

Yay!

Also, you have one of those zigzag afghans!! We have a few two, one my Grandma made for me when I went to college.

[Steve Miller]

Heh. Sharon has been working on the Christmas tree for over a week. Too much Tik-Tok. It’s become an art project.

Back in the day we threw up a tree, hung it with all sorts of tacky family heirlooms and memories, strung it with garland, and called it a day. That’s not happening this year.

I may have to finish it on 12/24.

[ShiroKuro]

@Steve-Miller said in Christmas tree?:

Heh. Sharon has been working on the Christmas tree for over a week. Too much Tik-Tok. It’s become an art project.

I don’t know, there’s nothing wrong with art projects!

Looking forward to the photos!

[AdagioM]

@ShiroKuro @wtg I have that same afghan, I think in the same colors! I crocheted it for Mr. AM when we were dating. I told him it was for my Dad, whose birthday is a week later. I lied! He was so confused when he opened it.

[Bernard]

@wtg My trees were up a good week (maybe more) before I decorated them. I like to get them out of the box and ready for decorating when the time and mood is right.

[AndyD]

Whatever happened to tinsel? Remembering as kids we always blinged-up the tree and other things such as mirrors and paintings with it.
Tastes change?

[ShiroKuro]

@AndyD said in Christmas tree?:

Whatever happened to tinsel?

Yep, we always had it too!

You couldn’t pay me to put it on my tree now!

[Mik]

Tinsel? Not with two cats.

[wtg]

@AndyD said in Christmas tree?:

Whatever happened to tinsel? Remembering as kids

Putting the tinsel on was one of the highlights of decorating the tree when I was a kid, too. I loved the shimmery sparkle. And filling in the spaces so the tinsel was evenly distributed.

My mom had some really vintage tinsel stored in the ornament box (you saved everything back then), but it was discolored/tarnished with age. Not sure what it was made of. Probably lead, or something else toxic.

I continued the tinsel tradition in the wtg house after we got married, until we caught one of the cats eating the stuff. Managed to stop him before he became what our vet used to call a "string cat" requiring surgery. Had never lived with a cat before, so had no idea of the hazard.

I just checked and tinsel is still widely available. No dogs or cats in the house this year for the first time in a very long time. Who knows? Maybe I'll revive the longstanding family tradition and do a tree with tinsel this year....

[Mary Anna]

I miss tinsel, too, although we distinguished between the shiny garlands that went around the tree, which we called "tinsel," and the long silvery strips that dripped down, which we called "icicles." (Not that I ever saw a real icicle in all my growing-up years. Come to think of it, though, maybe that's why we were so enthusiastic about our tinsel icicles.

We could never have tinsel icicles while having two cats and a dog. We could probably have tinsel garlands, but I think I'm going to give the tree that special horizontal sparkle with some wired ribbon I found tucked in among the ornaments. You'll see whether I did that when I post a photo, probably tonight, if I feel up to a little light decorating after the meds from this here dental work I had this morning wear off.

[AdagioM]

Tinsel…it makes trees impossible to recycle properly.

We haven’t put up a tree in over a decade. The kids moved out, and I’m happy with a wreath outside the door.

[Mary Anna]

Oh, yeah. The recycling. At least the cats keep me from being tempted to be environmentally irresponsible.

[pique]

I caved. Turned out our artificial tree, which we haven't used in years, is just the right size to put atop our free standing gas fireplace (which we don't use, because we have three other fireplaces and it would dry out the room too much and hence the piano). I deep cleaned the living room, even reconditioned the leather sofa and club chair using a spray-on product I use on my cavalry saddle, and did lights as well as decorations. All ready for the neighborhood party on Sunday. OK, now how do I post pictures again?

[pique]

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[pique]

[pique]