Passing muster

After my daughter grew up, I admittedly became a lazy holiday decorator. Even after the grandsons were born, I rationalized that they were too young to care, but that excuse flew right out the window this year. Starting the day after Halloween, they wanted a Christmas tree up at my house. They made it quite clear that they were in charge, because my poor performance last year had clearly disqualified me to be the decision maker.

Right off the bat, Grandson #1 let me know that a tabletop tree was out of the question. I had to have a big tree. Those of you who followed the building of Grammo's Little House know that my space is limited. (If you're a new follower, you might want to click on the Home Tour tab above in order to get an idea of the layout of my living quarters.) We searched online and found a solution...a 6'5" artificial fir of the tall, slender variety known as a pencil tree, specifically designed for small spaces. To a 5-year-old, it seemed adequately big, and since I'm only 5'3" tall, it seemed big enough to me too.

I need to point out that Grandson #2 had concurred about the size of the tree, and he also warned me that white lights weren't allowed. They had to be rainbow, so I made sure to buy a tree with multi-colored lights. I thought we were in business.

One night when they were asleep, I put the tree up and covered it with ornaments, expecting them to be delighted the next day. Instead, Grandson #1 examined it closely and reported back. "Nope, Grammo. Not pretty yet. It needs more decorations." So more ornaments were ordered, and when they arrived and were put on the tree, I awaited the verdict.

This time Grandson #2 gave the tree the once-over and asked somewhat disgustedly, "Where's the star?" I pointed to the vintage style reflector finial at the top of the tree and sheepishly said, "That's kinda a star." With typical 4-year-old candor, he responded flatly, "No, it's not."

Unwilling to receive more scathing criticism, I decided to go all out on the star and buy the most sparkly, most garishly rainbowy star I could find.  I also added a few more glittery ornaments, just to be on the safe side. After another inspection, they apparently decided that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. They dug through a box of ornaments at their house and came over with several more for my tree, insisting that they hang them themselves.

Now we're in business.