You Shouldn’t See the Tree

I am of the Christmas tree school that it’s all about the decorations. Lights come second and then the actual three is third. My perfect tree is so chock-a-block with meaningful ornaments collected over decade. I like to be able to tell a story about where each one comes from.

This year I downsized my tree by two feet. I thought that would mean that I would finally achieve my ideal tree. Only my most beloved ornaments would be on it and every inch of the tree would be covered in a two or three ornament depth. Amazingly I did not achieve my ideal.

Today I found a bag of a half dozen ornaments I purchased and not yet put on the tree. The one I was most excited about was a sweet blown glass bee hive. As I was strategizing exactly where to hang these newest arrivals, I dropped the bee hive, smashing it on the floor.

I would say I am not even close. It takes about twenty ornaments per square foot of tree to achieve the look. As I sit and look at my tree from different angles I discover more and more bare branches, heavens forbid.

I finished putting the others on and took an assessment of how many ornaments I will need to each tree nirvana. Looks to me like I need at least another hundred decorations of various sizes. I guess it will be at least seven more years before I get there. Check back in 2027 to see if I have my perfect tree.