Since you got to see the “before“, I thought I’d show you the “after” version of my ugly, skinny Christmas tree.
Christmas, tree, lights, tinsel, ornaments, German glassNot too shabby, if I do say so myself. Remember those containers I told you about? The above represents a mere fraction of their contents. The tree wasn’t big enough for, nor could I be bothered with, most of it.
I must admit though, it was kind of fun to rediscover some of the things I hadn’t seen in years. For instance, I had forgotten about a series of ceramic “Father Christmas” figurines that a friend’s mother had made for me.

Father Christmas, ornaments, holiday, ceramic

This is the 1st one and it’s now twenty one years old. Oy! How the hell did that happen?

I even had some help. George the Monkey is no “Helper Elm”*, but he really wanted to help me with the tree…until he got trapped in the tinsel.

Oh well, even without the aide of my able assistant, I stuffed that tree with as much German glass (because those are my favorite)…
German glass, tinsel, ornaments, Christmas,
…as the poor thing could handle. I also hung on it all of the ornaments that are the most special to me, including the ones pictured below that my besties gave me last year.

Shoes, martinis and sparklies…a match made in heaven. “These are a few of my fav-or-ite things”...

We added to the collection this year:

My needs are simple, but I have to tell you, the sight of that sad little Charlie Brown tree when I opened my apartment door last night cheered me immeasurably. I think I’ll leave it up until it’s no longer therapeutically viable.

Maybe next year I’ll be ready for a live tree once more. This year though, I’m just glad that I don’t have to remember to water it and when I come back from Florida it won’t have shed all of its needles on the carpet nor become a fire hazard and burned the place down.

So, now I’m almost ready for Mom. Except, of course,  now I have to clean up the mess I made and rearrange my closet…again.

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*Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), a movie I never would have seen without prompting by K. R. Brorman, who IS a “Helper Elm” and is “at one with the Yuletide”.