Jew Tree 2013

This year Hanukkah was so freakishly early that it barely felt like the holidays. We didn't have our tree in time, because who has trees before Thanksgiving? and all our gifts were stored on the top of the living room Armoire. It was pretty sad. Because of the rather pathetic holiday spirit in our house, and the fact that Hanukkah was over on December 4th, it was suggested that we might forgo our tree this year. 

Not having a tree probably wouldn't have been awful, but it's one of the only holiday traditions that E and I have carried with us from house to house. It doesn't feel like the holidays without it, and with all the TTC crap we're dealing with, it turns out it means a lot to have that little symbol of the holidays in our home.

So, E and I began looking. We checked out our usual lot, as well as a handful of others, and nothing was looking right. Our environmentally friendly tree lot, Santa and Sons, had gorgeous trees, but they were all around $200+. The smaller lots had better prices, but really shoddy, sad looking trees. I was starting to get pretty discouraged when I happened upon a Groupon for Mr. Jingles, $35 for $70. Most of their trees weren't "perfect" either and E was starting to lobby for us leaving when bam! there he was. Propped up against the fence in a corner of the lot with a big gnarly bush in front of it, was a gorgeous, hugely fat Noble Fir. E was pretty sure he'd be too big for the space, being nearly as wide as he was tall, but I was in love and he was perfect.

 

Don't let the size comparison fool you! Our tree is a little shorter than normal this year, but the super helpful tree lot guy was 6'5" and he's standing on a little ledge here. E was still pretty hesitant but, helpful again, the tree lot guy sealed the deal for us. Instead of buying the Groupon, because Groupon would take a cut, tree lot guy suggested he just give us the discount as is. He also quoted us the tree at the 7-8 foot price, so instead of $115, our tree was $45. They would even put our Santa and Son's stand on the tree for us. E was sold. 

  

Giddy with our tree purchase, another Mr. Jingles employee loaded him up and we set off to make the very short trip home. I think we got maybe one or two blocks around the corner before we started to seriously regret not purchasing at Santa and Sons. While we love the tree, it was crystal clear that the lot guy had absolutely no idea how to tie it down. We had to stop over and over to tighten the increasingly slack, thin cords, while the tree slipped further and further back and I held onto it out the passenger window. It was an experience I have no desire to repeat and we were so glad to get our tree home in one piece.  Lesson learned: at least where tree tying experience is concerned, you get what you pay for.  Our Santa and Sons trees never budged on a journey 4 times as long. 

Finally we got our beauty home, squeezed him through the front door and stood him on his thankfully sturdy stand. Another surprise awaited us when I realized that our water absorbing floor pad had been peed on by a cat, so we covered the floor with tarp before putting down towels. This system works well for us, it protects the floor from any spills and allows us to fold up the towels and shake out any needles when it's time for the tree to come down. My sister L usually partakes in the tree trimming, so E and I wound our 5 million lights around the tree and waited for L to come over and help with the ornaments. 

All things considered, our 2013 Jew tree has turned out to be a surprising success. Fat and bushy, he fits perfectly in our tree space and looks gorgeous decked out in all our ornaments. I can't speak to his longevity, though I suspect he won't last until February like a Santa and Sons tree, but we are so glad he didn't fall off the top of my car.