Welcome Encouragement for Today devotion readers to our 5th annual 12 Days of Christmas giveaways!
But first, as promised in the Unhurried Christmas devotion (click here if you haven’t read it) here is the info for the free 5-day resource: From Chaos to Calm: The LET. IT. GO. Christmas Challenge:
Do you often have Norman Rockwell-like expectations about the holidays — the decorations, the food, the gifts, the activity — laden schedule, the family get-togethers?
There are many areas where women want to exert control ensuring the perfect yuletide season. What if we learned instead to let go of unrealistic expectations and embrace an “out-of-control” Christmas this year: relaxing and relating in a peaceful manner while letting others offer input and ultimately allowing God to call the shots?
Then join the 9000 women who have gotten my free 5-day resource From Chaos to Calm: The LET. IT. GO. Christmas Challenge?
This challenge will allow Christmas to go from chaos to calm as you learn to control what you should and trust God with what you can’t. The result? Less stressing and more blessing! Click here for the free sign up.
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Now, back to the 12 Days of Christmas giveaways.
Each day I’m featuring one of my Proverbs 31 sisters offering a recipe, idea or memory and giving away a prize for the day!
Today’s guest?
Our Proverbs 31 Executive Director of Radio and devotions, author, speaker and awesome friend:
She writes:
Christmas was only days away and we still didn’t have a tree. Living on a college-student’s budget with our first baby on the way, we were scraping by and couldn’t bring ourselves to spend $25-50 on something we didn’t need.
It seemed kind of trivial when I told God how sad I felt that we couldn’t afford a Christmas tree.
But that year, I discovered how much God cares about the longings of our hearts and, if we’re looking, He’ll show us His heart for us in them.
The Sunday night before Christmas, my husband, J.J. and I noticed the tree lot near our apartment had marked all their trees down to $10! Grins stretched across our faces as we made plans to buy one Monday night as soon as J.J. got home from work.
We walked down each row of the tree lot looking for just the right spruce to fit in the corner of our one-bedroom apartment. Feeling sentimental and slightly maternal, I realized that picking our first Christmas tree was going to be almost as difficult as choosing our child’s name.
The sun went down quickly, the tree-lot started to close and the spotlights shut down. There we were, standing in the pitch dark without a tree.
My creative and very patient husband pulled his car into the rows of trees and flashed on his high beams. Suddenly, the bright lights dispelled the darkness and standing in front of me was the most precious tree I’d ever seen. Although it had some droopy branches and a gap on one side, I pointed at it and told J.J., “That’s the one I want!”
Later that night, with my hands wrapped around a cup of hot cocoa, I sat on our couch looking at it. I thought about how sad I felt earlier when the darkness made it impossible to see the trees. Yet, when the beams of light illuminated the lot, my heart filled with hope.
Etched in my mind was a picture I wouldn’t forget, a memory that drew me back to another time marked by darkness – a time when I wasn’t choosing, but needed to be chosen.
Just when it felt like all my dreams had died and my hope was gone, the Light of God’s unfailing love punctured the clouds of darkness and depression surrounding my mind. It happened on another cold winter’s eve in January 1989 while I was sitting in the balcony of a church hoping to hear something that would fill the empty places in my heart. Feeling His Spirit tugging on my heart, whispering words I longed to hear, I sensed God saying, “Renee, you are the one I want.”
He’d been trying to tell me for years, but I had allowed the wounds of my past and the words of others to convince me that no one would ever want me.
At some point, I think most of us have felt like the little Christmas tree and me. Scarred by disappointments, we wonder if anyone would ever choose us. With gaps that make us feel like candidates for rejection, we hope no one will notice our inadequacies. And like the fate of my spruce pine, it seems the only way we’ll get chosen is if all the good ones are picked first.
First Peter 2:9 reminds us that through Christ we are chosen! God sent His Son to light our darkness and fill the gaps in our hearts. Sweet friend, I pray that you will hold onto the truth that God sees you today, and He wants you to hear Him declaring with all His heart, “You are the one I want!”
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Now for Renee’s giveaway. It includes:
Signed copy of her best-selling book A Confident Heart- Living in the Security of God’s Promises – printable
- Bath & Body Works Christmas treat
- Starbucks gift card
To be entered in her giveaway, tell us about your favorite Christmas tree memory. Or, if time is tight, answer this question: Real tree or artificial?
Remember, you have until Sunday night December 16th to comment on all the posts. One grand prize winner will be chosen from among the gals who post on all 12 days! The grand prize is:
A unique advent candle display depicting Bethlehem, Mary and Jesus, with votive holders and candles nestled inside. A $50 retail value. And, along with it, a copy of my new book LET. IT. GO. How to Stop Running the Show & Start Walking in Faith.
I enjoy the Christmas tree memories we make every year with our kids decorating it. Last year was extremely fun because we ended up in a cupcake fight after we finished decorating. One cupcake was accidently smashed on one of the kids and it all went crazy after that.
We have an artificial tree, a Walmart clearance special. My favorite Christmas tree memory is from the first year we put it up in 2006. My 4 year old daughter wanted to decorate the tree herself. We come in to find all the ornaments and a paper garland hung on the tree no higher than 3 feet (it’s a 7 and a half foot tree). There stands my daughter with a big grin on her face, saying, “Do you like it?” We snapped a picture to commemorate the moment. Everyone loved our tree that tree, especially when they found out who had decorated it!
When our boys were little we would go to the woods and cut down a real tree. After getting back home and decorating it we would then have cookies and hot chocolate. Fond memories. Today we put up an artificial tree.
After many years of cutting down or own tree and the amazing memories that have been created over the years I would have to say that this year has been my favorite. Our Church is doing a fund raiser for an organization that feeds families in other parts of the world. 100% of the money we paid for our tree goes to this charity. This is totally my favorite tree memory EVER!!!! My heart fills up every time I look at it.
We go get our real tree with my parents and sister’s family. It is a time to enjoy the time together before everything gets crazy.
Well, this wasn’t my favorite at the time, but now it makes a funny story! When my 16-yo daughter was barely three, my husband and I were in the process of selling our house to move to a house in another neighborhood. We also had a dog. It was Christmastime. Get the picture? Life was hectic The realty company was wonderful about scheduling lookers, which meant that five or six times each day, I’d have to saddle up my little group and leave the house. The agency called one morning and said they were bringing someone by in about 30 minutes. As my daughter, my dog and I were exiting the house our great big tree decided it would fall over. On the ground. Ornaments everywhere. Lights broken. Water gushing out of the tree stand. I rushed to pick up the tree and the debris and “pretty” everything up and leave. Whew. Problem solved. Well, over the next couple of days, our tree decided to faint TWO. MORE. TIMES. The last time it fell, I called the agency and told them to please overlook the tree, ornaments and lights spread across the living room floor. Maybe people thought “how big this room must be to accommodate furniture and an 8-foot tree laid out on the rug”. Or maybe not. :-/
Real these days. But I remember those oh so amazing silver trees with the little rotating light thing on the floor making our tree so beautiful!! Loved that. Wish I had another one! Merry Christmas!
My favorite Christmas tree memory?
As a small child I loved decorating our `huge` Christmas tree.
We would put on tinsel and ornaments, such fun :)
Later in life I was visiting my sister at Christmas.
She had this `small` Charlie Brown looking tree and I asked her where she got it.
She then told me, it was the tree we used to decorate as kids.
My how big it once looked!
Love real have had them in past but presently have artificial..favorite memory. Looking at sentimental ornaments tht hang and remembering the times.
My favorite tree memory happens every year when my husband, by his attitude and encouragement, makes the tree all about having fun and NOT about the perfection I grew up with. If our 4 year old hangs three ornaments together – fine. We will only help her if they are falling off…and maybe if a favorite ends up backwards…. :-)
OUr tree will never win a design prize, but it is loaded with love and acceptance…so I think it is stunningly beautiful.
I cant think of a specific tree memory but the weekend after Thanksgiving has always been our time for decorating our tree which is artificial.
Blessings,
Janet
When I was younger, me, my sister, and my brother would lie underneath our Christmas tree and stare up at the lights through the branches. Sometimes it would be for a few minutes, sometimes we’d take our sleeping bags and camp out there for the night. I loved it! Now that I’ve got 2 littles ones, I get to do it with them :) We’ve not camped out under the tree for the night yet, but I think we’ll do it this year. I know it’s kind of silly, but it’s definitely my favorite Christmas tree memory!
Sitting by the tree as a young girl and even now as an older girl, enjoying the quiet and reading and praying.
Artifical tree although I would love to get a real one some year
We always used an artificial tree but it was huge. Putting up the tree is a memory I always cherish. My dad would be on the ladder and we would hand him the branches. There was Christmas music playing in the background and it was a time that warmed my heart. It’s fun to watch my girls form the same kind of memory with my husband today.
When our kids were elementary age we went to a friend’s ranch to cut our Christmas tree. Had a great time finding the right tree. When we got it home it was a lot bigger than it looked out in the open on the ranch. Had to cut the bottom off to fit in the house. It took up most of the living room, but it looked beautiful and smelled wonderful.
artificial
Picking out that first tree with my hubby 23 years ago. I’m now encouraged to share that memory with our kids.
I now use a Fiber Optic Christmas tree because we live in the desert. But growing up in Minnesota we always had a real live tree. I love the live ones but they dry out too fast where we live now! The fiber optic ones are pretty too! :-)
My favorite Christmas tree memory…..We always decorated our tree with all the “ornaments” made by the children in daycare, school, church, wherever & I never threw any of them away…..so the tree became full of memories with each ornament. My father had been diagnosed with cancer and he was very sick, but he made a point to come see the my children, as he did every year, on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. As he sat in the recliner, looking very feeble and shallow a complete look of peace came over his face and the largest of all grins and he looked at me and said “That is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen!” That was his last Christmas with us, but it is my most cherised Christmas of all!
My favorite tree memory was when I was a kid and we use to as a whole family go pick out a REAL tree and bring it home they always smelled soooo good and it was always fun looking for the perfect tree for our family , now we have bought artificial my whole adult life and vow to next year buy REAL again :)
Most years we do not have our tree and decorations up until Christmas eve, because we are too busy with school activites and social gatherings to take the time to clean up the area to put up the tree.
This year we have already put up the tree, and stockings too. My 16 year old daughter said I must have been abducted by aliens because we already had the tree up.
Now to find the Nativity in the garage.
We do a fake tree….but the ornaments hold so many memories.
Funny memories was tying the tree to the window latch so the crawlers and toddlers would not pull it down on themselves.
Real tree!
We have an artificial tree but I love real ones.
Artificial We have an artificial tree because years ago we realized that the fumes from the dying tree were the cause of my husband getting sick every Christmas season. I love the smell of a real tree but it is not wrth my husband being sick. Now I love the artifical tree that we selected together and we decorate together every year. The tree, itself, is not important. My precious husband is way more important than any tree.
We always decorate our tree Thanksgiving night.Precious memories indeed!
monk5 at charter dot net
it was how my dad had the week off and the whole family played games and spent the week eating cookies and lounging by the fire!
Artificial
Artifical tree although I would love to get a real one
As a child, my favorite thing about the Christmas tree was receiving our new ornament for the year. Every year, we each received a new ornament with our name and the year written on it. We each put all of our cumulative ornaments on the tree.
Real
Artificial Tree! Although I do think we are going to start looking for an “outdoor tree” to decorate with bird/animal food!!!
My sweetest memories each year are hanging our Christmas tree ornaments. You see, whenever we travel on a vacation, we buy an ornament to remember that time. Then, every Christmas, we talk about when and where we were as we hang each of these special ornaments.
spending time with family
Real tree!
My most memorable Christmas Tree experience is the year when my kids were really young and I decided I wanted a real tree. My husband went out into our pasture and cut down a tree and brought it in. I loved it until all of the needles were falling off all over the floor and wouldn’t sweep up. From then on I decided I most definitely want an artificial tree.
My favorite Christmas tree memory is from my first year away at college. Some of my roommates and I went down to the tree lot and bought a tree. We managed to get it home and off the car roof. We realized that the tree was a little too tall…no room for the star, right? So we drug it out to the front steps to cut it down a little. Ladies…all we had was a long serrated kitchen knife! We took turns sawing away at that tree until we finally had managed to cut off enough. We drug it back inside and got it all set up in the stand only to realize that there was no way it was going to stand upright on its own. We called in a male friend who secured it to the wall with some twine. We laugh about that night to this day. That was my first Christmas away from home and I’m so glad I had some great friends to share it with!
Last year my 6 year old son dragged our tree all the way home from the woods out back. He was so proud of himself.
I prefer a real tree. One of my favorite memories is when we drove about an hour east to cut down our own tree. We stopped for hot chocolate on the way home and listened to Christmas songs on the radio in the car :)
Real but sadly no tree lately. We’re usually not home for Christmas.
When I was a child my parents always had to real Chrsitmas tree. One year, we had a small dog that was very bouncy. My mother had covered the tree in beautiful glass snowflake ornaments. We came home to find the tree on it’s side, dog looking like he had no idea what happened, and glass every where. We can only decide that “Lucky” has played in the tree most of day and broken all the snowflakes. My mother was not mad, she laughed and we cleaned up the mess. It was wonderful!
Thank you Jesus for shining your light on me and all the other women who have felt in darkness without YOU.
Fake tree
One Christmas we purchased a real tree decorated it and left the next day for a weekend trip. When we returned within 2 days by boys were so sick-found out they were allergic to the real tree. So, after only having the tree up less than a week we had to take it down, pull out the old articficial and decorate it. My boys started getting well and that old tree turned out to be such a beautiful site- especially since I had well children on Christmas!!!
Real tree. When I was growing up, we put real candy canes on our tree. We had a basset hound and we came home one day and you could see where she had taken all the candy canes up to as far as she could reach off the tree. and we could follow a trail of candy canes through the house to find where she had them all. She was so proud of herself.
I remember the years that we went to a tree farm to cut down the tree…
LOVE the smell of a real tree when you come home in the afternoon, but we have artificial tree due to the cost(bought our artificial tree on clearance after Christmas). But found some great candles that fill the house with the smell! And the artificial tree takes much less time to set up(lights included) so the fun of hanging ornaments can begin!
This may not be my favorite Christmas tree memory, but it is definitely the most memorable. It was the first Christmas as husband and wife. We lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment above a gas station. Because money was tight, our parents gave us an old, used tree. We were very grateful. When we put it up, we discovered that part of the tree was broken. We had to tie the top portion of the tree to curtain rods just to keep it from falling. Even though it was broken, it was still a beautiful tree. It made me realize that even broken, used, and old, we can be made anew with God’s mercy and forgiveness just like the tree did that year!
Real tree!
Real tree!
my parents didn’t have alot of money when I was growing up and we always waited until Christmas Eve to get our tree. My dad always picked out a great tree, and even though there might have been bare spots, etc. we loved that tradition.
Real Tree!
I used to love my grandma’s tree it was silver and had a box in front of it that made it all kinds of colors when the tree rotated. It was cool- Now I like the real tree’s!
My favorite memories are happening now!! My little boy was so excited that Daddy put up our artificial tree while he was out, that he started jumping up and down and giggling. he has has so much fun helping decorate our tree, and he is so proud of how pretty it looks.
Thanks so much!
Carissa in eastern Iowa
One of my favorite Christmas tree memories is when I lived at home. My two sisters, my brother, and I went out to search the farm for a Christmas tree. After much searching, we cut one down and dragged it to the house. When we stood it up outside of the house it was so tall that the top of it reached the second story windows. After adjusting the size we took it inside and decorated it. It was one of the prettiest trees we ever had. :)
Real tree!
The last few years, we have opted for a real tree. There is a tree farm down our road and my youngest (5 year old) son has picked out the tree the last 2 years. The joy he has gotten from picking out the biggest tree has been on favorite memory. My other favorite memories are in each ornament as I unpack them from the boxes: first Christmas together; baby’s first Christmas; new home, etc…
Thank you & Merry Christmas!
my favorite Christmas tree memory is waking up Christmas morning seeing clear celophane bags (like the ones you gather fruits/veggies in at the grocery store) packed to the brim with popped corn my great grandmother would make, and the top tied closed with curling ribbon in red and green. xoxo
We always used to go as a family to cut down a tree on some property that my dad owned. we always picked the ones that were in his deer hunting lanes :) it was a ‘best of the worst’ selection, but it was always a great time & makes for a funny memory every time i think about those times..
Artificial with a cedar tree candle constantly burning, lol
Just love decorating while listening to Christmas music.
real tree- love the smell!
Last year was the first year we got a real tree with our kids, previously had always been artificial. Had a blast and looking forward to doing it again this year. Plus love the smell of a fresh tree!
Artificial!! This year I have decied to use the tree and each of the ornaments to remind me of all the blessings of my 47 years. When I am feeling sad about the loss of family over the years and first child in college and two more quickly growing up, I go to the tree and look at all the reminders of God’s grace and goodness in the memories the ornaments bring.
No tree. Not sure I have a fav memory, but I always like the fellowship.
My favorite memory with the tree was putting the lights on a tree at school in botany class. Taking charge and showing everyone else how it was done. As, I’d put the lights on our tree growing up for years.
My favorite Christmas tree memories revolve around the year’s when we would purchase a real tree. That was always a special day for our children and myself. We would get so excited upon finally find the perfect tree!
artificial
When the kids were young we bought a tree…looked like it would be perfect. We brought it home and put it in the corner of the living room. It looked so very small…so many ornaments were left in the container…That’s ok..The following week, we found another tree–so pretty and so cheap since it was a few days before Christmas. So we bought that one too. It stood right next to the other one…almost all the leftover ornaments went on it…When the family came on Christmas Eve…it was the talk of the evening..and such a great memory…
My favorite Chrismas tree memory happened some years back but it’s precious to me. My daughter was in Milddle school and I was sick from a flare up w/Multiple Sclerosis. I was too weak to put up our tree & could barely walk. We always celebrated & enjoyed putting decorating the the tree together as we got stuck by the pine needles. I was worried about not being able to put up the tree but my daughter surprised me and put the tree up and had it all lit up when I entered the room. It was special to me even though the balls and decorations were crooked she knew what it meant to me and she saved our special ornament so we could both put it on the tree together.
I love decorating our family tree. We have a tree in the living room that has matching ornaments and glittery bows and white lights. But in our family room, we have a tree with multi-colored lights and all kinds of mismatched ornaments, each with a special memory attached. There are the ones that both girls made in pre-k and kindergarten (They’re 6th and 11th graders now.). They had the same teachers for both pre-k and k, so we have the Rachel version and the Katie version of many ornaments. We have ornaments that remind us of their various activities through the years–soccer balls, oodles of ballet shoes and ballerinas, basketballs, volleyballs, softball bats, a piano. We have ornaments that look like our pets. There are lighthouses and fish for my husband and penguins and W&M’s (William and Mary, my alma mater) for me.
The first year we were married, my husband and I went to a field where he often went rabbit hunting. Living in Virginia, we don’t often have white Christmases, but this year it had snowed quite a bit. We had our cocker spaniel puppy with us and we all traipsed through the snowy field until we found just the right pine tree. It was not a tree farm, so the tree hadn’t been trimmed at all. After we took it home on top of his jeep and decorated it, we noticed how uneven the branches were….but it didn’t matter because it was our first Christmas tree together….a very precious memory.
My favorite Christmas Tree memory is a time when my life was marked by darkess and poor decisions.. I was newly wed and still a very bad girl, I wasn’t choosing well at all. I knew the Christmas Tree lot near my high school would be un-manned after 11PM and the perfect opportunity to steal a Christmas Tree for our apartment. Yes, my new husband went along with this plot. We were successful too. In the dark of night we sneaked onto the lot and stole our tree. It was perfectly shaped and graced our apartment with its beauty. My decorations were simple, white lights and a huge red bow hanging from the top. This is my favorite memory because it reminds me of how dark my heart was to God and his ways. Since that time, I’m born again, Christ is my Savior, and God is my very own Abba. I too was chosen. God wanted me even with the darkness in my heart.
Christmas tree memory… that would be more like the magic of Christmas. When we were little and went to bed on Christmas eve, there was never a sign of Christmas at our house aside from a tree laying on the back porch. When we woke up Christmas morning, the tree was inside, decorated, all the other decorations around the house were up-and the presents were under the tree and the stockings filled. The whole place was sparkling and lit up. It truly felt like Christmas magic!
There have been times growing up when my family had a real tree and there have been times when we’ve had an artificial one. I like the artificial ones. They don’t have the pine smell but they don’t drop their needles. I never liked picking up needles.
We have an aritificial tree. We moved into a house recently where we have a storage area in our basement…so last year we took off all of the ornaments…but left the lights on and the tree assembled and carried it downstairs to storage…carried it back upstairs a few weeks ago…and wah-lah…about 3 hours of time saved! :)
artificial!!! (allergies)
Unfortunately it is artifical tree for my home, to many family members with allergies!
we have an artificial tree, it is more economical cause you can use it over and over!
We always had a real frosted tree growing up in my family. Nowadays as an adult I find it easier to get an artificial tree because it lasts for years and you can reap the savings. The best part about our family tree growing up is that my mother would always hang our homemade ornaments that we made in Sunday School class at church or in school. Me and my sisters would take turn hanging the ornaments on the tree. Now that we are all grown up she has started giving us back those homemade ornaments and other decorations. My favorite was my Santa Claus porcelain figure holding a bag that can be used as a candy holder.
Christmas of 1985 was our first Christmas after we got married. My husband was in college and I was working as a nurse and we didn’t have a lot of money. We wanted a tree for our small apartment. We went out in the country and found a scraggly cedar tree in a fence row. We asked the owner of the fence if we could help him clean out his fence row and have his tree for Christmas. Of course, he didn’t mind. We had our very own Charlie Brown tree! We decorated it with various items that we found and a few old ornaments that our parents had given us. It was great.
Artificial all the way!
Artifical. We used to always go out in the woods and get a live tree. But one year when I watched the tree fall as my husband cut it down it broke my heart that this tree was going to die so I could put it in my house. So now it’s an atrifical pre-lit tree full of all the special ornaments that we have collected over the years. Each ornament has a special meaning and “reason” for being on our tree.
Real tree until kids were grown . . . now artificial . . .
I love a real tree but we bought an artificial LED lighted tree because it is so much easier and it still looks beautiful. (Practical, too)
We have an artificial tree, but I sure do miss the smell of the real ones!
One Christmas when I was about 10, my parents had very little money so we waited until three days before Christmas to get our Christmas tree. The tree lots had marked the trees down drastically and we got a beautiful pine for $5! It was my favorite tree ever and we enjoyed decorating it and making memories.
One year we didn’t have enough money to replace our artificial tree, so we made a “tree” on the wall using garland and decorated it. That was fun!
Going out into the forest in Sweden in midwinter to choose a tree with friends who were forest wardens. We deliberately looked for a misshapen tree which wouldn’t grow as well as the others.
artificial
Real–but picking one out can be stressful when there are too many opinions!
real tree off our farm
I love the smell of a real tree and have always wanted to get one, but I am not fond of the clean up! I love going to my moms house and decorating her tree, she brings out all of our ornaments from years past. This year she gave us girls our old ornaments to put on our trees along with our children’s.
I love my artificial tree because I put it up sooner, take it down later, and get to enjoy it longer.
a real tree!
Playing christmas music while decorating
The year before I got married and bought a house on my own with little to no decorations, and no tree. I had always cut down a tree with my family. I came home from work and my future husband put up and decorated a tree. When I walked into the room I just cried. It wasn’t the prettiest tree but in my heart it was the Best!
We’ve had our tree since 1987. The garland and the lights, too and they still work! But my favorite thing to do is unwrap the ornaments my mom gave me growing up. She bought each of us an ornament every year to show what we were involved in that year. It’s so fun to walk down memory lane. I do the same for my girls.
Definetly a real tree but too many Christmas we settle for artificial.
Every year decorating the tree with my mom and siblings growing up, she always made it special with Christmas music playing and treats to snack on… My dad could not always help as he worked long hours in retail at that time of year, but would always make us feel special at the beautiful tree we had created! Now doing my own tree with my family is special and I love creating something that makes the whole family feel warm and joyful!
Reading Renee’s story brought back memories of the Christmas tree that almost never happened when my husband and I celebrated our first Christmas as married (and relatively poor) college students. We had decided we couldn’t afford a tree and ornaments and lights to decorate it. I didn”t feel too sad because I was still filled with joy by the birth of our first baby several weeks before, but I was a bit disappointed about not having a tree. About a week before Christmas, my husband surprised me by bringing home a small, live tree (perfect for our small apartment), two boxes of (cheap but colorful) ornaments and a string of lights. It was glorious! I don’t know how he came up with the extra funds, but I’ve always thought it was God, our wonderful provider of everything. We never missed the funds because we were able to pay all of our bills plus buy all the groceries we needed. Now decades later, I still hang several of those original ornaments on our tree to cherish the sweet memories of such a wonderful surprise.
My favorite tree over the years when my kids were younger is our artificial tree decorated with plaid ribbons, red ribbons and christmas lights. The simplicity of it was beautiful.
We always had artificial trees growing up (and I continue that tradition in my home) and my brother always hated it. When he got a home of his own, he purchased real trees at Christmastime. I remember one year when me, my husband and son went home for a visit during Spring Break and to my horror, my brother’s tree was still up in the back den—in April! No lights or decorations, but the dried up, browning fire hazard was still in its stand believe it or not. His reason? Time got away from him and now he was too embarrassed to put it out for the lawn guys after all this time. My hubby took it to the alley and I’ve always wondered what the lawn guys thought when they saw it.
My favorite Christmas tree is artificial. Several years back I visited my brother in Connecticut and slept in the basement with the live tree. The next morning I woke up all congested but thought nothing of it. I continued this routine for a week while I visited. Upon returning home, I was feeling rotten so I visited my doctor. I had walking pneumonia and a severe allergy to live trees and mold spores that are commonly found in basements. Since then, if I visit someone, I stay above ground and away from the tree! :)
My favorite memories are of getting all dressed in our Santa hats and decorating the tree each year. We listen to Christmas music and all participate in putting up ( our artificial tree) and then decorating it with lights and ornaments.
Artificial Tree. Pastor’s Wife with a 18 month old….. on a tight budget :)
my fav christmas tree was last year and this year when the kids help out decorating it and we made it a paper tree snowflakes and paper chain and adding all the ornaments they make out of paper and foam and such
My favorite Christmas tree memory is the year my husband and I had our first child. Money was very tight and we could not afford a real or fake tree. I so desparately wanted our daughter’s first Christmas to include a tree but the money was just not there. My father knew we were struggling and surprised us with a tree, everyone in our family pitched in and bought special ornaments to mark “Baby’s First Christmas” and “Our First Christmas”. The tree was beautiful! Every year since we make sure we pull out our special ornaments and hang them on the tree to remind us how special our first Christmas was as a family.
We too, bought a $10 (real) tree on our first Christmas together…it was tiny (I put it on a table) but decorated with love…
The year we drove to my mother-in-law’s house on Christmas eve. We knew she wouldn’t have a tree. We passed a lot that was giving away their trees so we picked up one and took it to her house where we decorated it and enjoyed it very much!
Sitting by the light of the Christmas tree with a cup of hot chocolate, just reflecting in the silence :)
I can’t think of just one favorite memory. My family and I would go pick out a live tree every year and I always looked forward to it. I’m really looking forward to convincing my husband to start that tradition once we have children!
When my brother and I were pretty small before my mom got an artificial tree, my Dad would take us out in the woods and SHOOT down our tree with his shot gun!!! So back woods crazy, I know, but so funny to remember!!!
Artificial tree!
My husband and I picking out our first tree and then figuring out how to get it home on top of my tiny old Civic hatchback.
Real tree
Real…unless you have a little one crawling around trying to eat needles that have fallen to the floor, in which case, artificial :)
I have great memories of taking the kids to cut down a tree at a nearby tree farm. We now have an artificial tree and while the choosing a tree was great, the no needles, no spilled water and the pre-lit branches of this tree make it just as wonderful. Just need to figure out why a set of 10-15 lights isn’t lighting…….
Real Tree…The first year we let our little guy cut the tree down and my husband thought I had a hold of the tree and I thought he had it….needless to say neither of us had it and it feel over on top of our little guy (the tree was not big at all, so he didn’t get hurt)…but you should have heard him!!!
real tree
When I was about six we had a very large tree that almost reached in top of our belcony, we came home one night and it had fell over. There were broken bulbs all over. The next year my brother and I picked out a three foot tree.
Many years ago, I went out after Christmas to get my bargains for next year and there she was a beautiful angle for the top of our tree, A candle in one hand reminds me of the meaning of Christmas and how God is our LIGHT. Her wings move slowly back in forth so peacefully. She is dressed in an off white velour gown. I look at her and think of all the blessings that I have received and especially the gift of salvation.
I would say that decorating the Christmas at the women’s prison in Peru with my mom. We didn’t get along very well (when I was a teenager) but when we went there to share Jesus and bring Christmas gifts for the children of the inmates we had a great time and were happy together. Not only did I get to spend time with my mother, who passed away 6 years ago, but I also got to share Jesus and serve others.
My grandmother always had an artificial Christmas tree, and each year had a ‘theme’. We had a white tree with all red decorations one year, then a green tree with all gold decorations the next. It was never the same year to year. It was always beautifully decorated and put up on Thanksgiving day during the football game. Growing up, we had a real Christmas tree, and the idea flowed over to my married life. Now Mom and I have both broken down and bought artificial trees. I never thought we would, but in some ways, it is easier. :\
The 2nd year we were married we had just moved and have no money for a tree either. We walked in the snow to a tree lot the night before Christmas and the tree were $5. I remember carrying the tree home. I too sat with my cocoa looking at my tree. A very snug memory.
Thanks so much for sharing, Renee. Touched my heart. So glad I’m the one he wants!
When our 4 children were very young (all under 5 yrs.) there was not a lot of money for any kind of a tree. We had a plastic tree about 2 feet tall that someone had given us. We decorated it with ornaments we had made together. It wasn’t fancy but there was a lot of love and joy in it any way. Today we have a much bigger artificial tree that is still decorated with love and joy.
We have an artificial tree. When I was a teenager and things at school were tough my very favorite thing to do was to sit either under the tree or on the couch right next to it with it all lit up and decorated and a cup of hot cocoa. That always made me smile and made me feel a little better.
This has been my favorite Christmas tree memory. My son who is three helped hang the ornaments. So the bottom half of the tree is covered with the ornaments that he hung and the rest of the tree is sparse. I would n’t have it any other way :)
Real tree at my parent’s house and artificial tree at our house. :)
Real tree every year!!! :) Growing up, we always went to a local tree farm and cut down our own Christmas tree. It was always a day long event filled with searching for the perfect tree, lunch and Christmas shopping. And it was always such a fun, memorable day. After getting married, we still continued that tradition with my parents, despite a longer drive. Then, kids came along and we tried for a few years to continue with the tradition that spanned so many years, but with money being tight, we had to finally say goodbye to an almost 30 year tradition. BUT, God is so good…although we can’t afford the fun day we had in the past, He has allowed me to really focus on what matters…and that is the birth of our Lord Jesus! It’s not about the tree, the lunch or the Christmas shopping, but about what He came for long ago as a little baby boy. So, we have started our own little family tradition of going to a small tree lot, getting a much more affordable tree, going to see Christmas lights, a special dinner at home and the sweet conversation with our boys about the Birth of our Savior!!!
Last year I told my widowed mom who is on a fixed income that I didn’t want anything for Christmas but she gave me her anniversary ring my dad had bought a few years before he died…This is special to me because it links my mom and my dad to me when I wear it and I like to wear it a lot..
I much prefer real trees but mostly have had artificial. My tree is 2′ tall & one my Daddy uses (was my Grandma’s) is about 3′. hard to pick a tree memory, but would have to be growing up when my sister & I decorated together.
Artificial!!
Real tree! This year was a favorite. We usually make a day of getting our tree with all of the kids. This year, our son couldn’t make it home from college to share the day with us. We “face timed” him on our phone and he was able to help pick the tree. On that day I was thankful for the technology of cell phones.
My Christmas tree memories are all tied to how many lights could we get on one tree? On the real trees I’ve helped to decorate, it has always been a challenge to count (and remember) how many strings of lights were put on. It was almost unacceptable to have less than 10-100 light strings (1000 lights) on an 8 ft tree. 12-15 strings was preferred. Now our trees are pre-lit, so it is not an issue anymore.
I would prefer real, but we can’t afford them any longer, so we have an artificial one now.
Artificial
Always a real tree- my children, although grown, would be so disappointed if we opted for artificial. Favorite memories are sitting in the dark, meditating, and gazing at the lit tree. Peace.
Both!
Our first Christmas tree as husband and wife was a real tree, however the top two feet had a slight angle to it! It was fun to decorate it together. There were many times we had to pick it up and redecorate as our little kitten would climb the tree and kept knocking it over! Oh what memories!
We have an artificial tree…actually right now I have 4 put up. As I was growing up it usually ended up with my dad and I putting the tree up. Although I have 4 siblings they were never very interested in doing it and my mom would ‘step back’ and let dad and me do it. When my son was still at home, he always helped me get the tree up and decorate it. I miss those days so much!
My Mom and Dad always took us to find a Christmas Lot, my Mom was very particular about the way the tree looked. Well, one year when I was 17 my Dad took me to take to get my drivers license test.. After I passed, Daddy said lets get a Christmas tree and surprise Mom, well this I knew was not a good idea. We got a tree and I was very fearful of what Mom would say. This tree looked like a Charlie Brown tree, my Mom was not as happy as Daddy, but after the shock wore off she said its okay but next time take me to help pick it out!! That was 44 years ago. they are both celebrating with their heavenly father,now, the memories of that day long ago are still very real today!!!
Real tree
artificial
We have an artificial tree filled with ornaments made and hung by our children. I love looking at the lit tree before I go to bed when the house is very quiet. It is beautiful and peaceful.
My favorite Christmas tree memory is when we took our children to pick out a real tree. They were so excited about it as we had always had an artificial tree.
We now have an artificial tree, we have a small house and the “slim line” tree fits better! One of my most memorable “trees” was not really a tree at all! The first Christmas my husband and I were together, he kept telling me he would get a tree on one of his weekly hunting trips. I ended up putting a bow on the Peat Post that my phillodenren was growing up! The next year, we made a great production of getting the tree!
Favorite memory had to be bringing home a new baby, in the midst of utter chaos due to a diy remodel. There was no $ for a real tree & no time or place to drag the artificial one out of the attic of the garage. That year was a first: the local Y tried to sell trees and the week before Christmas, made the rest of the trees in their lot – free. Dad couldn’t argue with that, so we pushed our table aside in the dining room and squeezed in a real tree. (no room in the living room, because l.r. was full of kitchen & bath room cupboards & contents. Remember this “Busy” Christmas with great fondness. My parents were here helping with the house – Daddy is no longer here on earth, but surely made our Christmas all about family.
Favorite tree memory…. the year I let the kids take over the decorating. :) They were so proud to be able to do it themselves and it felt good not needing so much control over the process myself.
Artificial tree.
For years we had a cut tree but decided the dirt and allergies were not worth it, so now it is artificial.
My favorite Christmas tree memory would be the very first tree that my husband and I purchased for our first Christmas together. The tree looked a lot different then. We didn’t have many ornaments and I wanted to make it look special. Today our tree is covered in homemade ornaments and special purchased ornaments for each year we’ve been together as well as for each daughter when they came into our lives.
We decided on an artificial tree when we had our second daughter and our oldest was 2. The tree was pulled over too many times. :) Now many memories are made each year as we pull the ornaments out of the boxes and talk about when they were made. It’s one of my favorite things to do each year.
Real tree! Favorite memories is taking the kids to the tree farm, choosing and cutting our own tree, which was always much bigger looking once we got it in the house!
My favorite tree memory was last year. My husband, myself and our three children hiking through the trees on our land, searching for the right three. Watching which trees each of my Kiddos were drawn to and why. Watching the guys cut it down and load it up! I’m looking forward to this year :)
I used to think a real tree, but in the last few years we have an artificial pre-lit tree. Which I have to say probably saved my marriage, because my husband says I was too picky about stringing the lights. Ha Ha!
I barely remember it but when I was a little girl my parents did not have any money and basically lived on student loans. One Christmas they had wrapped a few of my toys up in gift wrap and stacked them up in the shape of a cone. It wasn’t anything new but it felt like it when we opened up the paper!
I think one of my favorite Christmas tree memories is actually fairly recent. In Nov 2010 I had 2 surgeries-one in which I had my appendix removed and in doing so they found it had a malignant tumor in it. The second surgery was Nov 30 and involved removing 1/4 of my colon and 20 lymph nodes to make sure the cancer had not spread. I had a post surgical site infection and a long recovery. I had resigned myself to not having a tree that year but my 79 year old mom came to help me in my recovery and SHE put up my tree. It was absolutely beautiful!! I love you mama!!!
We have an artificial tree & have Always! But it is fun picking out a New one when needed
Growing up, we had a Christmas tree farm so every year, we would drive down to southern Ohio where our farm was and cut a 12′ tree. Then my brothers and I would find little trees for our rooms. Very special!!
My favorite Christmas tree memory is the year we first got married and I had my very first real Christmas tree. My mom always went with the artificial. We even had that aluminum tree that the wheel with four colors on it rotated to turn the tree different colors for awhile when I was growing up. I love the smell of a fresh pine tree.
I think my favorite Christmas tree memory will have to be the one from this year. Our Christmas craziness started weeks ago and we just never could seem to get that tree up and decorated. Plus, we now have two kittens that are about 5 months old. This only added to my stress of trying to get everything ready and just right for what is suppose to be the most joyous time of the year. Well, a week ago we managed to get the tree upstairs from the basement and set up, but no lights or decorations…yet. I was completely frazzled from fighting the cats that were determined to attempt to eat our Christmas lights. So, I threw my hands up and said “I’m done & not doing this!” So, my wonderful husband took the opportunity to get the lights finally on the tree while I was out for a few hours this past Saturday and when I saw how beautiful those lights were…well, all my stress just melted away. We turned some Christmas music on & my girls and I finished up the rest of the decorations on that tree. Now every time I look at that tree I’m reminded of how patient and loving my heavenly Father is towards me & blesses me every where I turn!
So many allergies and now asthma at my house, we have to do artificial. But I love a real tree when I see one all lit up! My favorite memory was picking out a tree with our kids in Colorado one year. They cut it and wrapped it for us to bring home. The mess of needles after Christmas was not fun! But oh man did it smell great during the holidays!
We have an artificial tree now but one year long ago when my son was only 3, his dad went to cut down a tree for our Christmas. It must have been a long wait for him because when his dad pulled in the driveway he said…”Dad`s got the Christmas tree, but it`s not decorated!” I love that moment and will never forget it!
My favorite Christmas tree memory was from about 8 years ago when my oldest child was about 12…she is very quiet and shy. The children and I had put up the tree and the girls were getting the lights out while I stepped out of the room..when I returned I saw her with her head thrown back in a jolly fit of belly-laughs and garland wrapped all around her- I snagged the picture and will treasure it always!! Christmas should bring us all such JOY!! Our Savior is come!! thanks for the giveaway!!
Always have a real tree – I just love them – we used to cut them down in the mountains when I was a kid and that’s my favorite memory – living in Texas my kids can’t imagine going to the mountains and cutting one down – so they love to hear the stories!
I’ll never forget the year my son was born – his daddy left on a six-month Navy cruise when he was three months old, so I packed up the three year old and the baby, and spent the winter with my mom. When Christmas came, we went and bought this super fat tree and brought it home. Come to find out, the trunk was way too big for her tree stand, so I was left holding the trunk (with branches all up in my face!) and trying to keep the tree upright, while mom drove to town to find a bigger stand. We laughed so hard over that crazy tree.
Going in the pasture with my dad to cut down a tree. I was little at the time because most of my memories involve a fake tree.
Real tree for the main tree with the gifts under it. 2 fake ones for decoration only. I love being the only one up early in the morning before going to work, turning on the lights on the real tree and just sitting there looking at it, reflecting, praying,,, it’s really comforting.
I remember the last year we ever had a real tree. It was the short needle kind and so beautiful. I don’t know if it was too dry when we bought it (mom did keep it watered) or if we put it up too soon, about a week before Christmas the needles started falling off. I mean all you had to do was look at it and it would drop its needles. When Christmas was over mom and dad were anxious to get what was left of the tree out to the curb. By the time they wrestled that poor tree out the door it barely had a needle left on it. All the needles were inside the house and all over the floor. Though mom and i did our best to pick them all up,we were still finding needles a year later! Mom said very firmly, “No more real trees EVER! That’s when we went to artificial. I will never forget that poor little naked tree though!
Real tree. Favorite times going into the woods of Newfoundland with the kids to find and cut down our tree.
artificial now, Have great memories taking children to tree farms to cut our Christmas tree, One year we didn’t get it tied down and it flew off, that gave us laughs for many years to come.
From the time my grandmother’s first grandchild was born (I was #3), my grandmother handmade a Christmas ornament each year for each grandchild. It’s been one of my favorite Christmas tree memories…as an adult, looking at the 30+ years of Christmas ornaments that now hang on my tree…all made with love and a desire to leave us with something special…some of which we got to make with her over the years. But each of us grandchildren have a matching set of ornaments and a piece of my grandmother’s heart to enjoy forever.
It is always a real tree…my favorite, most precious tree is the live tree my husband purchased the last Christmas we had with my mom. She was diagnosed with cancer and we knew that her time was short. My mom loved Christmas and she loved to be able to give in so many different ways. Now that tree is planted in our yard and I know that she is looking down from Heaven smiling seeing that Christmas tree decorated each year..
A tree I bought when my not yet hubby came to my house and was floored at the Charlie Brown Christmas tree…..he trimmed and trimmed and trimmed some more!!
It was a beautiful tree when he was done.
Real tree!
a soldier I made in grade school out of a cloths pin.
Charlie Brown tree!!!
The best Christmas tree memory is reliving the story of each ornament as it is put on the tree. My sons have special ornaments that bring back memories for them and since i am a teacher, I can reflect on the many students who gave me ornaments over the years.
My most favorite Christmas tree memory…I have always had an artificial tree until 1998. I was expecting our 2nd child, a daughter, and she was due on December 26th. Since I was not able to travel to see family, my hubby said we should have a real tree. I was super excited to have a real one. My daughter made her appearance on December 24th at 12:18am. I can remember coming home and just looking at my tree and smiling. I had it all…a hubby, a daughter, a new daughter and a real tree. I was most certainly blessed for sure. My daughters name is Natalie Grace…Born of Christmas by the Grace of God.
May you have blessed Christmas!
Smiles, Robin :)
My favortie all time Christmas tree memory is my grnadmothers tree. Oh, how beautiful it was. Every Dec. I looked so forward to seeing that tree make an appearance, all gold and white lights. It sparkled so brightly – it beamed love!
-Colleen G.
A real tree! My my most recent favorite Christmas tree memory is how my 5 and 3 year old boys helped my husband cut down the tree at the tree farm. So cute!
Real tree! every year for 60 years – even if it was only a three foot one to fit a small space ina small mobile home. My in-laws ran a tree farm in Ohio and altho we lived in SC we decided to put one on top of the van and bring it home after a Thanksgiving trip home!! What an adventure! wonderful memories.
Real — love the smell
Our first tree (artificial) as a married couple was memorable! And love decorating the tree with my kids!!
Artificial and pre lit to boot! Save me time. And there is this cool light gun to help with the lights when they start going out.
we always had a real tree growing up. I loved putting on the ornaments, then watching my mom, over the course of days, re-arrange them :-) I promised to not do that, but sometimes I still do. I DO let the grandkids decorate the bottom of the tree however they want. Our landlord doesn’t allow real trees, so artificial it is! oh well
I’ve always liked to fall asleep under the glow of the tree. Growing up we always had real trees and that meant the lights couldn’t stay on all the time, but because of my love for the lights I use artificial trees now and then the risk of fire is less.
There was one year, not too long ago, that we could not afford a tree. Although we hadn’t mentioned it, my mother-in-law somehow sensed it. She took us to the local Lowe’s and got a tree and tree stand. It was such a blessing!
My sweetest Christmas tree memory was last year when my husband took me an our two children to a Christmas tee farm. We have never had a real tree and it was such a special time picking the perfect tree. I watched as my son and daughter helped dad cut it down it wash priceless moment. We loved that so much that we decided to do it again this year!
My favorite one is December 2010 because I am most grateful that God did not decide to take me home from car accident that summer. Boys got me still. They did not have to bury me.
Artificial
Our family has watched The Bethlehem Story the last few Christmas Eve’s. It always makes me see and think about all the ways God had planned the birth of His Son for us and the heart of those He planned to take part in it.
When I was young I liked to lay underneath the lighted tree and look up into the branches. It is so beautiful and relaxing, I still do it as an adult.
My favorite memories are making homemade ornaments with my children to put on the tree and then decorating together.
I love real trees but we have an artificial one, to save time and money.
Usually artificial, once in a while real, but my last son is coming home from his first year at college, so we would like to have a real one this year, since this might be the last time we are all together for Christmas.
REAL! ;) One of my favorite memories was the year my parents won a HUGE 8 ft tree and we put it in the bay window of our new house. It was my first Christmas home after going away to college. It was just a fun time decorating such a huge tree – and once it was decorated, it was the most magnificent tree we had ever had. It was such a joy to just sit and stare at when it was lit.
We have always had a real tree but for the past two years we have driven up to North Carolina to a family owned tree farm. It is so much fun running around the farm trying to find the perfect tree. We love spending the day in the mountains.
Growing up we always had a real tree. My sister and I would always get a small piece put in a vase and display the mini decorated tree on our dresser. One year we, along with our brother, used it as our “backgrounds” for holiday photos!
This year was my favorite Christmas tree moment. I let.it.go. And I let my daughter decorate the tree as she wanted and it turned out more beautiful than if I’d done it. A very joyful moment indeed!
Real
I was the proud owner of an older duplex and lived on one side and rented out the other side. I wanted a “rustic” looking real tree. My brother owned some land near a pasture so I went and cut one down the weekend after Thanksgiving. I watered and watered it but the poor little thing did not make it to Christmas. It was a definite fire hazard in the old duplex! I think I ended up throwing it away at least a week before Christmas!
Artificial
After our first Christmas was over, I had hubby move our (artificial) tree to an extra bedroom, leaving it up so I wouldn’t have to re-string the lights next year. A few months later, we were getting something out of the room, our cat had followed us in (we usually kept the door shut). She was playing below the tree, we turned in time to hear her do a funny mewl, she had tried to jump through the bottom of the tree. She was swinging by her belly on a string of the very lights I didn’t want to have to restring. We were laughing so hard, it was a few minutes before we could catch our breath and untangle her.
Thank you for sharing – beautiful – I just have my pencil trees up this year because we are moving on 12/29!!!
We are chosen & precious in His sight. So often I/we strive for acceptance and God waits for us, longing for us to accept His love.
Artificial. Its so much easier :)
my favourite christmas tree memory is the tree from my first apartment, a tall, pencil thin tree w/ tons of country ornaments ;)
My father helped plant special memories for myself and my older children while harvesting our Christmas tree. He was older guy and loved to use his team of horses to deliver feed to his cattle in the winter. He took us out with the same team of horses to select our tree and bring it back. One year a wolf howled right after our tree hit the ground. Such sweet memories. My Dad has spent the last few Christmas in Heaven. He is missed but he planted wonderful memories.
My husband and I have been married almost 13 years! On our first Christmas, we drove to the tree lot in our Chevy lumina van that looked like a torpedo! In our haze of being newlyweds, we did not realize that driving a van into a muddy lot does not bode well for success! 2 hours later , after a little help, we got out of the mud and made it home with our tree. I think I spent 3 hours putting on the lights and decorating. I came home the next day and it had fallen on the floor! A friend came and helped me put it back up…a few days later it fell again! The next year we got a real tree again and it fell AGAIN! So needless to say, that tree got chopped up for firewood and we now have an artificial one!
BTW..don’t buy the stand that says “Ultimate Tree Stand”..it really isn’t:)
Real tree. When I was little we always had an artificial tree. It was what my grandparents had always done so my mom didn’t know anything else. One year her work gave her a real tree for her Christmas bonus.as we were putting it up she blew up like a balloon. I had to call the ambulance and off the the ER she want. It turns out she was allergic to the real tree. Ops! It was one of the best evenings we had in a long time as we got to spend time together.
We always have a real tree as we totally forgot to get our artificial one from the attic when we moved cross country 6 years ago. I guess the new residents got a nice gift! :)
Real tree most years.. I always decorate the tree and then gradually readjust things if I saw a place that maybe had too much or too little. Never thought too much about it because I would sometimes move things that I had put on the tree – until the year my son wouldn’t help decorate the tree because he said I was going to move everything he put on the tree anyways. I almost cried.
A special memory for me is when my kids were little. There grown adults now. We went out in in the woods cut our tree, our mistake was we told the children we would go sleding after we got the tree. They had always been so picky on the tree we got but this year it seemed just about any would do. But when my son pick one that really was a sorry looking one he looked up and said I think we should pick this one. When I ask him why he answered Jesus would he choose the the ones no elese will. Well what can you say. That year he taught us something after cutting the tree they didn’t want to go sleding they wanted to go home and decorate the tree they thought no one would want but Jesus. At the bottom our Christmas trees we place nail like the one they used on Jesus on the cross to remind us his birth was the start and the cross and ressurection was the finish.
Our first Christmas, I too was expecting and we had just moved into the house we were living in. It was the 23rd of Dec. we had snow at least 20inches deep and we went ot get a tree. WE got one, it was small, and loaded it into the bed of the pickup. My husband said we weren’t going far no reason to tie it down. About 1/2 way home the tree flew out of the truck and into the ditch. Well as pregnant as I was I wasn’t much help to reload the tree, but it is a memory that we will always have. And we always tie down our tree now!
Because of space and all now we have a little artificial tree, but growing up it was always real. I loved piling in the station wagon with my dad, grandpa and brothers. We’d walk around looking for the perfect tree to cut down, then when we got it we’d go back to the office building get candy canes and then we’d eventually pile in the back with the tree for the ride home. That was about the only time we were allowed to be in the car without a seat belt. :)
My favorite Christmas tree memory is the first Christmas tree I had in my own apartment. It was only about 3 feet tall, but I put it up on a table, and decorated it with various ornaments. It was small, but it was mine.
We use to go to a Christmas tree farm and pick out our tree. We would drink apple cider at the farm too. Now, we have an artificial tree. I enjoy decorating the tree each year with my family.
There’s just something so special to me about putting up and decorating the tree. Even from a little kid to now, married with kids, the day the tree goes up and the tree begins to get decorated, it just says to me, “family” and during that time everything is right.
I LOVE to get a living tree that can be planted after Christmas. They are very hard to come by in my area but they are my favorite.
Going to the country to cut live tree. The wonderful fragarence.
My favorite Christmas tree memory was the Christmas of 2001. I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder that manifested itself with episodes of passing out cold. I was unable to drive, unable to work (I had been a caregiver for a group home for the disabled), and not sure of what kind of Christmas we could have. I was taking a dental class at night at the local high school with a friend who would drive us, and somehow the Sophmore class found out about my situation and when they chose to adopt a family, the adopted mine. I was stunned. I didn’t even sign up for this.. That Christmas my son got toys, I received lotion and perfume as well as a gift card to purchase food for a Christmas dinner, and lastly we got a tree. All from these sweet teenagers.
Real tree when our boys were at home …now artificial. As a childbI loved putting tinsel on the tree
Real, preferably, but this year, artificial.
I have fond memories of cuddling with my three girls and reading, as well as decorating our tree – every ornament is meaningful!
I always insisted on a real tree, until about 10 years ago, when our tree fell over, breaking several ornaments, then dropped so many needles it was practically bare twigs by Christmas Day! I bet the present owners stilllll find needles in the carpet! Lol!
My mom bought a snow artifical Christmas tree for my family when my son was 15 months old. He loved seeing it, but we left it with her since he loved putting the lose balls in his mouth. All the grandchildren loved being the one that got to turn the snow on the tree when they got older. I have now inherited the snow tree – haven’t used it yet, maybe when I have grandchildren I will pull it out.
I think each year I love my tree more. All of the memories from each year remembered as we decorate it. I love that I still get to decorate it with my girls and husband. I now have a toddler proof tree, if there is such a thing. I have a grandson now. He loves the bells on it, they were my grandmothers, maybe even my great grandparents. I used to be a control freak about the tree and would not be happy when an ornament was broken. Thank you to God that I have become more relaxed and even broken some myself. Our first tree was small and sparsely decorated. We had received some from friends and friends of my mother’s at a shower some dear friends gave me when we got married. I still remember who gave us most of them, some still with us, some have past on to be with God. I have also added some from my parents and grandparents trees. They are so dear to me. I wish you all a very blessed and merry CHRISTmas!
Artificial! Being a school teacher I have so many special ornaments…oh, and I have to have all the angels at the top and the reindeer together and the bells in one spot and the wooden ornaments in one spot….yes, I think I may need to be the sinner of the book…and I LOVE the grand prize…
Artificial trees this year :( but I love real ones!! I’ll never forget my mother throwing our ancient balding artificial tree away one summer – just knowing – that next year there would be a real tree. I was surprised my dad did not pull it out of the garbage and my mom got her tree.
Real tree for fun and family experience, fake for less mess!
Real tree. All the way. I have so many fond memories growing up of going to pick out, cut down and decorate the Christmas tree. We made it a whole day affair. Tree farm, hot cocoa, decorating, digging out the old Christmas music for the first time, and making memories! Love this time of year! :)
We have had an artificial tree most of the time. Only had a real tree for a couple of years
Every year is special as our family goes to a tree farm owned by a Christian family and chops down just the right tree!
I loved this post Renee! Tug at my heartstrings. There is nothing like the faithfulness of God especially when it is completely unexpected. I think my most favorite Christmas tree memory was laying under the tree with my nephew when we was a toddler. With the lights off and the lights twinkling above us, we sang Christmas songs and giggled together. So simple but I will always cherish that moment.
Artificial tree but love the smell of a real one
Artificial tree. Love that I can just pull it out and put it up when I am ready, and don’t need to spend any extra money each year on a tree. One of these years we may do a real one, for now, I really like my Artificial tree :)
It was Thanksgiving, 1998. I was feeling down. My husband and I had been married for 7 years..and still now baby. I told him I didn’t think we should bother getting a Christmas tree. No one came to visit us at Christmas…we did all the visiting. We both worked and weren’t home much to enjoy the tree…so why bother?
Well…On December 10th of that year, we found we were going to FINALLY be parents! The very next day, I told my husband we needed to get a tree…and we did. Though our son wasn’t to be born until August…it was his first Christmas tree.
Artificial. Love family time with my children and parents!
When I was younger we used to make real popcorn and just throw it on the tree. Then we’d spend the rest of the season picking it off the tree. I much prefer a real tree … but these last couple years we’ve done a fake one. I’ve had to be working part time and with home schooling I don’t want one more thing to clean up. I want to enjoy our time. :)
Artificial, since my allergies could not take the real one anymore. Love decorating the tree with all the ornaments the kids have made through the years.
Our artificial pre lit tree goes up every year and before it gets decorated, I think…this thing has GOT to go. By the time the last ornament is hung and the history of our family hangs from each branch telling the story of our lives, it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It makes me realize that I by myself am not much, but with all the experiences of life, family, friends, church, I am so much more.
If I could, a real tree. But I’ve always had an artificial one…
For me, it would not be Christmas without a real tree. Small or big, the memories relived when taking out the ornaments are my favorite thing to do. I place an old glass tree topper, my Nana’s (we think it is over 80 years old since my dad is 89) on the top. Each year I hope it is not broken, as it is very fragile. I am excited that I get to have it another year to adorn our tree. I know one day it may break, but I USE IT. I don’t keep it in a box. I have a Moravian star right next to it. It makes me feel so close to my Nana who I miss dearly. Merry Christmas, Nana. I hope to see you one day. Keep your light shining down on us. :) Thanks for sharing your story with us in Tampa Renee. Thinking about you and your littlest one. :)
My favorite Christmas trees memories would be decorating it with my (big) brother and the finishing touch was always the tinsel. We haven’t used tinsel in years on our trees but as a kid I used to love walking by or standing by the tree and the tinsel would “stretch out” to cling to us. Fun times!
I always enjoyed going a finding a tree in the field with my family, cutting it down together, and then having hot cocoa once we brought it back.
We have an artificial tree with colored lights. I love to turn it on in the mornings, get a cup of coffee and just sit…rest…ponder…meditate! The ornaments all hold some special meaning and I love to walk around it and recall those!
We had some very difficult years when we were first married. We couldn’t afford a tree, so one of our friends graciously offered a tree from his property. My husband and the friend came back with a tree that was quite “thin.” We put it up and our kids didn’t know the difference. My husband said he didn’t want to hurt the friend’s feelings, so he just picked the best they could find. As we look at photos now, you can see right through the tree to whoever is standing on the other side. We call it the “Charlie Brown tree,” and it served the purpose. Great memories to remind us that everything doesn’t have to be picture perfect.
Real tree this year! : )
Artificial
I shared with Renee that I have been looking for a job since April and although I have applied for so many I have not been chosen for not a one, The rejection was so painful at first I thought there was something wrong with me. I couldn’t understand why God wouldn’t give me this job or that job. I finally had to stop all of that and just do my part and apply for jobs I was qualified for and pur my trust I God for Him to do the rest. I am currently reading Let.It.Go. and working on letting God be incontrol of every area of my life and not just the parts I want Him to be. PS my children are in their 30’s and I still want to have control in their lives and their children even if it is only a little bit. I’m a work in progress. Have a wonderful Christmas. Nancy
I forgot to mention that we have an artificial tree. The real ones are too messy to clean up.
Real. Each year becomes my new “favorite memory” as we hunt down the perfect tree. We have cut down our own, driven hours to tree farms, dashed through blizzards to find a tree as quickly as possible, and taken our time in almost 60 degree weather. It is a tradition for my husbland and I and our three daughters who are now grown and bring along our 2 grandchildren. Each year we talk about purchasing an artificial tree, but we just never make that purchase. When we do, some new tradition will be born, I am sure.
My husband I went into the mountains in Idaho and cut down our first Christmas tree together (with a permit of course!). This tree that looked small among the towering firs was not so small when we got it home. Thankfully we had a vaulted ceiling cause our tree just fit into our living room that had 11 foot ceilings!
I loved getting a new ornament for Christmas every year. We have continued that tradition with our kids and they each have their own small tree to have their ornaments on.
Artificial since my children are allergic
Oh I needed to hear this today. Thank you for your words like a balm to my heart.
God bless you.
Renee, this is very encouraging for me, thank you. Have no money for Christmas this year and praying God will provide if it is His will. I will praise Him even though He didn’t provide because it is His will and praise Him if it is His will. Thank you and blessings
Artificial since they hold the heavier ornaments better! But, i love the smell of a real tree!
My husband is allergic to most trees and grasses so we have never had a real tree. Growing up was also artificial. When we were first married, money was tight and we could not afford any tree at all. My parents decided they no longer needed a big tree and purchased a table top version. They gave us their larger tree! We used that tree until our first child was born – 7 years! It brought back many childhood memories of decorating with my bother and sisters. I love decorating the Christmas tree!
Real tree or artificial?
My favorite Christmas memory is picking out a real tree with my parents as a child. Now due to allergies, my family has an artificial tree.
I loved picking out the tree with my family. We would wait for my Dad to get home which seemed like forever and then after dinner we would get in the station wagon and drive to several tree lots to find the perfect tree. Now, we have an artificial tree which is big and beautiful but I miss going out and picking a tree and having that lovely smell of fresh cut tree in the house.
I would have to say that this year will go down as one of my most favorite in terms of decorating our tree. My daughter, who is now 4, took great interest in helping and learning about the ornaments. My project for the season is to photograph and document for her the special ornaments on our tree. Who they came from. Why they are special. That way, when I cam gone one day and they become hers, she will always remember how special they are and that they are more than objects. They are memories and emotions, smiles and tears, precious and fragile. Just lie life.
Thanks for the chance to share!
Tracy
artificial
Artificial! :)
Artificial.
We actually went out and got a real tree for the first time this year. It smells so nice. It’s so BIG! And it needs water all the time…. But I’m enjoying it. Our daughter is getting married this next year so she will not be living with us next Christmas and her Dad asked her if getting a tree would be something she would like to have done before she “left” home. It was a fun family adventure!
My favorite Christmas tree memory will have to be this years. Money has been very tight for us and we couldn’t afford to buy a tree this year. A friend called me up a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I would like to have their tree that they have had for several years because they bought a new one, I was overjoyed. Went a got it and my husband and I and our girls decorated the tree, No it may not be much to look at but its our tree and I am so thankful that God answers prayers.
My favorite Christmas tree memory is the first Christmas we were married. We bought a live tree that year (the only year), and the house smelled wonderful :)
My favorite Christmas tree memory is long ago when our kids were small and we lived in Montana. We went looking for a tree to cut down, and the snow was so deep that it cut into my knees, above my knee length boots! I forget if we found a tree, but we sure got our exercise!!
We were always a real tree kind of family until the year I had a preschooler and 2 babies under the age of 18 mos. Combine that with a very cold December and the thought of dragging them all through a Christmas tree lot was more than I could stomach. So I convinced my hubby of the joys of an artificial tree and here we are 10 years later still enjoying our artificial trees.
That post was very timely. I enjoyed reading it and like that tree, God meets us where we are.
artificial – the only year we had a real one, it fell 3 times in the night until we finally tied it to the wall!
I dream of a real tree, but have never had one. However, even with artificial ones, my favorite is the people around the tree each year. Thank you for sharing God!
Real-there is nothing that brings back good Christmas memories like the fragrance of a Fir!
My favorite Christmas trees memories are wrapped around taking my family out with my Dad to a Christmas tree farm. Out children ran all over looking for the perfect tree, the excitement when they narrowed it down to The tree, cutting it down, cups of hot apple cider while the tree was dealt with and loaded onto the car. Sweet memories!
Definitely real! I love the smell of a fesh tree and remember going to Christmas tree farms every year with my family to choose just the right one. We would come home and have hot cocoa afterward as we put up and decorated the tree.
My favorite Christmas tree memory is a long, funny story but the moral of the story is this “Always remember that Christmas trees look a LOT smaller in the massive ‘christmas tree forest’ than they actually are.”
a small artificial pre-lit tree topped with a Star of Bethlehem looking light…my sweet husband bought it for us a couple years ago and we put it up together every year since
We have a very similar story. It was Christmas Eve on our first Christmas as a married couple, and we had no tree. After the Christmas Eve service at our church. We borrowed a sled, and walked to the convenience store near our house. We brought home the ugliest, yet most beautiful tree we’ve ever had.
Artificial Tree! Although one of these years we may get a real one.
Would love a real one – but artifical for now.
I think my favorite Christmas tree memory will be this year because I don’t have one up yet. Always have the first week of December but because my Mom has been in the hospital and still not doing any better and my house is being remodeled (a 9 day job is now in it’s 6th week) there is no tree. But I know there will be. I can’t wait to have a tree. I love the tree and all the special ornaments I have collected about Jesus for 43 years now.
Many memories of decorating with the children. Two weeks ago my out of state grandsons were here. Ages 8 and 11. They decorated the tree completely by themselves. The looks on their faces as they pulled out ornaments they had not seem before was absolutely precious. This is the most beautiful tree and every ornament is perfectly placed where they put. I am so very blessed.
We waited until Christmas Eve to get the tree, paid only $5! Brought it home set it up and our dog peed on it. That year we only had a tree up for one day. :)
i remember as a child the year we had a charlie brown tree- a small 2 ft pine sapling really–but it was a tree in a home filled with love!
Artificial!!
Ours is artificial
Pre-lit artificial! But a very generous gift from a friend that owns a Christmas shop the first year my husband and I were married! She even included gorgeous ornaments! I have such a beautiful tree, when normally, we wouldn’t be able to afford such extravagance!
REAL tree!
Real tree! My family enjoys it more, especially the kids. Plus, it smells so good!
When I was a single gal living with a roommate, a friend and I went out and cut down our tree for that year…. we decorated it, and then proceeded to leave it out on our patio until March when we got a “nasty-gram” from our landlord. :)
My favorite Christmas tree memory is from the first Christmas that my husband and I were married. We had no extra money. He brought home a live tree that he had cut himself. The thing is…it looked like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree only taller. At first it made me sad to have such a pitiful tree, but in retrospect that tree was very special all decorated with the ornaments I had saved in my hope chest for just that occasion.
We have artificial, but I remember laying under my parents real tree, smelling the scent of the tree and watching the lights dance on the ceiling! Very peaceful!
Buying the first tree with Todd. I had decided it was too late to buy one but he insisted that we get one (because my artificial tree gotten broken) so we went and got one together ( a huge one) carried it in together and I decorated it. But the time we spent together, turning trees, having dinner before and coffee after was the best part…it was memory making and quality time together.
Artificial – we have allergies!
Real
Artificial – due to allergies
Well my husband and two sons work in the woods, and we had a lot of snow so I asked them to get me a Christmas tree. Days went by and no tree, so the week before Christmas I was desperate, NO TREE, hahaha so I went out and bought a 4′ artificial tree. They laughed at me, because it was so small, but then I said it was embarrassing because they are in the woods every day, we all got a good laugh out of that one. I still use a real or my artificial tree.
I loved my Mom’s flocked trees when we were kids, with the rotating colored light thingy..:)
Artificial Tree…Trying to save money. Miss the real tree!!
Artificial – hubby is allergic….
We normally do a artificial tree but this year we decided to do a real tree. It was a wonderful experience for our two girls & my 12 yr old brother-in-law even got to tag along. It was so much fun! Now our wonderful cat, that still has many lives, decided to take up residence in the tree at night time :-( but it still looks pretty. As long as my girls are happy, I’m happy!
Real!!! We cut it down ourselves which is never without some funny stories and memories!
Thank you Lord for answered prayer and teaching me to practice your presence more this season and running from all the hustle and bustle I was caught up in for si many years. Hugs in Him…
Too many awesome memories! Grew up with real trees and while I loved the adventure of picking one out and the smell, I always hated the clean up and still vacuuming needles up months later. Ever since I became a mom, I have done the artificial prelit tree for less work and frankly, less expense. Someday we will go back to real but for now artificial works for us.
One year I came home from college and there was no Christmas tree. My Mom loved Christmas, but this had been a very tough year. Then the younger children were sick and she was so tired. That night she and I went to a parking lot tree lot, found the best tree we could, put it up and really brought Christmas hope! It was a special time.
I’ve always loved the idea of real trees but never had one. Maybe one day. My favorite memories of our Christmas tree is watching a recorded California raisins Christmas claymation special that my husband grew up watching while the kids decorate the tree and we have hot chocolate. I love looking at all the handmade ornaments the kids made for me over the years. They don’t go on the tree anymore because most of them have seen better days, but I still have them all. :)
We have an artificial tree for our apartment. I have a special Christmas memory. In previous years, I had trouble getting pregnant and had multiple miscarriages and an etopic pregnancy (5 babies in heaven in all) in September 2004 my husband and I began fertility treatments. Disappointed that October we hadn’t conceived, we had enough funds to do one more month, so we forged ahead to do it in November. We did the treatments, and by late November I was sick..my stomach hurt so bad. worried that it might be either a reaction to the meds I was on or an etopic pregnancy again, I headed to my ob/gyn. Included in the test, was a pregnancy test which came -up negative, heart broken, I was diagnosed with a viral infection and was told it would clear up in a few days. But it didn’t, and as I prayed to God and did devotions, my heart was telling me I was pregnant! On December 8, 2004, I decided to take an at-home pregnancy test and it came up positive! The medication had worked! I ran back to walmart and found a cute little baby themed carriage, and that night my husband and I put up our tree. I handed him the carriage and told him that starting next year we would have to hang some of our smaller ornaments higher up because the baby might be able to reach them. At first it flew over his head..then it hit him! we almost decided on names that night..if it was a girl Emily Noel..emily was a family name, Noel for Christmas. A boy, Christian Thomas, Christian to give thanks to God, and Thomas, because we were doubting God’s miracles. On August 12, 2005, I gave birth after having a troubled pregnancy to Christian Thomas! My favorite memory of our Christmas Tree~
I prefer an artificial tree.
love the smell of real but not the mess, so I vote artificial
I did not grow up in a traditional family and have created my own traditions since the birth of my children almost 19 years ago.Every thanksgiving night we put up our christmas tree and got the holiday rolling with joy.Many of those years I was a single mom on a tight budget so we used the same fake tree year after year! It never mattered though. It was always so beautiful to just sit and bask in the glow of the lights and listen to christmas music. It still is.
It wasn’t very funny at the moment it happened, but looking back my favorite Christmas tree memory was when my 1 year old pulled over the Christmas tree right before company arrived. We propped it up with the high chair and repaired the stand later. I put that same tree up this Christmas, 10 years later! My kids still love that tree and I do too!
One year we couldn’t find a tree when I was little. So, we went to a local nursey and bought a beautiful pine that needed to be planted. We decorated it and watered it and had a wonderful Christmas celebrated around that tree. After Christmas, of course we had to wait a few weeks, we planted that tree in our yard. For several years after that, we were able to decorate two trees… one inside and the other outside!
I remember as a child laying under our Christmas tree and looking up at the lights. I always did this and the memory has always stuck with me.
My favorite Christmas tree memory is of my oldest, who was 1 at the time. She had fallen asleep under it, laying on top of the presents!
making CHRISTmas cookies every year beginning the day after Thanksgiving with my BELOVED MOM!!!!!!!! She makes them homemade with her own recipes to this day she is 82!!!!!!!
Making cookies and decorating the house and tree! I love the holidays!!
Artificial
My best memory is when my mom and I picked out the perfect tree but about a week after we put it up all the needles just started falling off! It was like it was raining pine needles in our living room. We took our “perfect tree down” and went back to our usual Chalie Brown type tree.
My favorite memories are just decorating the tree and the house with my family. We usually make cookies and treat too. And also going out to look at the Christmas lights!
When my kids were little we would go cut our Christimas Tree with my parents. My Dad was such a kid at heart and he loved getting everyone together to do this. My kids are all grown now, but I am raising my grandson and I am looking forward to making new memories with him.
These last couple of years I have been writing a Christmas poem to send to my loved ones. It has given me the quiet meditation I need to read the Christmas story and find inspiration from God’s Word. My thoughts on the verses then merge into a poem that has a memory from my past. This year I saw a Christmas card that spoke of how we see the nativity through a window without realizing the special the birth of Christ and how if fulfilled prophecy. I hope to someday have more poems to make a small book for my loved ones to minister to their hearts.
My favorite memory is the year the cat ran up the (artificial) tree. It didn’t stay up for long.
My favorite tree memory was when I was 6 or 7 years old and stringing popcorn and cranberries to put on the tree. It was magical that year. :)
My favorite Christmas tree memory is 2 years ago when my son & I led my daughter to Christ sitting in front of our Christmas tree. Oh what a blessed memory.
I grew up in a home that did not put up a Christmas tree but if I was to choose, it would be a real one.
I love getting all of the ornaments out and the memories that come with each ornament as we hang them on the tree.
Artificial with white lights!
Real or artificial? I’ve had both. The important thing to me is the ornaments that go on the tree. When my daughters were young my grandmother made ornaments each Christmas for them. My mother always bought them each an ornament and getting with the tradition, so did I. They both got married the same summer and that December I separated the ornaments and gave them each their own.
My favorite memory is that every year we would have a tree…and one year when working with handicaped and developmentally delayed children I ran across a family that had never had a tree…It broke my heart….they had 2 girls approx age 6 and 2…so a co-worker and I went our and actually cut down a tree (that was a sight) and got decorations and brought it to their home….I have never forgotten the look on their faces…priceless :)
Artificial
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