It’s been several years since we've had a traditional Christmas tree. For a couple of years we decorated a house plant that looked like a small Christmas tree and last year we skipped the process all together.
This year I thought it might be nice to do something, tree-like without having to move furniture around to accommodate a tree, without the mess of falling needles, without something artificial and plastic and without the expense. I decided that a section of my overgrown lilac bush might work very well for what I had in mind.
Two weeks ago I went out with saw in hand. To my surprise a twelve foot long section of the lilac had broken off at the base and was lying on the ground... now if that isn't a sign from the Christmas tree gods I don't know what is!
I hauled it into the house, cut off a couple of feet and managed to get it supported in the tree stand. It's tall and slender, there's no need to water it and best of all there are no needles sprinkled on the floor.
I strung it with lights and today I hauled out our tree decorations. Such a simple tree would be overwhelmed with glitter and gold so I chose only hand-made decorations, many that our daughters had crafted over the years.
I think my favourite is one that our eldest daughter made. It's a gorgeous angel created using an embroidered hankie, a wooden skewer and a styrofoam head, her delicate wings are facial tissues and her long blond hair is yellow wool. I love it!
Here are a few of the other treasures decorating our tree this year:
Last year I wrote about how to enjoy Christmas (for a change). It isn't easy to go against the flow of excess but with a little imagination and the willingness to do things differently it is possible to celebrate a Christmas that allows you to focus on the reason that we celebrate: God's son born into our world to express God's endless, all encompassing love for humanity.
Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.
Wishing you a Christmas season of love,
Sandra
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