|| 13 December 2018

My Red Christmas Tree

Oh dear! What a lot of fuss has been made about the White House’s red Christmas trees.

For more than a decade my red Christmas tree has taken its place on my living room coffee table during the holiday season. Before that, for at least a decade, the tree sat on the living room coffee table at my mother’s house. I don’t remember anyone who saw it, either in my mother’s house or mine, who thought a red Christmas tree was unusual enough for comment.

But then I have only one tree. And it is small. It stands only 26 inches, about 66 centimeters. The tree is formed of berries attached to a conical twig base. The berries, which appear to be real berries, have been sprayed a deep burgundy. In the last few years that burgundy paint has begun to flake revealing a white interior that gives the tree a snowed-on look. The tree's base is circled with plastic greenery.

The red tree has come to be a regular part of my holiday decorations and a reminder of Christmases at my mother’s home. I hope that the tree will hold together to decorate my house for the holidays for many more years.

Whether the outdoor Christmas decorations in my neighborhood will hold together for the afternoon is another matter. We have had a first installment of the winter storm blowing in. Rain, snow and winds gusting to 60 miles an hour are forecast by afternoon. So far under a dismal gray sky the wind is flailing the branches of the trees. Isn't winter weather fun?

be chic, stay slim — Anne Barone

Image : Anne's red Christmas tree

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