Becoming a 2 Tree Family - By Trish Berg

I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to decorating our Christmas tree. When my kiddos were little, I used to let them put the ornament son, and then I woudl stay up well past midnight re-decorating the tree. I just could not live with the ornaments placed on in clumps and groups. I wanted it to look perfect.

I am not justifying my perfectionism, I may have scarre dmy kids for life. But now that they are tweens and teens, they do decorate the tree themselves and I no longer stay up well past my bedtime to re-decorate it.

I think they have just adapted to my way of decorating the tree.

But kids also need freedom, and so we began a new tradition about ten years ago.

We put an artificial tree in our family room, and that is the one we decorate well. Little white lights, even garland and perfectly placed ornaments. The one that satisfies the perfectionist in me.

Then we get a 2nd tree, a live tree, and put that one in our kitchen. We cal it our "kitchen tree." That tree has colored lights on it, strung popcorn, and only homemade ornaments hung wherever the kdis want to hang them. It is a "keep your hands off mom" tree, and it is just beautiful.

All December long, the kids add strung popcorn, beads, cut out paper ornaments. Whatever they make they hang on our kitchen tree.

So relax, mom. Let go of your standards, and let your kids have some fun. Get a 2nd tree, and make it theirs.

Select Your Living Christmas Tree Carefully

When you choose a living tree that you will plant in your yard, find out the height and width that the tree will attain and make sure yon don't plant it too close to your house or to a fence.
Years ago our neighbors bought and planted the wrong Christmas tree in the wrong location, too close to the fence between our yards. Soon the tree began pressing the fence, damaging it, and creating shade for our flowers that needed sun. The tree grew tall rapidly and then died, and was expensive for them to remove!

Study where you will plant your tree, and consider the height and width the tree will attain. Noble Fir, Grand Fir and White Pine can live for a hundred years and reach 60 to 90 feet tall, with branches spreading thirty feet in width. For typical yards, dwarf Blue Spruce cultivars with their perfect conical shapes and thick foliage are excellent choices. Semi-dwarf Fat Albert reaches fifteen feet, Blaukissen or Blue Kiss reaches ten feet tall, and White Spruce Picea glauca Conica is a dwarf that only reaches seven feet tall.

Living trees need cool temperatures, so keep them indoors for only a week at most, with plenty of light and away from heaters or fireplaces, and be sure to keep the root ball moist. Before planting outdoors put the tree on a porch or in the garage for a few days, to allow your tree to acclimate to the change in temperature.

Your living Christmas tree will be a family treasure for years to come, and give it a name if you like.