Every year the same debate begins around the time we put up our Christmas tree.  I’ll get to that in a minute.

Putting up the Christmas tree is a joyous family time.  The kids hang their favourite decorations up, chatting about the “little snowman” or “beautiful bells”.  They haven’t quite worked out the whole big picture of tree decoration though, so we tend to end up with large clumps of decorations about the same height as the children’s heads.  I tried spinning the tree to encourage a more evenly dispersed approach but they tended to gravitate to the clump as if the texture of plastic pine needles was an offense to their eyes that had to be covered as thoroughly as possible.  Of course the whole process took a bit longer this year as our youngest child is now old enough to pull decorations back off the tree in an attempt to eat them.  My wife and I get more laughs out of assembling the Christmas tree than the traditional TV re-run of Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation.

So, the argument.  Well, not really an argument, more a polite exchange of views.  Views which neither of us are likely to budge on in a hurry.  Everything goes fine every year until it is time for the tinsel.  My wife prefers big, fluffly, boofy tinsel that looks like somebody tar and feathered a boa constrictor then spray painted it gold.  I prefer thin, subtle strands.  The cheap tinsel as my wife calls it.  Not that I’m a tight wad, mind you.  I’m happy to mortgage my house to get more Christmas lights.  But big, boofy tinsel tends to overpower everything else.  It is no longer a Christmas tree, but a tinsel tree.  If you’re going to do that don’t bother about the tree, just hang a whole clump of tinsel from your roof and be done with it.  My wife, however, feels if you’re not going to have big boofy tinsel it’s barely worth the effort of a tree, as the tree’s main function is obviously to support such tinsel.  Eventually the argument discussion is settled, however, by whatever tinsel happens to be left over from last year.  Except when it is just the cheap stuff, in which case my enterprising spouse removes it once I’ve gone to work, more content with no tinsel at all than try hard whisps of silvery nastiness.

Christmas; funny as a fit, really.  I love it!