A Little Tree with Great Purpose

8

December 4, 2013 by CassieCravings

Our Christmas tree was bought shortly before my husband and I were married. Frenzied holiday shoppers buzzed around us when we first got a glimpse of the marked-down, boxed-up tree. $29.99. It might as well have been a million. I sighed. We would be married in just 3 weeks. We would move into our postage stamp sized apartment. We would celebrate our first Christmas together. But we would have no tree. My fiancee smiled, “Let’s just do it!”. I laughed. Our budget was nearly nothing. Our pocketbooks barely held $30. We were young, naive, newly in love and in need of a tree. That very day we bought the scrawny, poorly colored, lopsided tree. We were overjoyed. It was our great treasure as we began our newly wed lives.

a cherished gift from our wedding

7 years later, that little tree is still the showcase of our winter decor. Crooked, sagging branches and wilting pine needles are fluffed and covered. Every December as it tumbles out of the box, the suggestion of a newer, better tree is brought up. And every year, we prop up the same $29.99 tree of our first holidays together.

the first ornament that we purchased, bought on our honeymoon

Great time is taken in decorating our Christmas tree, not because of the it’s grandness but because of the impact of the memories. Each ornament is gingerly unwrapped. A sigh, a smile, a “remember when” is said as each is hung on the scratchy branches of our humble tree.

This was made for us by a beautiful friend who has since passed away.

It doesn’t belong in a magazine. It is neither grand or styled. It doesn’t have a theme or matching decor. It is just a simple Christmas tree with ornaments that have been passed down, hand made, gifted and picked up along the way.

“Our First Christmas” hangs next to “Baby’s First Christmas”

Many ornaments on this tree have now adorned 5 generations of Christmases. That is 5 generations of family gathered on Christmas morning, of parents hugging their coffee cups and children pilfering through brightly wrapped gifts to find one with their name lovingly scrawled on it.

bought in memory of a dear friend who passed away just 2 days before Christmas 2001

To passers by, it’s just another tree, not unlike the others. To our family, it is a picture of blessings received and of loved ones remembered. It sparkles with keepsakes of vacations traveled and memories shared. For such a little tree, it shows off how greatly we are blessed.

God Bless this Home