Monday, November 26, 2007

Vander Helm Christmas Tree 2007

Today we got our Christmas tree. It didn't work this weekend because Steve was hunting so we needed to go after school today. It has been a tradition since Steve and I dated that we go out and cut down our own tree. When I was growing up we never had Christmas Trees so they are very special to me. I'm sorry to all you who love your fake trees, but for me real is where it's at, even if I am slightly allergic. The kids really get into it now. For a few years I wondered if it was ever going to take with them, but now they have caught the fever and enjoy it as much as Steve and I do. My favorite tree is the Frasier Fir. Its needles are soft (unlike the blue spruce OUCH!). When I was single I used to have a different tree every year. I mean I made ornaments for the whole tree. We still have them all but now as many get put on the tree any more. For those of you that know Brandon, ask him about the year he had to help me put my tree back up after it fell over from the weight of my ornaments that year. It and I were not a pretty sight when he arrived. He was most gracious though, helped me with my tree and then we had a nice talked afterwards. Our trees always mean so much to me, they are a big part of our Christmas tradition. That makes me think of a question. What are some of your family traditions? I am very sentimental, and I like alot of traditions. On Christmas morning we always read Luke 2 before opening presents. The tree is a big deal! I buy the kids a new ornament every year. I made an advent wreath a few years ago, and through the month of December it is used in our dinner time devotions. Oh yeah, we all love the Trans-Siberian Orchestra so we listen to that quite a bit during this time of year!
Have a great night! Can't wait to see some of your responses.

5 comments:

Melissa said...

What a beautiful tree! And cool tradition. Here are a couple of ours...
-When I decorate our tree, I always have Christmas music playing. (It used to be a family affair, but in recent years, it has become a stressful time, so I do it now)
-We open our gifts on Christmas Eve after the service at church. Mom and I make a variety of finger foods which we eat before hand. Then we read the story from Luke 2. We have a tray of cookies out which we eat while we open gifts, and of course we have Christmas music in the background.

Mari said...

Your tree looks great! We have an artificial, which I swore we would never have. We got it the year we almost took our tree down on Christmas Eve because Laura got so sick from it. Andy also developed allergies so no real tree for us. We read Luke 2 before opening gifts also.

Anonymous said...

Love your tree!!! Wish we could have real too, but Tonya is really allergic. According to her Dr. it is the mold on the trees and not the tree its self. So burn Bayberry candles about 24/7. Are traditional family fest is Christmas Eve. All the kids come over and the kids take over. Then Christmas Day is just Jim and I sitting back and taking a deep breath. Hope its alright to blog when I'm not a blogger. Love to read yours. It keeps me up on yur family. Merry Christmas and God Bless.
Judy

Zaankali said...

We started having an artificial tree when I was in about 6th grade because my mother was so allergic. So now we always have a real tree. One of our traditions is pajamas. I sew pajamas every year and the kids open them on Christmas Eve. It makes for really nice Christmas morning pictures when the kids all match while opening gifts.
Smiles!

Cheri said...

We had real trees for a couple of years but now we have fake ones. I hated all the mess of the needles dropping.
We always put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving and it comes down the day after Christmas. We read Luke 2 also before opening up presents on Christmas morning.