With the holidays being in full swing, many families tend to create new memories in various ways, one of which is decorating the Christmas tree. As the years go by, numerous people hope to continue their family traditions while also adding flair to their trees. From the lights to the ornaments, each Christmas tree is unique to every family and is what makes the festive season a lot more cheerful.
All the holiday magic begins once the most perfect tree is picked out for the year. “We always get real trees, I find them so beautiful–and they smell so fresh,” says AICE and Advanced Placement (AP) English Language teacher Ms. Sunshine Phelps.
However, some people feel that based on their living conditions, artificial trees are just a better fit. Junior Zyra Rodriguez explains that “this year my parents bought a nine-foot fake tree.” Each tree is specifically chosen not only because of its looks but also in hopes that it can fit all the decorations.
Once the trees are set up and ready, the boxes filled with ornaments can be brought out and used to transform the space into something whimsical. “I’ve always loved decorating [for Christmas] because it gives a nice change of [scenery from fall to winter decorations],” Rodriguez exclaims.
It is very common to see ornaments from certain vacations, milestones, and more on trees, although some people enjoy having just a color scheme for their trees. Sunshine Phelps adds, “We usually use big, white lights, little needle-felted acorns, white mice, and deer. Then we add pink, green, and metallic ornaments, a few ceramic and snow-globe [looking] ornaments, and a sparkly final on top.”
Furthermore, Christmas tree themes are something that many families look forward to throughout the year as it is a place for total creativity. From trees made out of books to embellishments used in iconic movies, these ideas take hours of preparation and planning.
Sophomore, Hadassah Pio explains her mother’s love for decorating and how “this year’s theme was gold, red, and green ornaments. My sister and I do the red ones, my dad and my brother do the green ones, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law do the gold ones.” Committing to a task like this involves a large amount of effort to ensure that the atmosphere is very warm and inviting.
Even with the winter months being a stressful time, nothing is more rewarding than reminiscing on old memories and carrying on family legacies for the years to come. As for Pio, she enjoys it when “my brother lift[s] me up to the top of the tree to put up the star every year.”
While Sunshine Phelps feels that Christmas time has not begun unless the music is playing: “My daughters and I like to decorate our tree at night and in our pajamas. We sometimes make hot chocolate, but we cannot decorate our tree unless Stevie Wonder’s Christmas album Someday at Christmas is playing.” In the end, what matters most is that everyone is happy and cherishes the real reasons for the season.
When all the decorating is complete, a little Christmas pleasure can now be seen from the street!
