Subscriber Comments for
The Flip Flops Are Hung By The Chimney With Care

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SPLASH	2011-11-26 05:09 PM
Getting and maintaining the cut tree was a source of great familial discord. Eventually, I bought the best looking artificial tree I could find (I hadn't considered all of the issues that Billy has carefully laid out here). So now, family and friends who are here for Thanksgiving set it up while waiting for the turkey. We decorate it between dinner and dessert. The decorations and the memories they hold reinforce good family feelings (the food and wine helps too!). We are ready for the holiday season. Whatever the ecological debt was, we have gotten eight years out of it so far.
COMMENT 235996P	2011-11-27 07:09 AM
Good assessment Billy. One downside of the live tree option you didn't consider is what happens in the households of people with allergies. You don't even have to be allergic to conifers - live trees can be dusty and carry molds too. If you crank the heater up any time while the tree is in the house, you could find yourself gasping for breath. So the dilemma remains in our household. We can pass the Claritin and make the best of it, get a fake tree and hope it lasts many years or skip the whole scene. We so far are in "avoid the whole discussion" phase of "Should We Get a Tree This Year" season.
FLICKA	2011-11-27 08:25 AM
When the Americans locating here were disappointed about no Xmas trees a minister, preaching on a Sunday (1854), said the answer was in their barns. He suggested bringing in the ladder and putting branches of CA holly berries on it, a place to put the presents around. It was a symbal of Jacob's Ladder from the bible, when Jacob dreamed of angels descending from heaven on a ladder. My son-in-law made a rustic ladder from eucalyptus sapplings (similar to the "Southwest ladders" sold now), strapped together w/ leather strips, I tied a couple pine boughs on w/big red bows. For 2 yrs I've put my saddle on a stand and draped cowboy lights on it, chilie peppers, boots and cactus. A few times I made a "bouquet" of driftwood branches from the beach, in a gardening can; w/tiny white lights and a few red balls, it made a perfect "focal point". Fun to be creative, less mess.
BECKY	2011-11-27 09:33 AM
I used to go see Mr. Dismuke, on West Camino Cielo, who had the most magical Christmas tree farm... Then I tried the Dos Pueblos Canyon tree farm, and the Noel (Patterson) tree farm. All are no more. Then I got married to a guy who owned an artificial tree. I miss the fun of the search for the right tree, and the smell, but appreciate the 20+ years of a smaller tree that looks good and doesn't need attention. Many years we skip the tree (because our place is small), and just go with fake pine garlands (reused year to year, like the tree) draped over the huge mirror in the living room, and decorate them as if they were the tree. I've adapted. My sister's manger was made by me from Goleta beach driftwood. My bro-in-law was born here, and though they now live on the east coast, the Goleta driftwood manager ties them to this home and their Goleta family members.
COMMENT 236189	2011-11-28 08:07 AM
We've had our fake tree for so long that she now sheds needles like the real deal. How does that happen? Depending on our Grinchiness each season, we sometimes put her up and sometimes not. For that 'real' smell, go get a wreath or garland made of 'real' conifer.
COMMENT 243686P	2011-12-26 10:08 AM
I cut branch tips from my coast redwoods and my neighbor's Incense Cedars to make garland and wreaths--that way I can extend the holiday scents into the new year. For the first time since my hubby died in 2009, I got a cut noble fir and put it up myself. Hardest part was finding the drill bit to rebore the hole for the stand; take that back--the hardest part was finding the 1/2" drill big enough to fit the bit--he bought it just to do this yearly chore for me. It made me cry, but what the heck, I'm used to that by now. Felt Good to "do" the tree all by myself.

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