We lived in Hawai’i for four years in the mid-1990s and got to experience the joy of a Christmas tree in a different culture.
That meant holiday-themed t-shirts instead of hats and mittens and the exciting arrival of the Christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving.
In those years, the arrival was a banner headline across the front page of the newspaper. Only one ship full of trees came and it came on the same weekend every year–usually was a month before Christmas day.
Waiting until closer to Christmas in hopes of purchasing a fresher tree was pointless–no more trees were coming and the traditional evergreens were not grown in the islands. So, we bought our tree early and sought ways to keep the needles on until Jesus’ actual birthday celebration.
Oah’u is only ten degrees above the equator. We luxuriated in a balmy 72 degrees pretty much year round.
Pine needles tend to fall off trees in warm weather. We combated the tree drying out too soon by routinely pouring cool water into the reservoir at its base. By the time Christmas finally arrived, we usually had a few needles left on the tree and a pile covering our gifts like scented confetti.
Fortunately the needles were easy to sweep off the tile floor.
Christmas trees and IV lines
My neighbor, however, was more enterprising, and one year invested in an irrigation system–basically a Christmas tree IV line. She kept the bottle filled (it was a two-liter plastic bottle in our day) and tested the needles for moisture every morning. (Bend them back, do they spring into shape or fall onto the floor?)
It was quite a contraption and required special rigging. Water frequently spilled on the tile floor and she had to be careful not to get the packages wet.
The needles still fell off the tree.
Another neighbor didn’t even bother. They hauled a potted palm tree into the house and hung their ornaments on it.
You could see the ornaments very clearly on the sparse branches and the tree easily adapted to its natural environment when they took it back outside after the holiday.
Cut down from our yard?
Those exercises reminded me of an earlier Christmas tree back in our Connecticut years where Douglas firs grew in our yard. We even had snow on the ground on December 25.
This particular Christmas one of my sons was three and very excited about having a tree his father cut down actually inside his house. We’d learned our lessons the year before and knew to hang the precious ornaments high and leave the soft, non-breakable ones on the lower limbs.
Our son had free reign to move those lower ornaments around the tree wherever he liked. He spent a lot of time rearranging the tree, careful to avoid the lights. I left him to his pleasure.
A tree is supposed to be fun, right?
A salute to the joyous season and cause for enjoyment, right?
He thought so, too, until the day I heard a crash in the living room.
I dashed in to find the tree had fallen over onto my son, whose arms and legs were waving wildly under the tree.
I had to bite my lip, hard, not to laugh out loud.
If only I’d run for the camera!
Instead, like a good mother, I pulled the tree off the sobbing little boy–who could not believe what had just happened!
His father tethered it to the wall when he got home, but my son didn’t touch the tree the rest of that holiday season.
Other unusual occurrences
The next year we set it up in the play pen.
Our disasters were never as good as in the movies, but they’ve made for fond memories.
Of course there was the year, the boys (now boy scouts) cut down a huge tree and brought it home with a stowaway.
The cat noticed the chirping frog first and huddled at the tree’s base, every single day, waiting.
That little tree frog croaked the entire month of December. We never saw him.
But he entertained us all Christmas as we debated: What did he eat? Why couldn’t we find him? Why did he croak all night?
We can only assume he lived happily ever after once Christmas was over and the tree moved outside!
How about you? Any Christmas tree disasters at your house?
Tweetables
Oh Christmas tree and other disasters! Click to Tweet
A Christmas tree in the playpen for safety! Click to Tweet
A Christmas tree is supposed to be fun, right? Click to Tweet
One Christmas I wanted a tree in my bedroom.. I got a very small tree and put it in a pot filled with dirt from the yard. We spent the full week of Christmas at my grandmother’s home. When we got home I had an ant bed in the Christmas tree pot in my bedroom. Not at all what I was expecting!
I just finished readingA Pioneer Christmas collection and enjoyed your story very much I spent a summer in Alaska so I’m familiar with the Chilkoot pass and the area around Dawson. a pioneer cookbook would be really nice. I used a fig tree as a Christmas tree this year& it turned out pretty cool.
I’m sure you’ve appreciated that awful photo of the prospective minors climbing that pass in the winter! I’d originally planned to have my characters celebrating Christmas while standing on that horrible hike! I’m glad you enjoyed the story. Merry Christmas!