There’s a woman who stopped undressing her Christmas tree.
After Christmas every year, she sticks the tree –fully dressed with all its ornaments– into a large cupboard.
It comes out again next December.
If you have an artificial tree, AND a very large closet, you may like her idea.
But it’s not an option for many of us.
So all the lovely ornaments will have to come off the tree.
One by one.
The old ones.
The avian ones.
The colourful ones.
Ones that hold special meaning.
All carefully packed in boxes till next year.
A decorated Christmas tree is a beautiful thing. A pity about the undressing….
Photos by Hamlin Grange
Cynthia Reyes 
Hi Cynthia, this made me smile this morning, when last last night I was crying at the part in your book after your accident. Can you send me the link on here to your interview on the radio, apologies you have sent it once before and now I cannot find it. We do not have a tree anymore inside the house at Christmas time, the dimensions of this house, dogs and cats plus we are all very tall meant the whole thing left me grumpy rather than joyous. Yours looks lovely though!
Julie, I’m sorry that part made you cry. And I’m humbled, too. It was so painful to write that I didn’t read that part for a long time.
Please let me know if this link works:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio_template_2012/audiopop.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=2547372567
Thanks again,
Cynthia.
Hi Cynthia, sadly no, I’ve tried in and out of my home, in case it was the internet speed. I have almost finished your book now, the last few pages I have saved for tonight. You are a gifted writer Cynthia, I really hope you will write another book.
Thank you, Julie. I hope you like the ending.
Hi Cynthia, yes I like the ending, you left me feeling that you were at peace with your thoughts and you left me feeling uplifted and hopeful in myself.
I’m glad to hear that, Julie.
That’s a good thing.
Your tree looks sensational Cynthia. It reminds me so much of the way Mum’s tree used to look. Before we came to Australia she ‘decided’ to give away all her “glass ornaments” belieing they would never make the journey by ship. I sigh each year when I think of the beautiful ornaments – which yours made me rememner. (We never did replace the ones she had – styles change). Perhaps its time for me to indulge, who knows?
Blessings, Susan ❤
What an interesting anecdote about ornaments and their provenance, Susan. And about the thigns we leave behind when we migrate.
In the years after the accident, our daughters figured I’d never notice if they threw out the shabby old ones. But I did!
They sensibly kept the really nice ones, and added to them.
Almost every Christmas recently, I’ve bought one set of ornaments – 4 or so. Had to be not costly or gaudy, and durable. This year, our friend Linda gave us the golden doves, which are so pretty.
And now we have a full tree of ornaments again!
I hate to say it, but the girls were right.
I do like that idea, but I do prefer a real tree, so the undressing will have to continue! Your tree was beautiful, and obviously your ornaments very special.
Glad to know you are a real-tree kinda person. Sometimes I think we’re being outnumbered!
Yes, the ornaments are special. Some are gifts from friends, some from our daughters, and some I bought, a few at a time.
Our tree has evolved over the years, with each of us choosing a new ornament each year. It has so many memories. And when our son has his first home and tree, he wil get to have all his!
That’s a great idea to have each person choose an ornament each year. Ours had become a family collection, but not in such an organized fashion. I like your approach a lot.
There is something to be said for the ritual/tradition of the dressing and undressing of the tree, but I also like the idea of not undressing it at all. This year, my sister put up a little artificial tree with built in lights and then we dressed the room, instead of the tree. We had fun. And that’s the main thing; to have fun with whatever way you dress or undress the tree. Your ornaments are lovely.
Thanks, Gallivanta.
What a great idea. I used to overdecorate the living-room, plus the Christmas tree — until I grew up a bit.
I used to as well until I realised that there was no one but me willing to take it all done and put it away. 😦 Is that realisation equal to growing up?
Undressing the tree is such a chore! I get lots of help with the decorations before Christmas but hardly any afterwards! We have a real tree so the cupboard idea is not an option unfortunately. I often wish I had a Harry Potter Room of Requirement in which to put everything I don’t need now but might in the future. It has taken me a couple of days to get everything put away. Your ornaments are so pretty! I love the peacock and the bauble with the peacock feather pattern.
Same here, Clare. It’s exciting dressing the tree, and a tedious bore undressing it. But this year, I have no excuse, since it was our daughter who dressed it and so I figured it was my turn to do the work of undressing it.
a Harry Potter Room of Requirement – don’t we all wish that!
Such beautiful ornamnts you have…I bet they all tell a story.
Most of them do! Even the play red balls, because these were the first ones the daughters bought after they threw out my old and awful ornaments while I lay upstairs nursing my injuries. I was hurt for a few minutes, but had to admit that it was time. They saved the good ones, but hid/threw out everything tattered. They did save the old angel, which was a good thing.
Your ornaments and tree are beautiful Cynthia! Thanks for the sneak peek, and giving me smiles this morning. I love the idea of putting the tree fully dressed in stage right waiting for the next curtain call!
I’m glad, Brad. Ornaments make me smile too — even when I grumpily take them down, I stop and smile at the memories they evoke.
Sometimes grumpy is good too. XD
This is such wonderful celebration holiday tree which brings joy and happiness!
We had an artificial tree for 3 years and I loved it as I would put it up in November and keep it up until the middle of February. But alas my family wore me down and we are back to a real tree which is up a week before Christmas and gone after the New Year party. Sad!!
I’ve dreamed of a tree closet like that too. Those ornaments are beautiful but if you saw them every day don’t you think it would take some of the special-ness and anticipation out of Christmas?
Absolutely.
Maybe that woman closes the closet and rarely opens it!
I have been looking for that closet to put my dressed tree in for years. In one house we had a wet bar we didn’t use, and I kept trying to convince my husband to take it out, put a sliding shelf on the floor, and I could decorate the tree, slide it away and then pull it out again next year. It’s not so much that I’m lazy but some years you just get it looking really good and then it’s time to undress it. 🙂
As I “undecorated” this weekend, I thought of this woman’s idea. I have friends that do the same as she. It’s tempting . . .
I must admit that the house feels good plain and simple too, though. A fresh start for New Year.
Cynthia, I adore your Christmas ornaments and your idea of not undressing the tree. I have a spare miniature one that I keep fully dressed all year. It sleeps in the linen closet until one of my sons places it in his room. I suspect he’ll want to take it with him, one day.
Blessings for 2015 ~ Wendy ❀
Hooray — someone who keeps one fully dressed in a closet! Good thinking, Wendy.
You have some very lovely ones there, Cynthia 🙂 Shame to take them off but it’s lovely to rediscover them all the following year, isn’t it? Hope 2015 is going well for you.
So true. If we didn’t pack them away, we wouldn’t get to discover them again next Christmas.
What an odd thought – just wrapping up one’s tree and putting it away as is. I always thought part of the fun was the anticipation of a new tree and trimming it, carefully placing treasured ornaments in the right “new” places, making room for a few new ones, etc. Taking it down is the unfortunate but necessary part of it all.
Well said. There’s such excitement in putting it all together.
I confess our tree tends to stay up forever…the record was March, when it tried to break bud! The advantages of a cold and dark house. But the thing is, it is usually so lovely and when every ornament has a back-story or family connection? Why should the joy of Christmas be confined to 12 days?
March! What a novel idea!
I’m hard-pressed to get my husband to agree to leave up the small LED lights in our garden till the end of January.
But this year, we had our tree up for four weeks. I decided to celebrate Advent, not just Christmas, and putting up the tree was one of the ways that we prepared for Christmas..
Fantastic ornaments, I really, really loved the blue one with what looked like feathers…
Cheers
MTM
Stunning phtographs…
They brought me back Christmas memories indeed ⭐
Thanks for sharing, Cynthia… Sending you all my best wishes!.
Aquileana 😀