How To Decorate a Christmas Tree

My mom is a whirling dervish when it comes to the holidays and she definitely knows how to decorate a Christmas tree.  She has a million social functions, church function, and just functions on pure adrenaline that we sometimes have to catch up by Facebook even though I live right around the corner from her.  She has a ton of Christmas decorations, so she depends on me (and E.B. and whoever else wants to help) to help her get their home ready for the holidays.

It usually goes a little something like this:

My mom, E.B., and my grandmother decorate the tree and I am in charge of sitting back lazily watching capturing the memories on camera.

We ooh and ahh over our favorite unique Christmas ornaments.  Here are a few of my personal favorites:

And Dad?  He reads the Ole Miss football message boards supervises.

Mom makes sure the stockings are hung by the gas log fireplace chimney with care.

And then the real fun begins.

Mom drags a chair up to the tree and proceeds to try to climb up to put the angel on top.  Dad freaks because she had heart surgery this year and isn’t supposed to be doing that.  Mom insists she can too do it.  My grandmother shakes her head and prays to baby Jesus.  I roll my eyes.  And laugh.

Dad huffs and puffs and cusses and climbs up to do it himself, because, by God, Mom is “not able to do it and I don’t understand why you want it there because it’s sitting right on a bulb on the tree and it will catch on fire if it sits on that bulb!”.

Doesn’t every family have arguments intense discussions while decorating the Christmas tree?

OK, so I’m totally picking on my parents.  They love each other very much and have been married for 43 years.  But since they’ve both retired, it’s been quite funny watching them adapt to being around each other the house so much.  And how much my dad suddenly cares about home decor and cleaning.  And correct holiday ornament placing.