Our nightmare before Christmas

[DVC Jen]

I couldn't believe it. We got a real tree for the first time in something like 5 years. It was beautiful.. 10 ft tall.. it had to be close to 15-20 feet in diameter. Huge full beautiful tree.

We set it up.. we were decorating it.. it fell over on our 12 yr old DD.

OK... we didn't have it in the stand right we thought.. set it up again. Then slowly over a period of 4 days it was leaning more and more and more. The wood was so soft the screws in the tree stand were pushing right through it.

This morning.. it fell over again.. the way it fell I was trapped in the kitchen.. couldn't get out until the tree was moved. So I called DH he was just pulling into the parking lot at work.. he came home.. we took it down and tossed it out for the city to pick up.

Then we went to Loews and bought a 9ft prelit tree. It is now up and although it isn't nearly as large in diameter and has white lights (we normally do color) I have to admit it is pretty.

OK... DH just got back from the vet. It turns out our dog Eli has a really bad ear infection (yeast and bacteria) brought on my his allergies. Hmmm.. what have we brought into the house recently that was new and he has never been around? The real tree. Our DOG is allergic to the Christmas tree.

So.. all in all I guess it worked out for the best. But what a major pain!

 

[icebrat001]

Well, I am happy to hear that your DD and dog are okay now.

 

[anewvance]

I'm happy to hear all is well.. my grandma has had trees in the past that just won't stay upright!!!

 

[zippeedee]

Don't feel too bad, I've crashed so many trees, even the fake ones! I don't have a lot of room, so I got the bright idea to only put together 3/4ths of a fake tree and push it up against the sliding door. Then I proceeded to put a ton of ornaments on it. I tied it to the door handle, "just to be safe" Yup, it pulled the door open when it crashed. It was REALLY cold in the house when I got home that night, and the dog was very confused.

Another time I tried to pick it up when it crashed and couldn't get it to stand up. I had the tree in one hand and the phone in the other. Thankfully my neighbors were home and ran over to rescue me!

I hope you have a lovely Christmas with your new, easy, white-lighted tree!

 

[ChristmasElf]

If you have a tree that tilts a little, just take some fishing line and tie it around the tree about 6 inches from the top. Attach the other end of the fishing line to a small teacup hook that you attach to the wall or the ceiling.
You can also tie the line to a curtain rod as well.
Works great and you won't even notice the fishing line!