TBT…

For us old farts…

The christmas trees ‘we’ grew up with…

And who remembers trying to ‘assemble’ these things! Sigh… 

These got assembled and then we ‘disassembled’ multiple times.

My mother was always griping about us eating the decorations… LOL

And remember Toys for Tots, they provide toys for kids that otherwise wouldn’t get any. It’s a great cause, and one I support every year!

Comments

TBT… — 19 Comments

  1. My mom got around the second one by finding spiced gumdrops with a strong licorice, cinnamon, etc. taste. Didn’t like the taste much. One year, after we acquired the taste cor spice drops, the little tree got a set of small red ball ornaments. Mom won, as always.

    Yep, I remember the aluminum tree, probably the only one we couldn’t destroy or set on fire. I still have the color wheel light.

    Now, let’s not go near slide projectors … I kept those boxes as executor. Still converting to images.

  2. I remember when the tinsel was lead strips, and we were told to carefully put the tinsel on one tiny strip at a time and then just a carefully remove it later and put each strip back onto the holder and into the box for use next year.

  3. first year we had the metal tree I got an inflatable clown to beat on. Remember those?

  4. PK- LOL, I hated licorice too… I have a butt ton of slides, I’m thinking about PAYING somebody to do them… sigh

    Mrs.C- LOL, why am I NOT surprised you saw that!

    John- Oh yeah… PITA

    Houston- Heh, yeah the clown lasted about a week and Rex bit it… No more clown…

  5. We alternate between live and artificial each year. But I hate decorating and taking down the decorations. So am looking into getting an artificial tree, putting lockable rollers. Then I can decorate it once, go through Christmas Day and then roll it into the garage or some place until next year. I’m lazy like that.

  6. I missed out on the “fun” of the shiny aluminum trees. I am familiar with the trees featuring a wooden pole and twisted-wire branches, though, since that’s what my parents inherited.

  7. CP- LOL, that works…

    TOS- You’re LUCKY! Those #@$#% branches had to be ‘fluffed’ then straightened… sigh

  8. I remember our first year at Kwajalein, in 1970. The Post exchange thought they were so smart when they got in 7′ tall trees. They didn’t sell well, as half the island was Airstream like trailers with a 6.5′ ceiling height.

    So they went on sale.

    Suddenly sold out like hotcakes and the base woodworking shop got busy lopping off the bottom section…

    The previous year they shipped in live trees, that had to wait in quarantine in Hawaii for 3 weeks. When they got to Kwaj they needed green spray paint. 🙂

  9. We must have had the deluxe model — a color wheel in front of the light. But I thought WE were the only ones (actually, the singular, I) who had to salvage the little strips of tinsel after it was all over. Apparently I was wrong!! Funny how short the salvaged ones were…

    That tree was a one-year thing, however. Dad was wise enough to demand that it never appear again. Out to the curb. SOMEbody got it before the garbage truck did. Next year it was back to a real tree for us.

  10. We went through the ritual of scouring tree lots in sub freezing weather, looking for the “perfect” tree. Mom always wanted a real tree for the pine scent. One year we got a tree so dry it was shedding needles after two days. by the time Christmas arrived the tree resembled the one from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” out on the streets on the 26th. Next year we got a plastic twisted wire one.

  11. The ultimate purpose of peacetime reservists. Collecting toys. Oohrah…

    The smarter Marines know working in the warehouse is where it’s at. No dress blues, and the worst thing you have to contend with is entitled hoodrats whining about not getting handed whatever the newest fad toy or gaming system for their precious crotchfruit.

    Fuck people.

    Merry Christmas Y’all!

    • Working for my local city, wife and I participated in the City’s version. Nothing will sour you to people after preparing a huge meal, wrapping tons of presents, and then handing out cooked food, future Christmas meal and a metric crapton of stuff to entitled snots.

      Grrrr.

      When I was growing up, 1 large present like a bike, 1 small toy, clothes and fruit, nuts and candy in the stocking. Now? I see hoodrats with more presents from just one parent than I got in 10 years, and every year. And that’s before the drug-dealing DNA contributor shows up and drops off his stuff. Geeze, people. Moderation, enjoyment of the holiday spirit, stuff like that…

  12. I love this post. Thoughts of a simpler age, or at least it seems that way.

    Cheers.

  13. Bob- THREE damn years… sigh

    NRW- LOL, we went back to a ‘real’ tree a couple of years later, but I still have the gumdrop tree somewhere…

    Heath- Yep, warehouse is it! And concur on the whining… sigh

    LSP- It does, doesn’t it…

  14. Bought a new tree this year. I grew up with artificial, so I don’t feel nostalgic for the scent. Although, I have a pine candle that I’ve been lighting more lately.

  15. The favorite Christmas tree of my youth was a manzanita bush with red glass balls with a shiney-new 20 ga. Winchester Model 12 leaning in the corner next to it.