What was your first Xmas tree?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
What was the first Xmas tree that you got on your own?

I was living in Queens, NYC, by myself. Just got out of the Navy. It was Xmas eve. I walked by a tree lot. They were all sold out. But I bought a branch that was left. A real Charley Brown Xmas.
It was a bad thing to do. I had a red shag carpet. Pine needles wouldn't vacuum out. But my bare feet always found them.
 

I lived in a fairly isolated dry town / city in NSW , It's closest city is the capatol city of South Australia 500 km away ,our Christmas trees were useally a branch off a gum tree ,decorated with statice flowers that grow wild in the area ,or chains made from crepe paper ...
 
I inherited a beautiful artificial tree. It's 40+ years old now. Never had to buy one (yet). We decorated a live real cedar out in the yard for a few years. That's all folks! :shrug:
 

Probably a Douglas Fir. Later on, when I was making better $$ I'd get live trees, use them for Christmas then plant them.

I've bought Blue Spruce, Green Spruce and Monterrey Pine as Christmas trees.
 
1969. We were newlyweds living in Turkey and bought what the box said was a "Serviceman's Tree". It was the grand height of two feet, had 12 little ornaments and a 10-light strand of sparklies that didn't work. By the next year, we had a baby that was taller than the tree. That was our tree for three Christmases.
 
I can't really remember. I know we were living in Naval Married quarters at the time, so it would have been a small artificial one...we didn't have much money then...
 
I had just gotten out of service and we had a new baby boy. I wanted a real tree and found one at park where they sold trees. I remember it was three dollars, money was real tight for us as I wasn't working yet, so I brought it home. We borrowed most of the decorations from family, but it looked nice when done.
 
This isn't exactly a first tree story, but it is a Christmas tree story. It was the Christmas of 1967. I was 20 years old. My mother had just died that past summer and my old man had kicked the bucket back when I was 9. So I was pretty much on my own. I was going to the U of F up in Gainesville at the time. I was able to do that because my mom had a $3,000 life insurance policy and going to a state university was pretty cheap back in those days. So I was facing Christmas by myself in little dumpy little place off campus that four of us were renting.


I guess my buddy Ed's mom felt sorry for me because she told Ed to invite me to their place for Christmas. Ed's dad had died recently too but they were a lot better off than I was because Ed's dad had had a good job making about $20 grand a year which was good money back in those days and he had carried a substantial amount of life insurance.

Anyway, it was about a week before Christmas and Ed's mom sent us boys out to get a tree. People didn't get their trees as early back then. I still remember their car. It was a blue 62 Ford Galaxie with a 352 - 2 barrel engine. Back then that kind of stuff was important to me. He lived in Largo but we went up to Clearwater which was only a couple of miles up the road and started driving eastbound on Gulf to Bay blvd. which had several Christmas tree lots on it. All of a sudden, there laying right in the middle of the road in front of us was a It was still wrapped up in that nylon netting. Christmas tree!

So Ed stops the car, we jumped out, opened the trunk and threw it in. I don't know how it got there. It might have fell off the back of one of the tree delivery trucks, or somebody might have bought it and then not secured it well and it fell off or out of their vehicle, but it was ours now.

We brought it back to the house and upwrapped it and it was a really nice tree. About a seven footer. And Ed's mother loved it! She started complementing us on what a nice tree we had picked out and Ed and I were exchanging looks and trying not to laugh. Then she asked "where did you boys find such a nice tree!" and Ed said "Out on Gulf To Bay Boulevard." It wasn't really a lie. We did find it on Gulf to Bay Blvd, just not the way she thought. But then she asked how much it was and he did lie. he said "Seven Dollars" which was about the going rate back then, a buck a foot. And again she complemented him on what a nice tree he got for just seven dollars. He kept the seven bucks too. Ed was a cheap SOB.
 
My first Christmas tree was in 1970 in Chicago and I was about 4 months pregnant. I was married in July of that year and think I got pregnant in August. :)

Anyway it was a beautiful real tree and decorated to the hilt in the style I was accustomed to at home. I have always loved Christmas.

I seldom put a tree up anymore though since I'm alone and never home for most of December. Depending on how long I'm gone, sometimes I put out a few Christmas decorations which include a ceramic tree and a wreath on my door.
 
Last edited:
I have a longstanding friend whose family owns a Xmas tree farm. My first tree was a six foot tall manicure fir tree. Now, of course, living in a condo, I use an artificial tree. Good quality, very close to the real thing. Three generations of ornaments cover it each Xmas.
 
First one was first married Christmas. We lived near large wooded area near Norfolk VA where we filched a pretty pine. Never had an artificial tree and stopped having any when last child moved out.
 
Our first one was our first married Christmas (1965). We got a small artificial one; we thought about a real one, but dragging it up three floors to our apartment and then back down after Christmas didn't seem like a fun thing to do, so we settled for an artificial one.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top