Susan finds the perfect tree

Every year at Christmas time I say the same thing. "This is the prettiest tree we've ever had."

This time I really mean it.

Okay, I always mean it. But back in the 70s, when we first bought our house, I used to pick Christmas trees to fit the 9 foot ceilings. The problem was, they had a correspondingly giant circumference that took up half of the living room. Not to mention that in those days I had about 12 ornaments. It wasn't a happy marriage of circumstances and eventually I discovered Frasier firs and started getting beautiful little trees around 6 feet tall.

I didn't head out for the annual Christmas Tree Slaughter last Saturday with a new agenda in mind. The soul mate and I make a game of finding a tree with a yellow tag size that sports a red tag, which is less expensive. (Hey, have you seen the prices of fresh trees these days?) And the selection at the tree farm was outstanding this year. I guess closing a field for a year really pays off because I'm telling ya, every tree looked prettier than the last. I liked the first one I saw, but of course you can't just buy that without looking at a selection.

And I'm so glad I did. Our tree was nine feet tall before S cut five inches off the trunk, and it's full without taking up every inch of space. My ornament collection has grown over the years and with the smaller trees I usually have quite a few that I leave in the box. This tree took every single one and I could have used some bigger models.

At first I feared it was too big, but as I looked at the proportions I realized it was...perfect. And this really is the prettiest tree we've ever had.

Lights and trees are a couple of my favorite parts of the holiday season. That, and my copy of A Cup of Christmas Tea that my auntie Jean gave me in '88 and which I always put under the tree once it's decorated.

How about you? Do you have a favorite aspect of the holiday or decoration, ornament or book?

Happy holidays, from my family to yours. I'm taking a little hiatus but will be back the first part of the new year.