“Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree, how beautiful your branches.” Well, once we settled on one . Our lovely slim Christmas tree purchased at Hobby Lobby in 2006 with pre-lit lights was no longer so lit. Mom and I went shopping for a new one. What an adventure!
We had three requirements. The first is that it needed to be unlit. No attached lights. Mom worries about the fire hazard of attached lights. The second requirement was that it had to be “hinged”. This means that it is in sections with all of the branches attached within each section. No tree with individual branches requiring attachment were allowed by me … ever again! Finally, the third criteria was for a slim tree. Nothing that would take over the living room and move us out.
So, how many trees are available that met this requirement? Let’s find out together.
Our first stop was Menard’s. After much searching, talking to two sales people, and reading every boxed tree in the joint, we found one. The sales people were so sweet and kind on our search and answering all of our questions. They had about 20 pre-lit trees and 15 unlit trees. Only two of the unlit trees were hinged. Only one of those was slim. Oh, but we bought the other one. Yes, after all of that research, we purchased the large-bottomed tree.
Not realizing this at the time, we took it home. Upon opening the box, it burst out. That was our first clue. The second clue was that it was tied tighter than a turduckin ready for the oven. Thirdly, the bottom section (in this case “A”) was more than 1/2 the weight of the entire box. Finally, When we dared cut the strings, it pushed us both back nearly out of the room. Hmmm…. to get it back in and return it.
After another hour, we had the beast back in the box (or so we like to say it was closed) and loaded in the car ready for the return. I was headed out of town to visit a friend, so mom would need to ask for assistance at Menard’s when the tree went back.
While I was away, mom toured Meijer, Target, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, and Lowe’s. How many trees did she find that met our requirements? None! That’s correct. Not one single tree at six stores.
When I arrive home within the next few days, we head back to Menard’s. Uh-oh! The only tree that worked for us was sold out. Fortunately, there is a Menard’s on the south side of town. They were kind enough to hold it for us.
Phew! We got a tree!
She’s a beauty and we can use any color of lights we desire. This year we went with multi-colored for mom. I did sneak in my favorite angel topper (we only have four options).
Morale of the Story: Sometimes you can set your sights too high, but a thorough search might bring that goal to fruition.
Humor Happens 