Every family has holiday traditions. Some are good, some make you cringe, but even the goofy ones make you look back with a smile. In my family, we had a slightly different Christmas tree tradition than most. At some point in December, it would be tree day. But we didn’t head to a Christmas tree farm or unpack a box from the attic. Nope. On the patio area of our backyard, we kept a (living) Southern Red Cedar in a whiskey barrel, and on tree day we got out the trusty old furniture dolly, somehow hefted the ceiling-height tree onto the dolly and rolled it into the house. It was a pretty tree, although not as perfectly shaped as a Douglas Fir or Blue Spruce. Once in the house, it was time to decorate, and that’s where the tradition turned goofy.
One year, the Cedar was in bloom when we moved it inside. The blooms are inconspicuous and just look like little white balls. I’m not sure if it was me or my sister that named them, but somehow we landed on “White Dumpies” as the name for these growths on the tree. And that led to fits of laughter and probably not enough paying attention to the decorating task at hand. We used the same tree for a number of years, and although it didn’t always have white dumpies, just the word kept us rolling on the ground with laughter. Even now, nearly 30 years later, we still smile and laugh when we recall that old Christmas tree and its white dumpies. Its branches may not have been quite strong enough for all of our ornaments, but it was still our special tree and will always live in our memories as a fun Christmas tradition.
What Christmas traditions are you creating for your family? Some of our nursery customers do something similar to what we did. They decorate a live tree inside for the season and then plant it outside after Christmas. Over time, the trees remind them of each individual Christmas. So enjoy the season and have fun creating a tradition with your family. Whether it is weird, wacky, or just something simple, it will be a tradition that is just yours, and the memories you create now will be remembered for a lifetime.
