A (white, not colored but that’s not the point) light bulb went off last night on my ride home from work. It was Wednesday night and as agreed upon Sunday, on Wednesday night, we would decorate the tree. It’s not really a matter of lights anymore, but a matter of control. We both want it. We’re both decision makers, we’re both pretty aggressive, and typically, we have very different visions. How should we string the lights, which angle of the tree looks best, how much water does a tree need… I’m not kidding when I tell you these are the roots (get it) of our Christmas tree fights.
So about this light bulb: I would take out all the usual stressors from our life, add some alcohol-induced cheer and life would go on. On the ride home from work, we were chatting on the phone and I suggested we skip cooking dinner. Cooking dinner is a big thing for us. It’s an every night thing for us, and while it’s worth the meal, it tends to stretch from the moment I get home from work, until the moment I head to bed. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the grocery store, cook dinner, clean up dinner, wash dishes and put away dishes. We decided on delivery Chinese food – he got a combo of chicken, beef and shrimp with vegetables, I got chicken with ginger, scallions and cashews. The other last thing I wanted to be, was completely sober, so I picked up a six pack of hard cider – Angry Orchard Apple Ginger.
I put on the Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby Pandora station and by 9:30, there was a well-lit Christmas tree in the corner of the room , a colorfully-lit desk, six empty bottles of cider on the coffee table, two people with a Christmas buzz and and and, a partridge in a pear tree!
Now, for the real question, white lights or colored lights? Go.
19 comments :
Your tree looks beautiful! And it somehow, magically, took me exactly the length of the song to read this post and adore your pictures. Well done
xoxo! eliza
Thank you Eliza! I timed that really well accidentally!!
we do both.
Do you switch off every year or just have two trees?!
Looks great!!! White lights!
Do the kids want colorful lights? I can imagine with all those boys it would be hard.
My youngest son wants colored every year and for them to flash! But the other boys are used to the white lights…its all they have ever known on our tree..we do the yard up with lots of color though! This year we did do an all glass ball ornament tree, not the usual mix of all our family ornaments-they were not thrilled with that….gonna get a small table tree for the kitchen or something for all the babies first and our year ones I think or maybe ornament stands for something. It looks really pretty but I am not sure…..I got them all on a crazy clearance last year they are beautiful and sparkly but not meaningful;)
Awesome post! I can’t wait to get my Christmas spirit on! My other and I are NOT decision makers…the complete opposite. (Think “I could do ___, but what do YOU want to do?”) Thus, we have a fake tree, pre-decorated with white lights. One less decision to make. Eventually, I’d like a real tree…but I think I would still do white lights
Ha really? I think that’s so interesting how different person to person, couple to couple, we all are. I love that you’re both like that, I bet you would both be horrified if we ever double dated.
Looks beautiful. Job well done. As for lights, we go with either all white or all red. But any lights are better than no lights, and once the lights are on you don’t think about the color as much as you thought you might. At least, not after the first twenty years…
Ah, I’ll call you in 15 years and let you know. Also – are you so excited to meet James in June!?
James. The man. The myth. Together in the same place, at the same time. We are going to need a bigger room!
White lights! Your tree looks awesome
Also, I’m a fan of the picture of the giraffe. Adorable.
Thank you! If you like that Giraffe print, check out this print and others: http://bit.ly/11RPhIW
I personally love white lights, but I also really love how open you are about your relationship’s struggles. Everyone everywhere has them, and sometimes I feel like I really don’t want to share them on my blog, because people will get the wrong idea…but even wonderful men (and women) have disjunctive moments, and it’s so helpful to hear about them from other sources.
I like both & I think your place looks adorable for the holidays! Oh, and Angry Orchard Cider is the best
I think it depends on the ornaments that will go in the tree. I have a tree that has all white lights and all pink ornaments. Colored lights wouldn’t work for this. The tree that has all my childhood ornaments has colored lights. It fits the more relaxed and casual feel of the tree.
WHITE.
Always.
Forever.
For. Life.