Comment: Why Christmas tree shopping isn’t easy treesy

Last week’s feature about Christmas trees and how to choose the best one for your home had me experiencing the very opposite of festive good cheer.

Because while I love the sight of a real tree slowly wilting in the corner of my living room, I could do with it taking up a bit less space.

Every year, my partner drives off with his car-less friend and our three kids to buy a pair of Christmas trees. It’s become a tradition, which I like because I have an empty house for an hour and am free to enjoy the silence. Until he returns with a too-big tree and kids hyped to the max in their desire to decorate it.

I appreciate a super-sized Christmas tree as much as the next person, but only when there’s space to do it justice. Who wants to spend several weeks of the year craning round garishly-decorated branches to see the TV? No one!

To muddy the Christmas tree-shopping waters further, our kids’ school PTA is urging us to purchase a tree via them for the first time. How wonderful, I say, noting the price of the really small ones.

My partner isn’t convinced. He’s dubious about this alternative supplier. Their trees are unlikely to be as good, he says. Or as massive, I grumble. He’s going to stick with what he knows. Forget about the school!

Anyway, this year my persistence paid off on the size front, but I’ve had to pay for it in the form of two stroppy children – “It’s so small” – resulting in very unfestive conversations about lack of appreciation and how some children don’t have any tree, not even a tiny one. Said tree was dumped in another room and ignored for the rest of the day. Happy Christmas!