AND A KITCHEN SINK IN A SPRUCE TREE

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” -Friedrich Nietszche

To the untrained eye, it may look like I picked up a bunch of random objects just laying around my yard, and hurled them haphazardly at the imposing Blue Spruce situated beside my house.

Comments such as. “What’s that chandelier doing in the tree?” or, “What does a croquet mallet have to do with Christmas?” flush out some of these untrained die-hard Christmas Decorating 101 types.

An out of the box thinker will recognize them immediately for what they are - a stroke of  Christmas decorating genius.

Originally, I had no intention of hanging life-sized everyday objects on the tree when I headed out to decorate. At first I just wanted to create an indoor Christmas scene outdoors.

I brought out a shabby chic easel and moved a large mirror that was on my porch in front of the tree to execute my theme. That was when I spotted the chandelier that was hanging from a planter bracket on the porch. I had purchased it in the summer with the intention of removing the wiring and making it an eco- friendly light by adding some solar receptor thingys - that never happened.

But now I could see how the clear plastic dangling chandelier bits resembled icicles and would be perfect for my outdoor/indoor theme. That was when I looked up and saw a large overhanging branch...well you know what happened next.

When I stood back and looked I thought, why stop there?

So the croquet mallets were hung from the branches with care, a vintage toboggan would also add glare, and the shabby chic easel was soon in the air.

One of my Christmas Decorating 101 type friends said, “What's next, the kitchen sink?”

A candy striped ribbon was added with flair to the shiny brass sink that was sure to draw stares.

Out of the box thinkers know, in the midst of creative activity ideas seem to come out of nowhere, but they always have a source.

The Blue Spruce was planted in memory of my father 17 years ago. When my mother passed away three years after my dad, she asked my sister and me to move the tree. Moving the tree would turn out to be its own creative adventure.

Taking a page out of our dad’s book, “never hire anyone,” we googled up the Yahoo, as my sister would say, with the following search:

How to move a tree that has been planted for three years, that was already four years old before planting, without killing it and for zero dollars.

“Very carefully,” was the Internet’s response.

So, we carefully began digging and after some hours of concentrated effort and near exhaustion my sister blurted out, “When dad said we were getting the land, I didn’t know we’d have to move it." We laughed hysterically which gave us the energy we needed to finish our spade work.

When we dug as deep as we could, we lifted the tree with some makeshift wooden planks, laid the tree on its side, and wrapped its roots in a sheet. Then we loaded it in the back of my very tiny hatchback. The tree stuck out of the back at least two feet. We made it to my house, tree in tact, where we finally re-planted it. It stands to this day miraculously healthy, straight, and strong.

Would my father like how I decorated his tree? Heck, yes! But not for its aesthetic attributes. He would no doubt have suggested I patent the idea of life-sized ornaments and make a killing on them.

I know the actual decorating idea itself was inspired by my mother, who was a  lover of Christmas and all its bright lights, flashy sentiments, and unadulterated adornments, and ornaments, many of which she made with her own hands.

The chandelier, the easel, and all the shiny bits and bobs on the tree are for my mom - the sporting, and winter fun items are for my dad - both HUGE out of the box thinkers who always taught us to march to the beat of our own drum.

Which reminds me, I think I may have a drum set somewhere that I could add to the tree.

Ba dum tish - Merry Christmas!

And a Kitchen Sink in a Spruce Tree...(sung to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas)