Because it’s the right time of year Irene Waters, from Reflections and Nightmares, has suggested Xmas Trees as the theme for the month.
I’m a Baby Boomer who grew up in a South Australian city.
Although I remember having Christmas Trees when I grew up I can’t recall what they were like. I did manage to find one photo and it’s obviously a synthetic tree. The funny thing about seeing this photo again is I’m reminded that I was so shocked at seeing the hideous “china cabinet” that I made certain that by the following Christmas a decent one was in its place.
I was the photographer. (Some captions can’t be seen unless you click on the photo.)
For the first two years of my married life we lived in a caravan and our Christmas Tree was tiny. It was difficult finding decorations that didn’t swamp it. Over 40 years later two little foil angels still come out each year.
The first house we lived in backed onto a sheep paddock and after our first Christmas there I saw a number of ex-Christmas Trees tossed over the fence. I hated the idea that lovely living trees were chopped down, decorated with trinkets and sparkly lights then discarded as rubbish. I made up my mind I’d never have a real Christmas Tree and I haven’t.
Our Christmas Trees have always looked lifelike. Now that I have grandchildren the tree goes up after the big city Christmas Pageant and the kids help to decorate it. I don’t have anything breakable on it except the very old, bedraggled little birds which I always place high up. The tree always comes down before Jan 1st, I feel it belongs in the old year not the new one.
2016
Musings of a Retiring Person 
Your 2016 tree looks fabulous! And I agree, they should be taken down after Jan. 1. Great minds think alike!
This years tree looks wonderful. Your caravan tree looks so sweet. What gets me is how we used to pose for photographs. It was so uncommon to take random shots that we always lined everyone up for a photo shoot. I guess it was because film was so expensive to develop you couldn’t just randomly snap as you do now with digital cameras. How wonderful that you still have some decorations that have been on the tree for the past 40 years. Thanks for joining in. That is two of us that have never had the real tree. Synthetic was all the go when we were kids plus I guess fir trees weren’t too common in Aus at the time.
You’re right about the Fir Trees, it’s usually some kind of Pine here though imaginative people decorate all kinds of things. I remember seeing a lovely one made from part of a Boxthorn Bush but it definitely wasn’t one to have with children around.
I have good mental images of the boxthorn bush. It would be like having one from bougainvillea.
The Bouganvillea we see here is quite a rampant climber whereas the Boxthorn is quite a sturdy bush BUT the thorns are very similar on each one. The Boxthorn even has nice little red berries but not at Christmas time.
Does the leaf look like holly?
No, more like an Olive tree leaf.