A Peculiar Christmas Tree Compendium

You might not expect this, but I love me some Christmas. Not the awful consumery, commercial part that makes baby Jesus cry – but the family, friends, traditions and sparkly bits of December.
Growing up in the snowy mountains, the tree hunting expedition was one of my very favorite traditions. Despite my highly-mobile, apartment-renting, vagabond lifestyle, I can’t shake the urge to decorate a tree which leads to the following list of unconventional greenery:
(See explanation here of why I don’t just go cut down a tree in the woods or buy one from a lot).

***2007***

Minimalist but heartfelt. Very easy clean up.

***2008***
‘Twas the year of my Fantastic Zip Tie Christmas Bush.

Beautiful and festive.

And really a 2-Dimensional bouquet of sticks in a bucket.

***2009***
I traveled all December, so no tree for me.
:*(

Traveling cheer at El Paseo bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Celebrating a very Navajo Christmas with cousin in front of the fireplace at the Navajo Room in Boise, Idaho.

***2010***
Kristaf and I set out on an urban tree hunt in Sitka. It was very barely illegal as we harvested our wee spruce from beside a not-our-property chain-link fence where it eventually would have been  cut down anyway.

Nestled snugly in a flowerpot.

Looking deceptively handsome despite its razor-sharp spruce spines which left us scratched and bleeding after our decorating party.

***2011***
I broke down and went to the tree lot as I was passing by one recent afternoon. I asked for a tiny pine, but they didn’t have any less than five feet tall. They did have a pile of branches with a free sign. Hmmmm.

I am the MacGyver of holiday foliage.

Ta-daaaaa!

Happy Christmas, everyone.