NOSTALGIA SHAPES my Christmas tree choice, as I expect it may yours. I want a tree that is short-needled, imperfect, leaning toward Charlie Brownish. That type of unshaped tree is the tree of my childhood Christmases on a southwestern Minnesota dairy and crop farm.
In the old 1 ½-story wood-frame farmhouse where I lived the first 11 years of my life with my parents and four of my five siblings (Brad wasn’t yet born, the new house not yet built), our Christmas tree sat on the end of the Formica kitchen table. The house was too small to put the tree elsewhere. An oil-burning stove occupied much of the tiny living room, which would be the usual spot to place a tree.
I loved that the tree sat on the table, which was draped with a red-and-white checked oilcloth tablecloth matching the red-and-white checkered linoleum tile floors. Kitchen walls were painted yellow on top with some type of red-bordered gray wall covering below. A maroon Naugahyde rocker sat in front of the trap door leading to the dirt-floored cellar.
In that setting, Dad placed our grocery store Christmas tree. On the kitchen table, on the end next to the window facing west. Imagine gathering there in the dark of December, Dad in from doing chores, Mom dishing up meat, boiled potatoes, gravy and a side vegetable to pass around. Homemade bread piled on a plate. Milk from our cows poured into cups. Meals during the holiday season held a bit of magic because of that tiny Christmas tree.
Tinsel sparkled in the glow of holiday lights. To this day, I drape tinsel on my tree even if it’s a bit of a hassle. I love the old-fashioned look, the memories connected to tinsel.
I remember favorite ornaments, too. The wax lamb, which Mom cautioned not to hang too close to the heat of a bulb. The glittery gray dove. The mini white church with a red window, hung near a red bulb so the window glowed. The colorful vintage round ornaments that we handled with care lest they break, and some did. I have a few of those. And then the paper baby Jesus, nestled in a manger, and an angel robed in white. I have both, cut from Sunday School lessons and looped with yarn to hang from evergreen boughs.
When I shop for my Christmas tree each December, usually at Ken’s Christmas Trees in Faribault, these visuals guide me. I am, I suppose, attempting to recapture those Christmases of yesteryear. A time when, unencumbered by the responsibilities of adulthood, I experienced the absolute joy of the season. There were no worries—only that of remembering my line for the Sunday School Christmas service.
Today I experience Christmas through my grandchildren, Isabelle, 8, and Isaac, almost six. Next Christmas another little one—my second daughter is due to deliver a boy in January—will add to the magic of the season. Kids have a way of infusing anticipation and unbridled joy into Christmas.
When my core family (minus the pregnant daughter and her husband, who live 260 miles away) gather around my Charlie Brownish tree in the living room (not the kitchen) on Christmas Eve, I hope they feel the magic. The magic and joy that come in being together, especially with the son in Minnesota from Boston. Celebrating the birth of Christ. Celebrating family. Understanding that, no matter what tree decorates a home, it is the homecomings, the conversation and laughter that matter most. The love we feel for one another centers our family celebrations.
The tree is simply a decoration, a memory, a focal point. In the living room. Not atop the kitchen table.
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
oh the good ole days. tinsel was everywhere. Life was simple. I love your Sunday school paper ornaments! although I have none from myself I have plenty from our children. They are my favorites! I wish sometimes I could leave the tree up all year but then the magic would not be there. Grand kids make the day and have fun with them. one more coming is very exciting for you too. Dont u love the old bow ties our brothers wore for these occasions?!!! mine did the same and i even have one I saved from one brother. all my brothers gone now but memories live on thankfully. have a blessed Christmas. I know you will with family!!lov Kathy Gwillim🎄❤️
Oh, Kathy, thank you for your sweet words and for mentioning the bow ties. So glad you have one from your brother. And I’m glad you saved your kids’ Sunday School paper ornaments. I just left two with my daughter yesterday. I’m sorting and dispersing. A blessed Christmas to you also! My son flies in from Boston on Friday, so I am very excited to see him.
enjoy your time with your son. so exciting!!! Merry Christmas!!
lov kathy
I will, Kathy. He will be here for nine days, albeit some of it working remotely. But to have him here…
I argue for a “Charlie Brown” tree every year but am inevitably out voted because Linda’s ever growing ornament collection needs a bigger tree. But she does such a nice job of decorating it that this is always any easy argument for me to lose. 😊
I bet your tree is beautiful, even if it isn’t a Charlie Brown tree.
such precious memories and these wonderful feelings continued on through your next generations
Yes! Memories are to be cherished.
Nice pictures all. In September 1954, I was up in Moorhead, Minnesota for my grandfather’s funeral. The trees that stick out in my mind are a sickly 18 inch tall pink tree that was too big for Barbie’s house but would have made an odd addition to a fake forest nearby. Then there was the unlit tree in my hooch that some doper “barrowed” the lights leaving a less than festive presence (Christmas 1969) or even the mass of trees my scout troop was tasked with selling, bundling and tying to vehicles. Our home was as broke as a Church mouse, the tree acquired on Christmas Eve cost about $1 at Kreskes, or some similar department store, and a child’s toy budget cost $1 for each child (4). Oddly enough, it was a great Christmas – regardless of the color or size of the tree. I remember it well and fondly – save for the awful pink tree! But, maybe taht is why those fond memories come back to me. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Gunny, thanks for sharing your Christmas memories, pink tree and all. You made me laugh. I love that you remember all of this. It’s not about the “things.”
Thanks for sharing your Christmas Memories. We always went to Grandma Helland’s for Christmas Eve Dinner. Fatimon was served with wine for our Skoling (Cheers). Grandma than said the Norwegian Prayer. Then the Rommegrot was served with cinnamon and sugar. The lutefisk was served with melted butter and plenty of lefsa. Boy, I could write a book about my memories, but you don’t need that.
Thank you for sharing yours, Kyle.
Kyle, I love when readers share. So thank you for sharing your Scandinavian Christmas memories.
I wanna go to Kyle’s house! Christmas is about sharing each other’s company, enriching ourselves and helping others. It is less about the trinkets and more about relationships.
I bet Kyle would welcome you. She works at the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism office in Northfield.
Your tree looks wonderful. What a fun trip down memory lane for you, each year I’m sure. We will miss buying our Charlie Brown tree from Ken this year. Merry Christmas!
Next year. You’ve had a kinda busy November and December.
Love the cut out—- what a great way to honor Ken! We haven’t done an inside tree for years but decorate a volunteer pine in our back yard . We get comments every year from neighbors who love seeing our backyard tree as they drive across the bridge and go over the lake.
What a beautiful scene that must be, to see your holiday tree while driving across the bridge. Seems like a scene from a Hallmark movie.
What a great memory. I have fond memories of tinsel on our trees too. I wonder if you can even buy tinsel like that today? Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas
I scored some tinsel at a garage sale. And I save it from year to year.