Christmas Countdown: Smell the Season

Day 6: Smell the Season

I love when I walk into the house and the smell of fresh pine is in the air.  It's like walking through a forest only I can be toasty warm and don't have to deal with wildlife (translated bugs, spiders and their webs, and this inherent fear I have that I will someday meet a bear).  It's why we HAVE to have a real Christmas tree. 

This year, though, I put up my first fake tree.  It was a wonderful blessing donated to our preschool classroom so that the kids can hang the ornaments they make and put the presents under as they bring them in.  I never knew anything about a fake tree other than that they don't have a smell and I didn't want one.  As I started taking it out of the box I was surprised to find that it came in pieces.  Now I was aware that I was opening a three foot box and that the box said it was holding a six foot tree, but I kind of expected it to be like one of those cans of worms--I cut the tape and out pops the tree.  Instead there were dozens of branches and things that had to be stacked and secret codes that told where to put each piece.  I got the tree assembled but then found that I had to spread each branch apart so that it could look like an actual Christmas tree.  I did that, carried it to the corner and wrapped the lights around it.  It didn't look like an actual tree, but once the kids ornaments are on it will pass as a Christmas tree.  Then I went to clean up the box and found that there were needles everywhere.  So, I have a fake Christmas tree, without the smell of Christmas but still all the mess.  I don't understand the purpose of a fake tree.