Herb 'n Garden

HOLIDAY TREES

Story & Photos by Sue Baltes

For years, now more than fifty, I must admit it has been our tradition to put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, and we have also taken it down on January 1st. This past Christmas it just seemed like that just wasn’t enough time to enjoy the lights and all. So, as we got the box down to pack up the tree I said, “Let’s leave it up through January.” We did pack up the ornaments and, in their place, I placed red birds to represent winter. Then February came and having the tree in the living room was growing on us, and before Steve could take it down and haul it out to the storage shed I put hearts all over, making it a Valentine’s Tree so in the evenings we could sit and enjoy the lights for another holiday. Now I find I’m even getting excited about having a St. Patrick’s tree next, and then an Easter tree of course. I’ll fill it with bunny’s and eggs and of course spring flowers. Why just keep the tree up or a few weeks when we can be creative and leave it up all year round? Of course, our grown kids think we’ve gone crazy when they visit and see we still have a Holiday tree, which we are now calling it, and we avoid having to take it down. They are indeed questioning our sanity! One of my favorite memories of Christmas trees was being invited over to a dear friends Catherine and Ralph Smith in Alabama City, Alabama. They were the parents of one of my dearest friend Kay Smith Foster, a former Junior Miss Alabama, Auburn Majorette, and the most beautiful and popular girl in high school. Well, they had a huge white tree in the front room, and it stayed up all year round complete with decorations. It sat centered in front of a large picture window, and I remember on Thanksgiving Day they would open the curtains to “unveil” the tree for everyone to see. It was a magnificent all white tree, and Catherine would not close the drapes until the first of the new year. As a teenager I thought that had to be so neat to have that elegant tree up all year long. Now I feel a little like Catherine even though my tree ins not as elegant as hers was. It brings back so many good memories, and it’s a way to keep that Christmas feeling not just in my heart but sitting in our living room as well! Now let’s think about decorations. You don’t have to spend a fortune on different décor for each of these trees. Some of my favorites are as simple as cutting out hearts, shamrocks or ovals (for eggs) from Styrofoam plates, some dollar tree modge podge and the Styrofoam cut outs make a great background to attach colorful napkins using glue or that modge podge available at

Dollar Tree. Just separate a two ply napkin and attach to the Styrofoam with a layer of the glue. Another idea is to take wrapping paper and cover old ornaments. I recently found some with heads of vintage ladies and covered some clear ornaments for a really Victorian look. I happen to find a pack of pink plates left over from a birthday party, cut them into hearts and I thought they were perfect for a Valentines tree just as they are. I’ve also used old discarded wooden curtain rings, painted and turned into frames and using scraps of fabric to make some unique ornaments. Think of the three “R’s” in your decorating – Reuse, reduce, recycle when doing your holiday trees or decorating. One of my dear friends, Sherry Hylton, who was one of the most loved teachers at Gray’s Chapel told me she used to keep a tree in her classroom to change it up for the different seasons and the children loved it. So, if you have the spaceand love the holidays like I do, keep that tree up and let every day be a holiday!

Sue Baltes is the owner of Herb 'n Garden shop on the corner of Academy Street and Bicentennial Park. Herb 'n Garden is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 5 pm.