Dear Crabby,
Recently, some folks were up-in-arms over the red Christmas trees the First Lady Melania Trump used to decorate the White House. So, I was wondering if you thought different colored Christmas trees are fine or if they should always be green?
Thanks!
Flora Foliage
Dear Flora Foliage,
I seem to recall reading about the hullabaloo over the White House Christmas trees. But I guess when you’re leading a country of over 300 million people, you ain’t gonna please everyone. While I feel red looks best on Old Saint Nick, I have to give credit to the florist who designed those trees and her team who assembled them. I would have stopped after one and gone off to find the Lincoln Bedroom for a nap. As for what color a Christmas tree should be, well, I’m a purist. There’s just something about a green tree. And when I was growing up, going to get our tree was an adventure. We lived in the Detroit and had to go all the way to the country (which was basically anywhere outside of Wayne County) to find the perfect Tannenbaum (that’s a fir tree, kids). Now that I think of it, I’m not quite sure what kind of tree we got. All I know is when you’re small pretty much any tree looks big and a little magical. After taking a vote on which tree we liked best, we’d haul it home to decorate. Man did we cover that sucker in tons of lead-filled tinsel. You know the kind that were supposed to look like icicles. I guess we’re all lucky to still be alive. Aside from the presents, trimming the tree was the best part of Christmas. Funny how the things that were fun as a kid are such a pain in the rump when you’re an adult.
Dear Crabby Gives Advice
A real tree? Pfft. First, do you know how much they want for trees these days? I heard the average is something like $50 bucks! For something that dies. At that price I’ll get a fake tree with the lights already on it! Another thing, a real tree is like taking care of a small child. You have to water it and feed it and make sure nothing bad happens to it. Don’t even get me started on how much it ‘sheds.’ So, yes. I’m a green Christmas (fake) tree fan, but I know a lot of people out there love doing different colors and themes. I assume these are the same people who start decorating on November 1. The other night I saw a commercial for a company called Treetopia. This company will sell you pretty much any artificial tree in the rainbow. You can get pink, blue, gold, yellow, orange, or a tree that is red and white – like a candy cane. And I kid you not, you can also get a black Christmas tree. Here’s the kicker: black Christmas trees have become a hip thing to have. According to those way-too-perky morning people at Good Morning America, internet searches for black Christmas trees are up by about 70 percent. Bet people are rethinking all the nasty things they said about Melania’s red trees right about now, huh? Somewhere I heard a person say, “We’re all the same in that we’re different.” Guess that goes for Christmas trees too. Get whatever color tree tickles your fancy and enjoy. Just don’t call and ask me to help decorate it.
Good luck finding your perfect tree!
Dear Crabby
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