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Here is a new method for packing away the Christmas Tree.. I was almost tempted to try this..:biggrin: :laugh: :Oo:

Putting mine away this weekend and I am very tempted to try that.  :laugh:

That pic reminds me of a christmas about 10 yrs ago.  We just had our 4th child so we had a newborn and 3 others under five in the house.  A couple months before we had moved back to our hometown and I was opening a new office for our company and working riduculous hours trying to make a go of it.  Between those two major life events, there just was no time for a typical Christmas.  It was Dec 23 and we had no tree yet.  My wife was distraught and christmas was going to be a disaster.  Then Kmart ran an ad with a clearance on pre-lit trees and I decided to go over straight from work and find one.  Well no surprise, the selection on Dec 23 is pretty picked over, especially with a clearance sale going on all day before I got there.  So I asked one of the clerks what they were going to do with the dispay trees.  He goes to get the manager who has no idea.  They had a corporate group go from store to store to set them up but they did not know what the plan was to take them down.  I asked if I could buy the big Martha Stewart tree, the only decent one left.  It had been professionally decorated with tons of ornaments, bows, ribbons, some sort of bird theme with funky branches and feathers, etc.  It looked like a christmas card and the idea was for people to buy the ornaments right off the tree.  The manager said she would sell me the tree but it didn't have a box, so in exchange I could take the ornaments on it as well.

So how do you get a decorated tree home?  Just like the picture above!  Out came one of the stock boys with a big saran wrap roll.  We lifted up the branches as far as we could and wrapped it up tight.  I called my father-in-law and he came over with his pickup and we headed home with a surprise.  When we brought it in the door my wife gave me one of those "looks" but we set it up in the corner, ran a scissors up through the saran wrap, and walla!.  The branches flopped down, we plugged in the lights, and dad was a hero for the day.  After the kids went to bed we went through and took all the price tags off the ornaments.  It came to something like $700.  It was the best looking tree we ever had and we still use it today. 

Packed the tree away today. Put everything back in its place instead of shrink wrapping as is. Maybe next year :down:

With Christmas starting earlier and earlier every year, soon we will be able just to leave it up year round.

Was thinking that too.

Figured throw some Easter eggs, four leaf clovers, hearts, pumpkins and that would carry you right back to Christmas.

Was taking up too much real estate to keep it up all year though.