…a lot like Christmas.
Yesterday afternoon we got a Motoring Challenge point, but in the morning we did some Christmas shopping for the rest of the people on our list that weren’t going to happy with a wreath to decorate their front door. We had some kids to buy for, 1 nephew, 2 nieces and a 5-year old off the Angel Tree at work. We visited several stores looking for just the right items, but in reality we ended up getting almost everything for the 4 of them at one store. We then did a little halfhearted shopping for ourselves with Donna a little more successful than I.
Yesterday evening we decked the halls. The first order of business is to set up the tree. I assembled the two halves and plugged it in. The bottom part lit up and the top stayed dark. Dang. Maybe that explains the extra string of lights in the box? So I plugged it into the spot where the top lights went and tried my mightiest to get those 50 bulbs to cover the top. Nope, couldn’t do it. That’s when I remembered that only the bottom half of the top half was out last year and the 50 bulb string could compensate for that.
Instead of going to out to the nearest store and buying another 50 light string, we said, “Screw it, let’s get a whole new one.” A check of the Home Depot web site showed that there was a nice 7-1/2 pre-lit tree for sale for $120 that would fit our needs. Only one in stock though. Quick like bunnies we got dressed and headed over. Looked for the tree, approved of its looks, located the unopened box and came on home.
Took a bit longer to set up, but that was mostly due to the fact that it is 60% larger than the old 4-1/2′ tall one it is replacing. And boy has pre-lit artificial Christmas tree technology improved in the intervening 8 years. This thing is miles nicer – fuller & more realistic – plus it cost less than that old tree was back then.