View From The Loft: ‘My, My!’ Nine Christmas Trees in a house!

By Jim Coleman, Special to The Paper

While surfing around on Facebook the other day, just trying to catch up with what some of my friends were doing for the holidays, I ran across a post that made me dizzy, literally.  This woman has nine Christmas trees inside her house.

 I can’t even print the real words that popped into my head so let’s just settle for what my grandmother suggested whenever I was shocked … My, My! Nine Christmas trees.  I’m an advocate for common decency and socially acceptable behavior, but there are times when “My, My!” just does not adequately express what I’m really thinking … you can fill in the blanks.

This posting made me start to explore the excesses of the holidays and why I have chosen a simpler life.  I’ve always enjoyed the anticipation of Christmas, having my daughter home, putting up the tree, baking and shopping and all the other things that make this such a special time of year.

So, I started to wonder… How many boxes does it take to store the ornaments for nine trees?  How many miles of lights does it take to light nine trees? Were the lights neatly wrapped around a cylinder or thrown in the box, like mine?  Did you drink hot chocolate and have meaningful conversations about the memories evoked by each ornament or did you have a local cub scout troop come over to get all that stuff out?  Are these real trees with shedding needles?

Did you have to have an electrician add a breaker to the box so you could plug all this in?  I think I know the real answer. It actually took three Buckhead interior designers and two florists four days to accomplish this feat.  There must be nothing like being out of town for a week and returning to, VOILA!, Christmas.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking this.  I think everybody should celebrate the holidays in their own special way.  I might even be a little envious. I’m just trying to decide if I won the lottery, would I have the visual merchandising staff of Saks Fifth Avenue decorate my forest of Christmas trees?  I lean toward “NO,” but since that lifestyle has eluded me for my entire life, I guess it’s just a rhetorical question … and a source of amusement in the moment.

Let me assure of something.  If I ever did succumb to this extravagance, I would not post forty-one pictures of it on my Facebook page.  I would invite you over to see it for yourself. After all, Christmas is about who you share it with!

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Jim Coleman is twice retired as a financial advisor and flight attendant. A theatre geek, musician, arts administrator and preservationist, he lived a relatively obscure life until he crossed paths with Corby Winters. Jim chose Newnan as his new forever home five years ago and is dedicated to making our community the best it can be.