Is Cheap Always Better? The Story of a Christmas Tree.

Why is there a wine glass in front of this tree you ask…..



Or,  you may be thinking why does she have a tree up already?!? It’s not even Thanksgiving yet! 
Well,  funny story….
Last Christmas we had a real tree just like Christmas past, but last year I also fell in  love with flocked trees (thanks Pinterest!).  I drooled over the trees at Balsam Hill but the frosted Frasier fir  at $729 was not in my price range.  So I searched and found this great one at Wal-Mart for $149.  So,  I waited until after Christmas, actually Christmas Eve,  I went to Wal-Mart (bad idea on Christmas Eve, even at 7 am) to catch it at 50% off and they were sold out….and sold out at every other Wal-Mart in a 50 mile radius…..so I gave up…..
Until….
My mom called me on December 28th and that conversation went like this….
Mama: I am standing in Wal-Mart and they have that tree you want
Me: no way! How much? Are you sure it’s the one?!?
Mama: I am pretty sure, it’s a display model, I think I can get it really cheap!
Me: Really, how much?
Mama: Well, there is a small issue…half of the lights are out, but you can fix that!  They will sell it to me for $18.
Me: Buy IT!!
So….I got the tree, in a motorized hot wheel box.
I set it up in the attic and worked on finding the blown bulb with one of those stupid light testers…no luck….I gave up in MARCH! 
I packed it back in the hot wheels box and moved downstairs to a spare closet because flocked trees will turn yellow in heat the of attics…It took up the whole closet!
Fast forward to this past Sunday…I decided the best way to get this tree in order before Christmas was to have my engineer husband fix the lights, I figured he could find the blown bulb. 
He is the smart one in our relationship….He gave up a lot sooner than I did…maybe an hour later he declared the lights un fixable. 
Me: I’ll just got to Wal-Mart and buy the $149 tree, they have it this year too. 
Will: How much did you pay for this one?
Me: $18
Will: You need to take the lights off and re-string it. 
Me: UGHHH!
Then I proceeded to cut the lights off and I swore up and down that child labor in China put them on the tree, further convinced by this once I reached the top and it was much easier to remove!
Two hours later I was done…

Last night I added new lights with wine in hand!
It looks pretty sweet now and I am happy I have it….but Time IS Money!
I still appreciate you picking it up Mama And it’s going to look great fully decorated!

April