When I last wrote, I had just finished decorating our Christmas tree with red ornaments. It felt like the start of a cozy holiday weekend — I remember it was Friday and the house was finally starting to look festive.
Early on Saturday morning the tree fell over. It made a soft whooshing sound as it collapsed across the living room floor, and at first I thought it was just a poster sliding off one of the boys’ walls. My husband was the one who discovered the mess: the tree was face down, broken glass ornaments scattered everywhere, needles and water spreading across the floor. He had already cleared most of it away by the time I saw it; bless him, he tackled the cleanup right away.
We unearthed our tubs of ornaments and the whole family started sorting through them. It turned out to be a surprisingly sweet way to spend the morning — the boys held up each decoration and excitedly said, “Oh, I remember this!” The sentimental favorites went back on the tree first, along with a few newer pieces that found their spots around the room. The routine of redistributing ornaments and rearranging decorations felt warming and oddly grounding after the sudden disruption.
While we were restoring the tree, a second, more unexpected problem appeared. Our satellite TV, which had been playing a holiday music channel just fine, started crackling and cutting out. It behaved like it does when snow builds up on the dish, except there was no snow in sight. As my husband worked with the tech on the phone, he found the source of the interference: the extra-large tree stand — the one we’d filled with gallons of water to keep the tree fresh — had leaked through the floor.
Water had dripped into the basement and landed directly on the satellite receiver. The tech’s advice was practical and almost amusing: unplug the receiver for a few days and see whether it recovers. “It’s just water,” he said optimistically. “If it were milk, it’d probably be toast.” We’re now in that waiting period, hoping the electronics survive a few dry days. Meanwhile, we’ve taken extra precautions with the tree itself: we tied it securely to two walls so it won’t tip again.
Despite the upheaval, the process of recovering from the fall ended up being a family memory in its own right. The boys enjoyed rediscovering old ornaments and reminiscing; the simple act of placing familiar ornaments back on the branches felt comforting. The living room once again looked festive, only now with a story attached — a holiday anecdote about a tree that fell, a leaky stand, and a temporarily silenced satellite box.
We learned a few practical lessons, too: double-check the stability of a large tree stand, consider placing a protective mat or tray under the stand to catch any leaks, and secure tall trees to the wall when children or pets are around. Small precautions can prevent a lot of mess and stress, and they’re easy to implement before anything goes awry.
For more pictures of Christmas tree decorations in the past, you might want to check out:
- This Carolyn Ingalls–inspired Christmas tree decor that was dreamed up during a long power outage.
- The year I put up a Charlie Brown–style little tree — perhaps a little ugly, but very precious to me.
- Last year’s farmhouse-style Christmas tour, where I tried putting a faux tree on a box for a different look.
- The blue and white Christmas tree year, which ended up feeling wonderfully colorful and festive.
- Our very first fake tree in the townhouse — a gold-themed Christmas tree that started a new holiday tradition.
- A heartfelt post filled with photos of our home decorated for Christmas — a difficult, healing piece about remembering and gratitude.
Linking up to: The Nester’s Christmas Tour of Houses.
