The last time I wrote, I had finally finished decorating our Christmas tree with red ornaments. It was a Friday evening, and the house felt cozy and complete after a long week of trimming branches, untangling lights, and placing each sentimental ornament just right. See that red-decorated tree.
Saturday morning brought an unexpected surprise: a soft whooshing noise I assumed was something small falling on a bedroom wall. I drifted back to sleep, certain it was nothing important.
My husband went upstairs to investigate and found the tree collapsed face down across the living room floor. Broken glass ornaments lay scattered, needles were everywhere, and water from the oversized tree stand had puddled across the hardwood. He’d already spent time sweeping up the worst of the mess before I even saw it.
The tree looked utterly disheveled — a reminder that even the best-laid holiday plans can go awry. We hauled out the storage totes, and Irwin and the boys spent the next hour sorting through ornaments. Listening to them rediscover decorations and call out, “Oh, I remember this!” turned the cleanup into a gentle, nostalgic exercise rather than simply a chore.
One by one, their favorite, sentimental ornaments went back on the tree. Little clusters of decorations and a few seasonal items were rearranged around the room while we repaired what we could.
During the recovery we discovered a second problem: our satellite receiver stopped playing anything — not just the holiday music channel. The signal crackled in and out like it does during a storm, but there was no bad weather outside.
After a phone call with a technician, my husband traced the issue to the tree stand. The extra-large stand had held several gallons of water and had leaked down through the floor into the basement, where the receiver sits. Water was dripping directly onto the hardware below.
“Unplug it for a few days and see what happens,” the technician suggested, optimistically. “It’s just water. If it were milk, though, I’d tell you it’s toast.” I smiled at the odd specificity — he must hear some pretty unusual holiday tales.
We’ve left the receiver unplugged and are waiting to see whether it recovers. In the meantime, we learned a few practical lessons about tree safety: not every stand is suitable for every tree; be mindful of how much water you add; and consider where the tree sits in relation to wiring and electronics beneath the floor.
To prevent a repeat, we anchored the tree to the wall in two places this time. With the ropes tied to studs and the base secured, the tree looks steady and far less likely to take a tumble. So far, so good.
Despite the spill and the mess, the afternoon turned into something warm and memorable. The boys reminisced over ornaments, we swapped stories about past holidays, and the family worked together to restore our living room’s festive glow. Accidents happen, but they often become the stories we laugh about for years to come — and this one already feels like a story we’ll retell around future trees.
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.
- My friend still laughs about the year I decorated a Charlie Brown–style Christmas tree. It wasn’t perfect, but it was precious.
- Last year I discovered how fun it is to raise a fake tree by placing it on a box — featured in a farmhouse-style Christmas tour of our townhouse.
- The colorful year of the blue & white Christmas tree, which remains one of my favorites for its bold palette.
- Our first fake tree in the townhouse — the gold Christmas tree — is a sweet reminder of how our holiday style has evolved.
- Filled with photos and heartfelt memories, this reflective post, The Remembering Stone, remains the most difficult but healing post I’ve ever written.
Linking up to: The Nester’s Christmas Tour of Homes