Baubles...

You’ve seen a photo of my wonky little tree with just a star and electric candles. My days of hanging baubles are over. However, on the porch I always have a collection of shiny ornaments in a wrought iron bowl. Sometimes a squirrel will carry one away but for the most part, they sit undisturbed until after the New Year.

Have you noticed that this year there is a profusion of gift guides to entice or guilt potential shoppers into spending ever more money? I find it annoying (do You?) but I always look.

This year I’ve decided to share my own list of free or nearly cost free baubles which are delightful totally unnecessary real or metaphorical trinkets denoting care, affection, and remembrance. I hope you’ll be generous and comment on some of your own ideas. This group may sometimes be short on money but long on ideas. Oh, now I realize that I may be a bit late with this ‘gift guide’ because people are probably shot of time too. Well then, consider this as getting a leg up for next year…

But first, let’s begin with a history of the decoration of Christmas Trees. I’ve used the time line povided by The Rock Christmas Tree Farm in Bethlehem (yes), New Hampshire.

The History of Christmas Trees

1510 – The first written record of a decorated Christmas Tree comes from Riga, Latvia. Men of the local merchants’ guild decorated a tree with artificial roses, danced around it in the marketplace and then set fire to it. The rose was used for many year and is considered to be a symbol for the Virgin Mary.

1530 – There is record from Alsace, France (then Germany territory) that trees were sold in the marketplace and brought home and set up undecorated. Laws limited the size to “8 shoe lengths” (slightly over 4 feet).

1600s – By the 17th century, it was common in Germany to decorate Christmas Trees with apples. This practice was a holdover from the 14th and 15th centuries when evergreen boughs hung with apples were the only prop used in the “miracle plays” that were performed at the churches on December 24. December 24 was Adam & Eve’s Day in the early Christian calendar, and the plays were used as ways of teaching the Bible to a largely illiterate population.

1700s – In parts of Austria and Germany, evergreen tips were brought into the home and hung top down from the ceiling. They were often decorated with apples, gilded nuts and red paper strips. Edible ornaments became so popular on Christmas Trees that they were often called “sugartrees.” The first accounts of using lighted candles as decorations on Christmas Trees come from France in the 18th century.

1800s – The Christmas Tree was introduced in the United States by German settlers. It rapidly grew from tabletop size to floor-to-ceiling.

1851 – Christmas Trees began to be sold commercially in the United States. They were taken at random from the forests.

1853 – Franklin Pierce is credited with bringing the first Christmas Tree to the White House.

Late 1800s – The first glass ornaments were introduced into the United States, again from Germany. The first ones were mostly balls, but later chains of balls, toys and figures became more common.

Around 1883 – Sears, Roebuck & Company began offering the first artificial Christmas trees – 33 limbs for $.50 and 55 limbs for $1.00.

1900s – Due to overharvesting, the natural supply of evergreens began to be decimated. Conservationists became alarmed, and many magazines began to encourage people to substitute an artificial “snow” covered tree, consisting of a branch of a deciduous tree wrapped in cotton.

1901 – The first Christmas Tree farm was started in 1901 when W.V. McGalliard planted 25,000 Norway spruce on his farm in New Jersey. Also in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt tried to stop the practice of having Christmas Trees out of concern about the destruction of forests. His two sons didn’t agree and enlisted the help of conservationist Gifford Pinchot to persuade the president that, done properly, the practice was not harmful to the forests.

1930s – President Franklin D. Roosevelt started a Christmas Tree farm on his estate in Hyde Park, New York.

1966 – The National Christmas Tree Association began its time-honored tradition of having the Grand Champion grower present a Christmas Tree to the First Lady for display in the Blue Room of the White House. That year, Howard Pierce of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, presented a tree to President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.

Today – Approximately 25-30 million Real Christmas Trees are sold each year in the United States. Almost all of these come from Christmas Tree plantations.

If at all possible, cut your own Christmas tree at one of the Farms. You’ll still end up with fallen needles but at least you won’t be still finding them in April.

So back to the List.

• Costs Nothing:

  -offer to walk a dog

  -offer to provide childcare

  -offer to drive a neighbor to surgical and post surgical visits, chemotherapy and radiation

  -offer to clear snow from a neighbor’s vehicle

  -offer to go for a walk (and bring a thermos and cups for hot tea or cider)

  -offers to do light house cleaning, straightening

  -make a Spotify playlist with music the recipient prefers

  -offer to hang Christmas lights

  -sharing Beth Kempton’s Winter Writing Sanctuary (which I found priceless)

  -sharing Instagram accounts you enjoy (@davidszauder, @cornellbirdcams, @mariapopova, @kelly_boesch_ai_art, @bethkempton, @the_rhs are some of my favorites

  -sharing favorite Substack accounts with pleasure filled free subscriptions Mark Diacono, Debora Robertson 🦀 , Emma Simpson, Esther Perel, David Lebovitz, cate kerr, Beth Kempton, Chloe Hope, Elizabeth Gelfeld, Sari Botton, Sarah Barker, Barbara Graver to name just a few

  -regarding substacks you read, hit the tiny heart button if you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read…and comments are so appreciated

• Costs under Ten Dollars:

  -give a pot of herbs

  -make a paper white garden in a bowl, small stones, bulbs and care directions (to keep plants from flopping, use alcohol in water (1 part alcohol to 7 parts water if using the drinkable stuff or if using rubbing alcohol use 1 part alcohol to 11 parts water) when bulbs produce stems)

  -buy a waxed amaryllis bulb (Trader Joe has them for $7.99 and they always bloom)

  -buy blocks of suet for a birder feeder (along with a simple holder if just starting out)

  -buy poop bags for a dog owner

  -buy Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton

  -buy a candle/tea lights

  -make soup, stew, fudge, cookies, spiced nuts, jam

  -take a photo of a dog owner(s) walking the dog(s) and have it printed on a post card

  -take a photo of a parent walking/playing with child and have it printed on small card

  -give a few of your favorite pens (mine are Pentel Energel RTX Retractable Liquid Gel Pen)

  -buy bath salts or shower gel

  -buy a tub/shower drain cover (I just did the dirty job of fishing out trapped hair from a drain and finally got smart and bought a drain cover)

OK, you get the idea…

All these little bauble gifts give back to you, promoting feelings of generosity which further enhance mental health. Kindness is good for your heart and your immune system.

Now it’s your turn, Dear Friends. Please give back to this little community by sharing your ideas.