32nd annual Christmas tree burning party

[b4uqzme]

The winners enjoying their celebratory "shotski"

[Bawanna]

Always found it scary how quickly and fully engulfed a tree burns. Having that torch in your house, makes one ponder.

Still we do it every year...............

[muggsy]

I switch to a plastic tree about the same time that I switched to a plastic carry gun. We've gone to LED lighting just as an added precaution. I no longer have to worry about a squirrel jumping out of the tree and running amok in my living room. The last time that happened I had to empty my Browning to get him and accidentally hit my mother-in-laws portrait picture in the process. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) There's a lot to be said about having a real tree, but I'm not allowed to use those kinds of words on this forum. :)

[marshal kane]

We have a plastic tree for Christmas too simply because of the convenience. There could very well come a day when the plastic trees put the Christmas tree farmers out of business and that will be a sad day indeed because a real tree in the house at Christmas time gives it a nice smell. I'm old enough to remember my parents taking us kids to the Christmas tree farm where we would carefully select our tree and bring it home on the roof of dad's car. Now, we just go out to the garage and bring the plastic tree into the house in sections and put it together. My first real gun showed up under the Christmas tree, a Remington single-shot .22 rifle. I couldn't wait to take it out and shoot it. When gift guns are given at my house, it's usually during Christmas.

[b4uqzme]

For us Christmas is a time of traditions. That includes a live tree. And the annual tree burning party is kinda the capstone to the whole season. A chance to get together with those you may have missed. Who brings the tree that goes up in the biggest blaze of glory wins bragging rights for the next year. Some of the attendees quit watering their tree so it will dry out. I don't recommend that. :o

[Armybrat]

Always found it scary how quickly and fully engulfed a tree burns. Having that torch in your house, makes one ponder.

Still we do it every year...............
About 45 years ago, a friend who was living in an Austin duplex decided to burn his 6' Christmas tree in the fireplace After he jammed it in whole - and partways up the flue - he set it alight.

It didn't take him but a few quick seconds to realize what a stupid mistake he had made. He hollered at his wife to open the front door, then grabbed the stump base of the burning torch of a tree and dragged it across the living room carpet to the driveway outside. VERY lucky for him that the chimney (probably full of soot/creosote) didn't catch on fire. Fortunately there were only a few small scorch spots in the carpet.

Many years later, this man of brilliant decision-making became the city manager for a medium sized Texas city. :D

The wife & I have been using fake trees for the past 30 years - here's the new one (old ones served about 15 years each):

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/16735bb34355d68117fab7ef0959907980f421d.jpg

Yes, that Mrs. Armybrat in the portrait over the fireplace - her 1962 high school prom dress. BTW - she made most of those stockings - kids, DILs, grandkids. Her own stocking is the long red one on the right - her mom dated it 1947.

[berettabone]

Love the smell, hate the needles.......................................went plastic a long time ago. I like to spend time in the woods................there, I enjoy them even more.

[Bawanna]

We finally went a Tupperware tree for the first time last year. We always went out and hunted a tree. My dream is to one day have a place big enough with a closet where I can put the tree on wheels and just wheel it out and plug it in, when it's over, open the door put it in the closet and shut the door.
Getting plumb lazy.
I did miss the pine tree aroma so we just cut some branches and lay them around. Might be one of the car freshner trees out there, get a display board of those and I could hang it on the wall in the closet with the tree.

My wife makes all the stockings and stuff too, she's quite the craft person.

Glad you clarified the portrait over the fireplace, I was gonna ask but now know she's taken.

You got nice house.

[AJBert]

We haven't put up a tree in a few years now due to it has just been my bride and I home alone. We do go to others for Christmas most years and really see no reason to put up a tree without us being home nor no little rug rats around. Spent this year with our daughter, son-in-law and the four grandbabies.

Funny thing is that we have quite a few trees that would make perfect Christmas trees on the property. I was going to offer my brother and cousins the opportunity to come out and cut their own but the all have the fake trees.

[ltxi]

Always found it scary how quickly and fully engulfed a tree burns. Having that torch in your house, makes one ponder.

Still we do it every year...............

I learned that almost the hard way when I was much younger and even more stupid. Chopped the tree up, stuffed it all in the lower level fireplace, and torched it as a means of disposal. TG that fireplace had an oversize, stone hearth and and mantel.

We still do freshly cut trees. Open burning of plastic is prohibited here.

[yqtszhj]

We do the live tree thing and have for the last 18 years. Did the tree burning ceremony too in the back yard until this year. I always brought everyone out and let (made) them watch after it dried for about a week outside. It was fun but wanted to get the point across on how fast it went up. I am always the water person for the tree when in the house. Found it only takes about 2 days for the tree to empty the 2 gallon stand it sits in so you got to keep them really wet.

[Planedude]

Never was a huge fan of the real trees. Got too close to a forest fire in the piney woods as a boy. Seeing trees explode make quite an impression on you, for life...


The tree burning is an interesting "family" event. My wife's good friend has a family tradition that sounds like a blast. Each family group builds a Gingerbread house for Christmas. The families all vote on the best built house and rate the rest. Later the family gets together for New Years and then they... Blow up gingerbread houses with large fire works! The winner of "best house" goes at midnight!

[Armybrat]

Never was a huge fan of the real trees. Got too close to a forest fire in the piney woods as a boy. Seeing trees explode make quite an impression on you, for life...


Being a fellow Texan, remember the big fire several years ago out at the Bastrop "Lost Pines" State Park? Burned almost couple thousand rural homes & 31,000 acres, not to mention uncountable pines?

A friend of my son's - a movie director named Richard Linklater who just won a "Golden Globe" award the other night - lost a lot of buildings in his "compound" retreat out there. He rebuilt the main house, several guest cottages, film editing studio, recreation building, & dance floor/party pavilion. My son built a duck house for the feathered residents of the pond on the property.

This pic was taken miles away from the fire.

http://blog.arborday.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/bastrop1.jpg

[getsome]

Holy Smokes, I think sumpin is afar over yonder......

You got to wonder who the first guy was to say "You know what, I believe I'll go out in the snow and chop me down a perfectly good tree and drag it back in the house and decorate the damn thing"......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJW3Jpqjx5s

[Armybrat]

Holy Smokes, I think sumpin is afar over yonder......

You got to wonder who the first guy was to say "You know what, I believe I'll go out in the snow and chop me down a perfectly good tree and drag it back in the house and decorate the damn thing"......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJW3Jpqjx5s
Funny you should mention that flick - one of my nephews was a production assistant for the crew. Most memorable thing he recalls about it was one morning when he accidentally parked his beat up old Honda Accord in Chevy Chase's reserved spot. Chase stormed into the studio office and reamed nephew's *** out pretty loudly. lol