I don't usually make resolutions, but after reading all the good posts in this thread, I've made up my mind. I want it ALL! I no longer want to enjoy the holidays looking at a gaily decorated petroleum-based interpretation of a fir tree. I want the live green tree with the O2 mitigation. I want winter interest and shelter for the birds. So my Christmas gift/resolution to myself will be - a balled tree. Yeah, it'll cost a few bucks, but for the next 30+ years (I plan on living a loooong time ;-)), imagine how nice the whole place is going to look when they are planted, and how much the wildlife will appreciate them. Unless someone can suggest a better way to go, here is my plan (I've never had a balled tree before, so save me from myself if I'm off base). I'll buy it in November, tub it on the deck, decorate it there with lights and strings of popcorn and fruit and I (and the critters) can enjoy it for the holidays. Then, after the festivities, drag it over to a pre-dug hole, plant it, and voila! If I get one small enough I think I could handle it (root balls are heavy!). At least I have a year to get any kinks out of this plan. Kris (already thinking about she's gonna do with her next Christmas tree....)

kmcg, did the tree have replacement bulbs with it? They usually do. Ours were taped to the "trunk" section. The trick is, the small lights are all different. It may be hard to find one that will work. They taught me to pull the green part of the bulb from the socket, then pull just the glass part of the bulb from it. You can insert another glass part (they are interchangeable), but you may have to pull the wires apart and thread them through holes in the base, if there are any. The key is that the wires need to make contact with the base of the socket. I've described how mine worked, yours may be different. If you can, I'd go to the place where you got the tree and see if they have bulbs that are exactly like the ones you have. (You'll need to bring a bulb in with you.) Sounds like a pain, and it is, but once you get the hang of this it's no big deal.

i hate wrestling with lights with a passion!!! i have had many years when 1/2 way thru the season(or sooner!), 1/2 a strand would go out... the mini lights are so cheap now that i tend to use 'fresh'(1-3 years old, max) strands for the tree and other difficult or highly visible areas. i just can't be bothered with messing with inexpensive lights anymore!!!! it's wasteful, but helps keep me sane during the holidays! i have also swapped out alot of outdoor sets with LED sets too...have 'recycled' old or 1/2 working sets at HD. i bought one of those light fixing guns one year and had terrible success with it---i tried to use it on our icicles and ended up returning it-don't know if the gun was faulty or if our lights were beyond repair...

Oh, Christmas Tree is one of my favorites, too.... My mother sang it in German (she was of German descent from Northern Ontario, Canada, and didn't speak English until she went to school), and that's how I always remember it - auf Deutsch. When I was in 5th grade our small class was a human Christmas Tree for the school Christmas program and we sang O Tannebaum. Being the smallest girl in the class, I was the angel on the top of the bleachers that formed the "tree", and the kids all held pine boughs. I was so tiny I needed a wooden box to stand on to be seen, and the teacher was so afraid I would fall off. I was so proud because I already knew all the words to the song (LOL)! Deutsch Tannenbaum TEXT: Ernst Anschütz, 1824 MELODIE: Volksweise (traditional) O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blätter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blätter! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum! Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum! Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum! Dein Kleid will mich was lehren: Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit Gibt Trost und Kraft zu jeder Zeit. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum! Das soll dein Kleid mich lehren.