O Cousin It?

I usually do a "kids' tree" where we hang all the fun homemade ornaments, paper snowflakes, candy canes, and all the other goodies (toys, stuffed animals, etc.) the kids come up with. I've had this tree for the past 11 years. By the end of Christmas last year, it wouldn't stay standing and the branches wouldn't even stay in it. So I threw the tree out. Or so I thought.

Apparently I only threw away the lower half of the tree. This didn't deter the kids from setting up and decorating their tree anyway.
I was slightly shocked to find "Cousin It" in my basement. He was being held up by the art easel, the lego box, and the wall. He had no bottom branches and my kids thought he was glorious. Carter took great pride in decorating our Cousin It.

Seriously, do you see the similarities?

I just planned on ignoring this tree and letting the kids bask in their glory until the after Christmas sales rolled around. Then I could score a new tree for cheap to use next year.

But my mom called the other day from the D.I. and said, "There's a really nice, pre-lit tree here for $12. Want it?" Bells and choirs rang down from heaven. Hallelujah! Cousin It was dismantled and this new "pretty" now sits proudly in my basement. I still let the kids do the decorating (minus the hoola skirt) and we are all very proud of their new kid tree.


Thanks Mom!