This jewel of a Christmas tree holds memories — and thwarts kittens

Betty Reed of Raymore wrote to me last week after reading a column I wrote explaining that I don’t put up a Christmas tree because it was making me resent my husband.

Typically, Betty and her husband, Mark, put up a pre-lit tree that spins and decorate it with hundreds of ornaments. Sometimes, they put up an heirloom silver tree with a revolving light wheel.

This year, though, they decided not to put any up.

“You see, we have two 6-month-old kittens who would consider a Christmas tree to be the biggest cat toy they’ve ever seen,” she writes. “And even though they’re young, the boys (brothers from Wayside Waifs who chose us) are big enough to climb the tree and probably pull it over. I didn’t look forward to weeks of yelling at them to get away from the tree, so we had an alternate plan.”

Years ago, when her grandmother passed away, Betty and her sister made a Christmas tree using lights and Grandma’s costume jewelry. They gave it to their mother, who would hang it on her wall every year. It’s in a poster frame so it makes a lovely lighted decoration.

“Well, Mom died two years ago, and my sister and I decided to share custody of the tree,” Betty says. “This is my year to have it, and it is now hanging above our dining room table. The cats gave it some passing attention at first but now pretty much ignore it.

“After I finished reading your article to my husband I said, ‘I’ve got to send Cynthia a picture of our tree.’ So here it is. The best part — it took me 30 seconds to put it up and plug it in!!”

As you can see, the tree is gorgeous. Betty and her sister are quite talented. And here’s one more decorating alternative for Christmas.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "This jewel of a Christmas tree holds memories — and thwarts kittens."