In my neck of the woods, people have been cutting cedar trees off their own land for years. Mother would never allow Daddy to do that because cedar is so prickly. Gloves and heavy long sleeved shirts are a must for decorating comfort.

The ouchie ones hold the ornaments the best. I hope we get to see a photo when it is finished!

Did the bottom half of the tree look the same?

I made the mistake of cutting a spruce for a Christmas tree once...ouch is right! Perfect if you have a cat; they tend to leave the end of the branches alone, but it doesn't stop them from climbing the trunk if they get the desire.

Yes, it is a covid tree, but I'm not sure I'd want to make it the centerpiece of my Christmas decorating. It's kind of awkwardly shaped. If you decide to buy a new, more shapely one, you can always ask your gardener to turn this one into mulch and incorporate it into your gardens that way. (Gosh, my post sounds so brutal. Funny aside, when I give (gave) tours at LWG, we'd walk through the Arboretum which has trees that date back almost 200 years. Someone would invariably ask what do we do when one of these old giants dies. I would put my finger to my lips, point to the mulched path, and say "shhhh, don't tell the trees."

I'm glad for your post Jojoco, as the gist here seemed to be that I am Grinch! Nonetheless, it has lights on it now and Operation 2020 Tree is underway.

I would feel more charitable about its demise if I had planted it (not), if I enjoyed looking at it (no, and so glad it's out of my "viewshed" now), if I found it unusual or special in any way (pretty typical i'd say), or if it weren't so hostile (did i mention a hundred times that it's ouchy!). Yes, we did have fun chopping it down and hauling it in. Yes, it is now part of family lore, but unfortunately the SAT title for the story might be The Year of the Ugly Tree.

It might be too light as you put the lights on but Martha would trim that tree before ornaments went on. Just shape it with pruners. I will look a bit more traditional yet still natural

i just saw a photo of DGD #2 in NYC in front of the Rock Center tree. Remember the ugly tree and ugly comments about it when it was first put up? Look closely at the outer branches. They remind me a bit of your tree Mtn, and look at it now.

Roarah, we did actually trim it just a bit, but I didn't want to see cut off stick ends IYKWIM. Outside, lovely tree, lovely girl!

Awwww.. i am pretty sure none of us thought you were a GRINCH, Mtn hahaha. I suspect everyone was trying to help you see through the ugly given it was already in the house. THIS Christmas especially I encourage you to indulge in whatever makes your soul happy. If you want a new tree-- then burn, mulch or donate the tree and get a new one!!

Outside, your GD is lovely!

We got married at the end of November and went on our honeymoon and of course came back to Christmas preparations. We weren't going to bother but at the last minute we decided that not decorating for our first Christmas was grinchy. Went looking for a tree on Christmas Eve. Now, not many trees were left on the local lot and so we picked the one that we knew no one else would want. Now, that tree was ugly. Yours will be beautiful.

With a tree that size just hang everyone’s gift off of it. Use the new car as a topper.

We decorated it a few days ago and I love it. It is surely the fattest tree we have ever had. Last year I thought the ribbon looked elegant; this year the whole thing has a sort of irrational-exuberance-Dr.-Suess quality, but it's fun.

Some faves:

It's perfect.

love it! What fun.

It's great! Puts me in mind of MacKenzie Childs decor. Thanks for coming back to show us!

Oh yay...was hoping for a grand finale! It is Fabulous!!

I love it!

JMCK, Yes, I can see that!

Now, that's a tree to be proud of!

It is fun and happy and full of personality! Love the ribbon too. Ok now fess up - what do your kids think of it?

How fun! It turned out great!

Wonderful, a particularly happy looking tree!

It looks great! I love your ornaments and the ribbon. The heart frame with your children is really sweet.

They complained vociferously while decorating it; one of them called it "belligerent." It does feel like trying to decorate a cactus.

They do like how very wide it is; you can see better from this angle where its partly obscured by the sofa.

Belligerent 😂

"irrational-exuberance-Dr.-Suess quality" Yes, yes yes! Love it!

Thx, Chickadee, I have one of DS too.

Wow, it is spectacular!!! Truly gorgeous. Love everything you put on it, too--especially the heart photo frame on ribbon.

Wow, mtn, that is some tree! HUGE, but looks great!

This might be my favourite tree ever.

awwww, thank you! It does have a certain je ne sais quoi.

It’s like tree orchestra !

I knew you would elevate it up to the status it deserved.

Yes, definitely Dr. Suess.

Honestly to me it looks fab. I love huge trees. I live in an area with a lot of old Victorian homes with big rooms and I've seen a few "exuberant" trees in my day, nothing wrong with going over the top once and a while.

The decorations did the trick—-impressive!

I'm eating my words. The tree looks exuberant and full of personality! You all did a great job!

It is superb!!

It’s fun! Looks great!

It is a fun tree and the decorations really make it!

It looks great! Loving the Dr Seuss/McKenzie Childs mashup, whatever it is, it’s spectacular.

mtnrdredux_gw, you "done" good!!

It's a spectacular tree! I love it!

Very pretty tree and I just love how unique it is. Love the decorations and the shape of the tree complements the ceiling angles! So glad you gave the tree it's glory 🎄

It looks great! Plus its wild character still shines through! I love that it can't be corralled but can be adorned. It looks like the tree decorators won this round. :). I hope the war wounds aren't too deep.

Harkens to REAL WORLD. Trees from tree farms are pruned to grow in what our minds says is "perfect"--your tree is REAL, is NATURAL is the way trees grow!! I am sooo glad you moved forward and didn't let commercialism rule what your tree was SUPPOSED to look like!!! All the HGTV folk can just DEAL WITH IT.

I prefer that to a perfectly shaped one. It’s organic. 😊 Very pretty.

You did a great job on your special 2020 tree!