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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dh bought ridiculously enormous Xmas tree.

150 replies

Treez21 · 18/12/2021 05:19

The tree is 7 foot and really wide. Our living room can't take it. It's not even a nice shape. It's overpowering and feels like we have a forest in there. I'm actually quite embarrassed of it too, and I was looking forward to having people round for drinks, but not with this monstrosity.

We didn't really have a proper Xmas last year and I bought lots of nice decorations this year to make an effort even though I'm not really into Xmas. It looks bloody awful and even the kids don't seem that chuffed. We got a real one as they wanted one. First and last time.

Would I be unreasonable to take the decorations off the tree and saw it down a bit? Can I cut the back so it stands more against the wall, or move it to the conservatory. Or should I just suck it up??

So, would i be unreasonable to tackle the tree (advice on how to gladly received) or leave it?

OP posts:
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5
AngelinaFibres · 18/12/2021 08:53

@ultra88

That's what it ended up as. You can't look at it in daylight as you can really see how bad it is 😀😀
Wow thats a tree that will be part of your family history forever. Well done .It is beautiful.
ultra88 · 18/12/2021 08:53

I couldn't look at it for two days. I had to look at the photo to acclimatise before entering the room to see it in all its sparse glory.
The photo was sent with the message 'may need a bit of work in the middle'

Abraxan · 18/12/2021 08:54

@Treez21

Can you trim the back quite flat, or is that ridiculous?
We always have our tree near a corner and against a wall, so always trim the back branches. You can't tell once it's then in position and decorated,
BeyondOurReef · 18/12/2021 08:55

I think it looks lovely. I’ve got a 9 ft tree (high ceilings). I love it.

ultra88 · 18/12/2021 08:56

Plus it's true. So many of our friends have asked for that photo to be resent as it represents my DP perfectly. No nonsense 'it will do'. I bet we will regret having a perfect one next year. Unless he finds another one in the garden 🙂

2TurtleDovesInARow · 18/12/2021 08:56

Sorry, it's beautiful and you are being a Grinch! Just enjoy it and go and help choose next year! It looks suitably tucked in too. Your guests will be filled with nothing but admiration, I'm sure.

ZenNudist · 18/12/2021 08:56

I love that tree. I said YANBU but actually you're. It's fine. Take it down in about a week and a half if you hate it so much.

@ultra88 that tree is very individual. You have decorated it well.

GrrrlPwr · 18/12/2021 08:56

I always 'edit' the tree. Makes it fit the room. Actually I chose one this year that was already a bit flat on one side to save me sawing off branches! Go for it

AngelinaFibres · 18/12/2021 08:57

@Treez21

I don't think you can see the scale.
That is awesome. Don't change a thing
trumpisagit · 18/12/2021 08:59

Absolutely embrace it. It's only for a few weeks.

TeddyTonksGirlfriend · 18/12/2021 09:02

DH does this every year. It's now a tradition 🤣. I'd be disappointed if he came back with one a reasonable size now!

Hiphopopotamus · 18/12/2021 09:03

I always try and think - how do you want your kids (and you!) to remember this Christmas? The year that mum was miserable because she didn’t like the tree and things weren’t perfect? Or the year that you had a massive tree that took up half the room and made everyone laugh and feel really Christmassy?

It does seem like you have a bit more going on than just the tree though - be kind to yourself and try to let go of the things that really don’t matter.

threebillboards · 18/12/2021 09:05

Can you cut it in half and just use the top?

Bubblty · 18/12/2021 09:06

@ultra88

That's what it ended up as. You can't look at it in daylight as you can really see how bad it is 😀😀
I love the top! Like a natural star!
SortCode · 18/12/2021 09:08

This is my DH every flipping year!!!
Last year I said no we are going smaller went for a 5ft...soooo much better

AngelinaFibres · 18/12/2021 09:11

When I was a child my dad and I would go out on the first Saturday after the school had broken up every year to get the Christmas tree. We would drive all around the county to buy the perfect one. One year I remember standing in awe whilst the tree man cut the top 6ft off a tree that seemed massive to a small child like me. It was always a huge adventure. I always think of it when I go to the garden centre up the road and just pick a tree from the 6ft section. So much simpler than the way of my dad but there is no adventure about it. I would be doing that with him today if I was still a child. Sadly time marches on and I am 56 and he has gone. We still talk about dad's tree selections. Enjoy it Op.These are the things that Christmas memories are truly made of

MrsBobDylan · 18/12/2021 09:13

Awww it's lovely!

I don't do a real or pretend tree any more - got one of these, which packs flat.

The decorations on mine are ceramic which the kids painted at our local pottery place.

It is honestly the loveliest tree I've ever had, sustainable and practical.

Dh bought ridiculously enormous Xmas tree.
Hathertonhariden · 18/12/2021 09:17

My dad was incapable of buying a perfect tree and the memories of those trees and their various faults are our main memories of childhood xmases. Can't remember many of the gifts we got, or the food we ate but those trees hold so many funny and lovely memories. Embrace it OP.

Franticbutterfly · 18/12/2021 09:20

I love it! It's beautiful! We have a massive tree which partly blocks the tv (it's only an issue when I'm using the epg). We get the same size each year.

Fleur405 · 18/12/2021 09:20

I did the same thing when we first moved into our house because we have a bay window and I thought a big tree would be lovely. I didn’t appreciate quite how wide it was and we had to put some of our furniture in the garage and couldn’t close the living room door but it was still lovely. I would also say embrace the giant tree and don’t be too mad at your DH! Of course, I’m no longer allowed to select a Christmas tree without supervision…

Crikeycroc · 18/12/2021 09:23

Are you married to Clark Griswald? Xmas Grin

BlackeyedSusan · 18/12/2021 09:34

It will be happier in the conservatory

bilbodog · 18/12/2021 09:35

Beautiful tree OP

Changingtheweather · 18/12/2021 09:39

That tree is glorious, I’d be dragging total strangers in to admire it (not this year obviously)
And I’m quite grinchy about a lot of the commercial aspects of Christmas.
BUT
To me the tree is a reminder of a darker, scarier, more primitive time when nature had unbounded power, but we welcome the tree in as a temporary family member.
It becomes a thing of light, a sign of hope in the darkness and the decorations (no matter how eccentric or unfashionable) become part of the family story.
Think of this tree as the year crazy Aunt Katy came.
This year of all years we’re not about perfection. We’re about survival, we’re about hope, still suddenly, shockingly at the mercy of a natural world we in the west thought we had subdued.
But we travel in the footsteps of our ancestors and can draw strength from their traditions.

And by the way, my tree is over 11 feet and I hope my select few visitors are awed by it!
,

Changingtheweather · 18/12/2021 09:41

Sorry, bit of a rant, don’t want to make OP feel bad if she’s genuinely upset, just trying to give another perspective.

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