On the first day of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas activities we decorated the Christmas tree.

This was the first year that we've had a tree in the student space since I started in 2001. I pitched the idea in early fall to my supervisor that I'd like some funds to purchase a Christmas tree to use in the Connector. The ceilings in the Connector are very high (I'm not sure exactly how high) and so a regular 7 foot tree would look pretty sad in the space, so I was requesting at least a 10 foot tree. As I looked online I found that most trees that large also come with very large price tags! After several weeks of price checking and discussion I was given the OK to spend $200 on a tree. There was one at Wal Mart that was 10 foot for that price. I was talking with another woman in the office about the tree purchase when another co-worker overheard me. She said that she and her husband had a nice tall fake tree that they had purchased for their home, but only used a couple of times before deciding it was too much to work to set it up. It had been sitting in their storage shed for several years. She offered to sell it to me for $100! I was so excited! It was a much fuller and nicer tree than the one at Wal Mart and I got it for half the price!

The students really enjoyed decorating the tree together.

There was much appreciation for the festiveness that the tree added to the Connector throughout the Christmas season!

Isn't this ornament adorable?