Before
there was the Elf on the Shelf, there was the Mouse in the Tree.
As your
family comes in for Christmas, maybe part of the fun has been pulling out
decorations from years past. The little
homemade ornaments from elementary school that have blobs of glitter and a
flood of memories. Pictures of kids on Santa’s knees, maybe those kids have
kids now. If you have a sentimental tree like I do, then each bauble and bulb
adorns our Christmas tree with a little story. Once a year, these tiny
treasures are like a time capsule to take us back to Christmas through the
years.
I remember
the reason for one ornament in particular. It was one of my first years being
part of the Kountry Kuzins Jamboree Show and I couldn’t believe how much
popcorn we threw away at the end of the evening. You need to know a couple of
things, 1) I have been recycling, repurposing and pack-ratting for my entire
life 2) Kountry Kuzins made their popcorn fresh every show and did not stir in the
old with new the next show time. I couldn’t stand the waste, so that October, I
started stringing popcorn to decorate our Christmas tree. I had miles of
popcorn. I had it hanging off curtain rods, and over chair backs, just waiting
on the tree to go up.
At last,
the evergreen was brought in and the popcorn, the lovely buttered and
completely salted strands of popcorn surrounded the spruce. I was so proud. But
being a novice corn-stringer, I didn’t know that popcorn would “shrink,”
because I discovered that there would be bare thread showing. I would shove the
kernels to the end, tie a new knot and go on. This went on. And on.
One day,
my favorite nephew (about six years old at the time) was admiring my tree. He
hunted me up and asked, “Aunt Patti, why is there a mouse in your Christmas
tree?” Seemed like a good question to me, so we went to look, and sure enough,
there was Mr. Mouse, eating his way down the string of popcorn like Pac Man. I had set up a literal buffet line for the
little creeps! Well, deck the halls.
Country
Living magazine may have instructions on how to decorate with old fashion
charm, but I didn’t have a resource for getting wildlife out of the
decorations. So, I set a trap. A mousetrap. In the tree. It worked! In fact, it
worked three times! Let me tell you, finding a dead rodent limp and lifeless on
a limb can be a good feeling during the holiday season!
So it
began, the family bought me mouse ornaments to go on my tree, along with others
that heard my story. And every year I pull out that ratty mousetrap and attach
it to a branch and arrange the artificial mice around as warning. The family
comes in and looks to see that the tree, free of popcorn (I learned that
lesson) is also free of vermin.
Here’s
wishing you and your family wonderful memories that you can treasure in years
to come! Merry Christmas!
