Can you help?

Every year we decorate the living room for Christmas.

How this is accomplished has varied in structure and style but essentially involves ceiling decorations, a homemade garland for the archway and of course decorating the tree.

The tree.

It was fake and then after smallest was born we opted for a real tree. The process starts by attending the farm to select said tree and ends with the turning on of the lights.

Nothing fancy but a collection of traditions personal to us and non sensical to others.

Like annoying santa , a metal santa about 15cm in length originally designed to be hung somewhere, with his dangly legs and arms and bobbly hat. Now just a body and one arm. Not even a beard , just a mark where beard was. He still hangs and jangles though. Tends to fall off whatever he’s hung on, hence the name annoying Santa.

Then there’s one armed snowman – same sort of thing just a ornament on a shelf. And of course there is no bodied angel (you get it).

The tree features a collection of similar items. There are little wooden men, bells, baubles, stars and some robins- 5 of them actually. Two are the Original Robins. They belonged to my sister and I and we would compete as kids to see who could put ours on  the tree first and position it highest. They now have no eyes, feet and are losing their feathers. Hers in the one with white on its face where the feathers once were. The other three belong to eldest, middlest and smallest. They had a similar competition but it doesn’t seem tot have been carried on with the same gusto.

(my sister has passed away but I still do it every year as it makes me smile to think of us together)

Instead the whole process of putting on the baubles and other tree hangings became their , ‘thing’.

Smallest liked to tell people what to do , middlest wanted to share the responsibility and eldest just wanted to do it alone. Eventually I decided they could take turns until eldest moved out. Then middlest,  I suspect gave in and just gave smallest the job for some peace.

It started off with him putting them at the bottom; all of them, so the rest of the tree was just tinsel and lights. As he got taller so his arrangement got higher and as his perspective grew generally so did his coverage of the tree. its fairly even now.

On top of the tree we used to put the obligatory star or one year I think we had an angel. Subsequent years we got bored and adopted for something which represented the year for us. So we have had a flower and a smiley face. Then we had one armed dave who was a little lego man who used to drive the train on smallests electric train set and was a key part of every game we played. Sad lady got the top spot the year after (similar scenario)

Norman price from the childrens’ programme Firemen Sam made it up there the year after. He should have been a returner as he hung around for years but instead the next year  we had a picture of Lorraine the Papier Mache pig, who we made as a money box and had bobbly eyes. She lost one of them and we made a little rhyme up for her which we would sing a lot throughout the year. Anyway we drew a picture of her for the top of the tree.

The following year we weren’t together sure what to put up there. We actually got a bit grumpy about it all. I remember sitting on the floor and picking up the remaining and baubles as I contemplated whether I should perhaps just go out and buy a star. As I did so I looked in the decoration box and there at the bottom was a black and white picture about 4cm by 6cm of a womans face. She was smiling. I had no idea who she was and picked it up and showed the kids.

Who is this? I said.

I don’t know middlest replied.

Where was it –

In there. Who IS it?

We laughed.

And how did she get in there?

The mood lifted as we looked at her and giggled.

Meryl Christmas , middlest said.

I laughed and so did smallest – is that her name he said.

Well it is now I said. You know what ? I continued

We all said – she can go at the top of the tree.

And she did – for  the next three years Meryl sat at the top of the tree. A very small tree topper but she made us laugh. We never did find out who she was.

As I got out the box of decorations at the weekend, I rummaged around for Meryl.

I cant find Meryl I shouted.

Smallest came in. What? No way.

Yes way no, Meryl. I replied.

She must have fallen out in the move or been thrown away.

We are both genuinely disappointed. As was middlest when I called her. Eldest is, at this point fairly indifferent to the whole tree topping process.

What are you going to do, middlest asked.

I don’t know I said. I will have to think. And I have. It was so bizarre the way we found the picture and then used it. The other things were pretty strange too I suppose, so going out there and getting a traditional tree topper doesn’t seem quite right. Not yet anyway.

Something will pop up smallest said. I like his optimism.

Nothing has just yet.

Its been a week.

(Any suggestions or pictures greatly appreciated………)