We downsized this year. Found the very last prelit tree at a Walmart super center at the end of the holiday season last year, for one buck! So of course bought it and stuffed it in the minivan. Stuck it up in the attic, and now that we have Violet the Invincible Kitten, I am so glad we got it. When we first put it up, she was attacking all the lower branches, which was basically ok, because the bottom round of lights is out for some weird reason, haven't quite figured out why yet. So I just left ornaments off the bottom, because they dangle, and you don't dangle something in front of Violet, unless you want it gone. I became a minimalist decorator too, leaving off half of what I would normally put on a tree, thinking ahead, aha! less to put back on the tree every day, right? After Violet redoes HER tree. She finally left it mostly alone, after one spray from the water bottle. Occasionally an ornament would "fall" off the tree, and I would have to put it back on. I even got her a Christmas Despereaux ornament, which she promptly bit the tail off, and which I just wound around his poor little arm. I told her it was hers alone, and she accepted that, ignoring the rest. For awhile. Anyway, when the packages got put under the tree, for about two days, she thought, "For me??? Why, how sweet?" and got cuddly with several, meaning some had more tape on them than usual at the end. But that was ok with the family. They understood a kitten and her needs. So this is my story of how our Christmas tree survived Violet. Luckily, she never brought it down, not even once. Now that it is back in the attic, I hope she is not planning her next Christmas strategy. Only time will tell.
