Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

This very book shown to the left has been our family for years and I cannot wait for it to become a new tradition with our son!  Written by Robert Barry, it was first published in 1963 and I am pretty sure it has been in my family for that long.  I remember it being on a book shelf at my parents' house and while reading it wasn't really a tradition of ours, I remember loving the book.

To briefly summarize... a wealthy family receives their Christmas tree, but it is too tall, so they snip the top and toss it.  That tip is given to the maid who has to snip the top because it is too tall to fit where she wanted to place it.  That tip is tossed and found by a gardener...and on and on.  It is such a wonderful story!

I managed to snag that old copy from my parents when I moved away from home.  I read that book to my husband every year and while I felt silly doing that, he really saw how much I loved that book.  A few years back, he ordered me the revised edition for Christmas.  It was such an amazing gift from him!!  We now have both copies on our shelf and while it is a bit too long for our son's attention span, he does enjoy looking at the pictures!

Soon enough, it will become a regular part of our holiday preparations.  I cannot wait!