Decorating the tree

Decorating the Christmas tree is a bit like writing fiction. Come off it!? No? Perhaps? Well, maybe, with a bit of imagination.…

Decision One: Choose a setting

TREE: Living room, corner of? Pride of place in the hall? On the patio? Or wherever.

Story: Snowdonia? Chicago? Lands End? The middle of the Atlantic? A place a bit like Narnia, though of our own making, of course. And so on.

Decision Two: Assemble and inspect the characters

TREE: Boxes are brought down from the loft, the contents examined with delight as memories are stirred. Ah, yes, Auntie/cousin/friend gave us that one; son/daughter/Mum chose that for us during a visit to South Africa/the Czech Republic/the pier at Southend. Etcetera.

Story: Examples: Commonly known as Ant, quirky, enjoys teasing people. Nancy, prim and proper, zero sense of humour. Digby, sings enthusiastically but has a limited range of notes. Operatic tenor, seriously talented, comes to stay. And so on.

Decision Three: The theme/genre

TREE: Tastefully following a colour scheme, with matching tinsel and lights which blend tastefully with the décor? Makes a quiet statement, relaxes guests? A tree upon which several small children have worked industriously and for once they didn’t argue? Or ditto except that they did argue? Etcetera.

Story: Winds its way through a romantic landscape to a satisfying conclusion? A cliff hanger that dangles the reader over the edge until he/she plops back into the reality of the fireside chair? An unnecessarily frightening experience but one which will not let the reader go until the last full stop. And so on.

Decision Four: Editing your work

TREE: Have we/the children been over-enthusiastic with the decorations? Is there a little too much of that lovely blue tinsel? Or do we love the look? Is the whole tree crammed with every beautiful object available? Is there really a tree underneath all the fripperies and items that were absolutely essential as we/the children worked. Do we need to do a mild/medium/severe pruning? Or is the tree beautiful as it is?

Story: Have we been mildly/a little/powerfully over-enthusiastic with the adjectives/adverbs/description? Do we need to do a mild/medium/severe pruning? Have we included enough information/clues to the solution of the mystery/description? Is the whole story effective/compelling? Is it completely satisfactory as it stands?

Behind it all, from decorating the tree to creating a story, God leads us on, giving us inspiration, perseverance, and patience with others and with ourselves. Where else can you get gifts like this, every day?