The Christmas Tree

Yesterday we spent the day watching Mum putting up the Christmas decorations.  This involves a lot of furniture rearrangement, climbing on chairs to reach high spots, dropped thumb tacks (ouch!), lots of  'Get out of the way, Trudy' and last, but not least, the building of the Christmas tree.
Our Christmas tree comes in a box that stays in the back of the cupboard for most of the year but on December 1 out it comes, ready to stand in the corner of the lounge room for a month or so.

Mum managed to put it together by herself.  I offered to assist but my offer was rejected and I was subjected to a lecture on the Rules of the Christmas Tree.

Rule Number 1.     The Christmas Tree is for decorative purposes only and is not to be jumped on   chewed or climbed at any time.  There are no possums hiding at the back of the tree.
                              
Rule Number 2.     The lights on the Christmas Tree are not a game.  Just because they are blinking  on and off and look like they are moving does not mean that one should try to catch them and bite them off.  (See Rule 1 re.decorative purposes only.)

Rule Number 3.     Parcels under the Christmas Tree are strictly out of bounds.  They are to be left alone, untouched and uninterfered with.  Pretty paper shall not be removed just in case there might be gheckos inside.  On Christmas morning, if a helpful dog should volunteer for unwrapping duties, those offers would be happily accepted.   Until then...paws off!!

As if Heidi and I would ever entertain thoughts of investigating the parcels left under the tree or
ferreting out any wildlife in the back branches!!!!  I don't know where Mum gets these ideas. 
Sometimes I think she doesn't trust us.
There was only that one time when one of the parcels smelt a lot like Schmackos............and, well.
it sort of broke open accidentally.

Our Christmas tree looks lovely.  ..and over on the cabinet there are two rows of shiny Christmas baubles.  One row is for the humans in our family and the other row is for the animals.....and in that row one bauble has Trudy written on it and one has Heidi on it.  We are happy Christmas dogs.