WATERTOWN, SD — According to sources, a local family has gathered for their annual tradition of putting up Christmas tree decorations that their mother will move to the correct spots immediately after everyone walks away.
"It's one of my favorite things about the holidays," said the oldest son, Brad. "We laugh and share memories of Christmases past as we hang an ornament, and when we come back from getting ourselves a cup of eggnog, we see the ornament we just hung on the tree in a totally different location. It's so magical."
All of the family's children, children's spouses, grandchildren, and grandchildren's spouses have come to cherish the time-honored ceremony of placing decorations on the tree and coming back later to find out where they were supposed to have put them. "It just wouldn't be Christmas without this," daughter Sara said. "We've long since accepted that none of us can put an ornament in the correct place, so we just have fun with it."
Throughout the night, the family's mother, Jan, smiled through gritted teeth and repeatedly said, "That's perfect, dear," as each child or grandchild made a horrible choice in selecting the spot for their ornament. "It's not at all important where you put them, it's all about enjoying time with family," she said with a strained quiver in her voice.
At publishing time, Jan was looking forward to her other time-honored tradition of rushing in to pick up every last piece of wrapping paper and put it in a trash bag as kids unwrapped presents.
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