It is finally that time of year when decorations are being put up and kids are ready for winter break. Snow has fallen, and Christmas trees are being cut. Finding the perfect tree is one part of keeping-up holiday cheer, but trying to maintain the tree’s beauty is another. 

Learning to preserve the Christmas cheer while also keeping the tree in perfect condition is a Christmas miracle. Having pets makes having a perfect tree hard, students of Emmaus High School say. 

One way to keep the tree safe is to strap it down. Sophomore Lauren Riazzi says that this is the way her family keeps their tree in good condition.  

 “I like all together has four cats and three of them have left the tree alone for like their entire lives but we have one kitten and I don’t think he’s gonna leave it alone.” Riazzi said, “so we have like the tree strapped down to a table. It’s like sitting on top of the table outside on our front porch and we have that like the tree strap down to the table with the hopes that he won’t knock it over.”  

Junior Dom Nunez finds an interesting, “perfectly safe” way to control his pet when around the Christmas tree. “I just take my cat and throw it every time she gets near my Christmas tree.” Nunez said, “We also put ornaments at the bottom all year because it’s not [like] she throws it around like it’s like a little toy and breaks them.”

The ornaments at the bottom of the tree are often in the danger zone, to keep these ornaments intact you can either purchase unbreakable ornaments, or move your more fragile ornaments up the tree.

Sophomore Austin Mahalick agrees with this novel solution, as his family gets “shatterproof ornaments so my cat would not break them.”

¨We have to put the order in but we can’t put ornaments on the bottom and put them closer like the top middle section¨ Junior Cathrine Watson said.

With the holiday season coming upon us, who doesn’t want the perfect tree? Keeping these trees in their prime condition is crucial to preserving the merriment Christmas brings to town.