Every year, for the past 3 years, I’ve been threatening to leave the Christmas tree in its box. (yes, I have fake one, save the planet I say) It’s not that I don’t like Christmas, actually I love it. But I get a strange feeling that Phoebe is maybe a bit anti-Christmas. Our first Christmas with her and her first experience with all the lights, tinsel and common decorations that go on a tree. The following morning when I came downstairs, I was met with chaos!

The tree was lying on its side, a third of the decorations were lying all around the lounge, and the angel that usually lives on top the tree, well it was beheaded, de-winged and basically mauled. I was shocked! Phoebe looked chuff with a little tinsel stuck to her tail. This scenario played out almost every morning for the remainder of Christmas. Oh how pitiful our tree looked by the time I took I down.

The following year I thought I would be clever about it. I was wrong! Note to self and others DO NOT spray cat repellent on the tree. Not only does it make the house stink, it destroys the decorations. Phoebe seemed to be offended by the “stinking tree” and attacked it on a daily basis. It was then that I said “that’s it, no more Christmas tree for this house!”

A year later and it was that time again. I caved. I bought new decorations, new tinsel and a new angel. I don’t know how she did it, but her ninja skills must have been at work. The tree was there, all looked as it should. Yet somehow the angel was gone. We searched everywhere, to no avail. The tree remained safe and in its place, but no angel. Up to this day I don’t know what happened to it.

Last year I got a star to replace the angel, and we had our first Christmas without a glitch. So maybe she’s older now, wiser now, and has finally accepted that once a year the human folk put up a weird tree in the house. The tree it seemed was to be left alone. Once again I was wrong.

But I will persevere. She may be stubborn, but so am I. I will have my tree. I hope that everyone that has read this may have a wonderful and stress-free Christmas.