My favorite and funniest Christmas story is when my parents waited until Christmas Eve to pick out our Christmas tree. 

I still believe that the one they finally picked out was the only tree left in the greater Nashville area.  Not wanting to disappoint the family, my mom decided to purchase the tree, despite the fact that it was about 2 1/2 feet tall and looked like it was straight from "Charlie Brown Christmas." 

When they brought it home and tried to set it up, the tree was so short that you couldn't even see it through the window outside.  Saddened and slightly disturbed by the tree's size and appearance, we hoisted the tree onto our coffee table where it sat perched at eye level for the remainder of the holidays with a minimal amount of ornaments and a single string of lights. 

Ever since the "Charlie Brown Christmas" tree, our family has had an artificial tree that doesn't have to be placed on top of the coffee table!