For allergy sufferers…the best place for a live Christmas tree? Outside! (Preferably viewed from your window)…

One of the things I loved about our old farmhouse in upstate New York was celebrating Christmas with a live tree.

Picking a tree and hauling it home was always a holiday ritual to which I looked forward.

Oh, sure, I noticed that I always felt somewhat rundown, that I seemed to sneeze, sniffle and have more of a runny nose once we put the tree up and decorated it, but the idea that it could possibly be the Christmas tree itself causing my symptoms?  Inconceivable!

I always attributed my symptoms to a pending cold.
There are a lot of cold viruses going around in December, acknowledges Dr. Lawrence Kurlandsky, a pediatric allergist and pulmonologist for more than 35 years in Syracuse, New York.  However, referencing a study published in the Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society, Kurlandsky points out in his own study:

“Epidemic peaks of respiratory illnesses in all age groups are observed around December 25^th, specifically one week before and one week after for school-aged children and adults, respectively, often raising the suspicion that a live, indoor, coniferous Christmas tree may be playing a role.”

Allergists have long realized that people can be allergic to live Christmas trees.  But, it’s not actually pollen from the tree that triggers an allergy attack; having been outdoors year-round, live Christmas trees will have mold growing on its bark. Once trees are brought inside—and into a warm environment—mold spores are released into the air.

“And if your children are sitting under the Christmas tree, mold spores are probably raining down on them,” says Kurlandsky.

When it comes allergy-proofing, even artificial Christmas trees are not a fail-safe option.  Depending on how and where they are stored, artificial trees can collect a lot of dust, a problem for anyone with an allergy to dust.
Children who are allergic to dust will often have runny noses.  “In both children and adults, we will see a dust allergy manifesting as asthma and bronchitis.  Adults may also experience sinus congestion, possibly even pneumonia,” says Kurlandsky.

For more information about Christmas Tree Syndrome—what it is and how to deal with it—CLICK HERE for my SheKnows.com article, which explores this condition in-depth.

Say what?!  Am I some sort of holiday Grinch?  You must be wondering.

Actually, December is my absolute favorite time of year—between my birthday, which falls two weeks before Christmas, and the anticipation of Christmas, itself.  Historically, I’ve taken it upon myself to deliver “The Best Christmas Ever”—a pull-your-hair-out production that has involved frantic, last-minute shopping, up-until-all-hours holiday baking (gingerbread, persimmon pudding, sugar cookies), treks to Christmas tree farms in search of the “perfect” Balsam Fir, followed by a decorating marathon, and a designated day for entertaining guests.
Whew…!  By the time, all is said and done, I’m too spent to enjoy the fruits of my labor…

This year, we felt ambushed by the pending arrival of Christmas, so caught up were we in our busy schedules.

Even so, my husband was willing to stand by tradition and cart home a Christmas tree.  So, why did I vacillate right up through Christmas Eve (late afternoon!) when I finally, reluctantly, decided not to get one?

Because last December 25^th, I had an apoplectic allergy attack to our Christmas tree—a very real phenomenon also known as Christmas Tree Syndrome.  A year had gone by, and my memory was fuzzy, overshadowed by nostalgia for that defining iconic symbol.  Had I really suffered that much?  Could it have been just that one tree?  But re-reading my own blog post about Christmas Tree Syndrome was reminder enough that I had made the right decision.

Instead, we hung a few ornaments on the evergreen bush outside our front door—and Merry Christmas to you, too!

Wheat, too, fell by the wayside.  It wasn’t an intentional diss.  Since I simply had no desire for wheat—by way of toast, cookies, or other holiday treats— we simply went without.  And it wasn’t missed.  Plan B?  I ventured into Paleo baking—with delicious end results!

Sometimes letting go of our preconceived expectations—and familiar routines—prod us toward the road less traveled. We may find, in the end, it’s actually the road on which we’d like to stay the course.

Though we had a tree-less and wheat-free holiday, it didn’t change the essential spirit of Christmas.  I daresay: it enhanced our time together: no mad scramble to buy a tree, decorate it, then take it down; no baking until the wee hours; no Herculean undertaking to entertain friends or family.  We had more time to enjoy simple Christmas pleasures together: an eggy Paleo pumpkin cake for breakfast; reading fireside; a long country walk through snow-dusted fields; a candlelit dinner of Prosecco and roast turkey.  Quiet conversation.

A worthwhile New Year’s resolution: Lose the expectations.  Set yourself free.