The Christmas Tree Thread V: ReFIRth

[Zemekis]

The "Christmas Tree Thread" was a yearly tradition on the Outlaw Star Nexus forums. I think someone else started it in the mid 2010's and gave up on it after one year when not many people posted (if memory serves...the site isn't archived well). I hosted a thread each Christmas season starting with a pic of my own tree and it took off! It's not just about trees, feel free to chime in with your other decorations, favorite memories of Christmases past, Winter breaks from school/college, snowball fights, just general Winter-y themed stuff. We kept it light-hearted and positive.

Thanks to Koby or Nekone for changing the forum theme & thus reminding me to do this.

Normally I'd link to the old threads here, but they were KIA when OSN shut down. Most importantly of all.....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
 

Spoiler

F

 

Also bear with me on the thread titles going forward. I know the puns are gay & Reddit-tier but it was part of the tradition. They went as such [1] No goofy title [2] Electric Boogaloo [3] The Treequel [4] Quadtreelogy and now [5] ReFIRth ......I'd say y'all got off easy this year.

 

[Koby]

Unfortunately we haven't much gotten into the Christmas spirit this year. Between basketball season starting up, UIL at school, and a bunch of other things going on in our lives we simply haven't put up the Christmas tree at this time. It doesn't help that our living room is still mostly full of boxes from having not unpacked everything just yet from a few months back. Add to this, my daughter is now sick this week yet has a tournament this coming weekend to attend and a parade and a singing program if she can get well enough for in time. It's just been busy and chaotic.

 

Thanksgiving morning we had to pull a dead calf that a first time heifer failed to deliver and we've been tending to the heifer. She's doing alright now and we finally turned her back out to pasture today. Then spent most of the day chopping fire wood and putting out hay in the pastures.

 

I also just found out that my cousin is basically dying of cancer and my aunt was hospitalized with a suspected stroke all within the last 24 hours.

 

But don't let me dampen the mood. Would very much enjoy seeing others share their holiday cheer and decor.

 

And yes, I updated the forum theme. idk if you noticed but I also did a Halloween theme back in October with Jackolanterns and Spiderwebs.

[Dave55811]

Very nice setup you got there, @Zemekis.

 

13 hours ago, Zemekis said:

It's not just about trees, feel free to chime in with your other decorations, favorite memories of Christmases past, Winter breaks from school/college, snowball fights, just general Winter-y themed stuff. We kept it light-hearted and positive.

Hmm.  In concern to Christmas memories, I'd say the best ones were when I was a kid.  I don't know where to start, especially since trying to explain what makes those memories happy is difficult, though over the years I've come to believe that they are indescribable, and could be an integral part of the Human Condition.  It's like a "Scene".....or could it be "Sense"?

 

I guess there was one thing about Christmas that I considered "traditional".....and it was that each new Nintendo system I got was on Christmas Day.  I think that tradition ended in 2003, though at the time I never thought of it as a tradition, but rather "Oh, shit; I just realized that this is the first Nintendo console to not be received on Christmas."  For the record, that new system in 2003 was the GameCube; I had to get one because I learned that Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was going to be released on that console in March 2004.

As for the systems each Christmas, it'd be the NES (1991), SNES (1993), and N64 (1996).  Christmas 1991.....I was a kid, 6 years old, living in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and I was having at it with Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet (a 3-in-1 Game Pak that came bundled), blissfully unaware of a historical moment taking place on that same day.

[Starwind55]

I don't do decorations, not because I don't like Christmas.  I love the holiday but I'm a lazy person by nature so I don't have the energy to put up stuff.  As for some holiday stories...while my Christmas get togethers are comfy, they're not exactly thrilling but I'll give it a shot with some stories.

 

So there is a game called Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2.  You see, back in the day when Star Wars actually meant something before Disney turned it into souless corporate slop, I remember being mad hyped for this game ever since reading about it in PC gamer magazine.  Then the demo came out for it and it turned out the computer we had at the time couldn't run it because it didn't have a graphics card that could run it.  Now, back then I didn't know anything about PC specs and knew nothing about graphics card so this was a surprise to me.  Fast forward to Christmas day, my dad got me both Jedi Knight AND a fresh new graphics card (It's been such a long time ago so I don't really remember what it was exactly).  It's something I remember fondly because I can't imagine that it was particularly cheap for my dad so the fact that he got me both a game and a graphics card was really cool.

 

A funnier story was the year my late older brother got me a Dreamcast.  My mom was always opposed to getting a new console.  She was literally the "We have nintendo at home" mom.  She would put her foot down and but somehow we'd get the latest console.  We were opening presents and I remember opening my present and once it was revealed to be a brand spanking new Dreamcast, my mom looked at my brother and went "Oh you shit!".  My mom was salty about it but man, it was good to get a Dreamcast.  Got to play Dynamite Cop a full week straight.

[Arisien]

Haven't had any decorations at home for a few years so I'm afraid I don't have anything interesting to share.

 

On 12/9/2024 at 8:52 AM, Koby said:

And yes, I updated the forum theme. idk if you noticed but I also did a Halloween theme back in October with Jackolanterns and Spiderwebs.

Wanted to say I appreciate these holiday themes, adds to the atmosphere! Love the steins gate background but I did turn off the snow effects...

Best wishes for your family Koby.

[Zemekis]

On 12/9/2024 at 2:52 AM, Koby said:

Unfortunately we haven't much gotten into the Christmas spirit this year.

Always sucks to hear that. It's not a common issue for me, as Christmas is my favorite time of year & can usually outshine any stress in my life...but I'll admit that I've been there too. Hopefully this thread brings you a step closer to the spirit of the season.
Also, you mentioned "putting up" the tree. The reason I do an annual thread is because I've never missed a Christmas with a real tree. These threads help me keep track of my trees over the years as a sort of archive. What you see here is my 33rd consecutive Christmas tree. Granted, many of those were my parents' doing, but the streak still stands! I'll share a picture of my 2020 monster, I had to cut it down to 14' so it wouldn't bend against the steeple ceiling in my Den!!

 

On 12/9/2024 at 2:52 AM, Koby said:

idk if you noticed but I also did a Halloween theme back in October with Jackolanterns and Spiderwebs.

I did notice!

Spoiler

 

On 12/9/2024 at 4:45 PM, Dave55811 said:

Very nice setup you got there, @Zemekis.

Thanks @Dave55811! And thanks for the stories. I knew you lived abroad, and I knew part of that was in Mexico, but I didn't know there were any Christmas connotations to that. I can't imagine Christmas so close to the equator. Many of my Christmases have been snowy. I had to look it up and double check that the USSR fell on Christmas Day, 1991. I knew it formally collapsed in 1991, but I didn't know it was on Christmas. I didn't expect to learn a historical factoid from this thread. What a unique memory, and one that can't really be replicated. It begs the question: Was your parents' purchase of the NES the final act of consumerism/Capitalism that took down the USSR? Nobody can claim otherwise, feel free to take credit if you so desire!

 

4 hours ago, Starwind55 said:

A funnier story was the year my late older brother got me a Dreamcast.  My mom was always opposed to getting a new console.  She was literally the "We have nintendo at home" mom.  She would put her foot down and but somehow we'd get the latest console.  We were opening presents and I remember opening my present and once it was revealed to be a brand spanking new Dreamcast, my mom looked at my brother and went "Oh you shit!".  My mom was salty about it but man, it was good to get a Dreamcast.  Got to play Dynamite Cop a full week straight.

 

Well would you look who it is?? Now it's officially a Christmas Tree thread. @Starwind55's been around since the first one I think. Perhaps even before I took them over. Thanks for stopping by, I feel like my holidays would be jinxed if you didn't show up. 
I'm seeing a theme here. You guys seemed to get consoles pretty often for Christmas. I never got one, at least not from my parents. The closest I got from them was a Game Boy Advance. I did get a PSOne (the small one) and an N64 BOTH on Christmas 2000. I was rocking a SEGA Genesis my Dad got at a garage sale up until then. I got games as gifts pretty frequently, but for whatever reason my parents were anti-console and I had to start mowing lawns at age 9 to get a PS2. Took me two Summers!  What were your favorite Dreamcast games? While not Dreamcast, my favorite SEGA memory at Christmas time was when I bought a Saturn in my early 20's & my friends who were home from college got together with me to play Sonic 3D Blast. We were drinking a lot too. It's funny, in the video description I say I regret playing this but it's a super fond memory now.
 

Spoiler

 

 

Thanks to everyone participating thus far! I'll see if I can find my pics from previous years for posterity.

[Starwind55]

1 hour ago, Zemekis said:

 

 

 

Well would you look who it is?? Now it's officially a Christmas Tree thread. @Starwind55's been around since the first one I think. Perhaps even before I took them over. Thanks for stopping by, I feel like my holidays would be jinxed if you didn't show up. 
I'm seeing a theme here. You guys seemed to get consoles pretty often for Christmas. I never got one, at least not from my parents. The closest I got from them was a Game Boy Advance. I did get a PSOne (the small one) and an N64 BOTH on Christmas 2000. I was rocking a SEGA Genesis my Dad got at a garage sale up until then. I got games as gifts pretty frequently, but for whatever reason my parents were anti-console and I had to start mowing lawns at age 9 to get a PS2. Took me two Summers!  What were your favorite Dreamcast games? While not Dreamcast, my favorite SEGA memory at Christmas time was when I bought a Saturn in my early 20's & my friends who were home from college got together with me to play Sonic 3D Blast. We were drinking a lot too. It's funny, in the video description I say I regret playing this but it's a super fond memory now.
 

 

 

Well, now that you mention it, we did get consoles for Chirstmas before in the past.  I remember we got the Sega Genesis way WAY back when it launched.  It came with Altered Beast and some golf game.  I also recalled that we got a PS2 for Christmas just a few months after it launched.  It was sold out everywhere and my Dad lucked out at a Best Buy I think.  Funnily enough, he didn't get us any games for it.  We did go shopping the day after and I got Timesplitters with the Christmas money I got.

 

As far as favorite Dreamcast games, well I already mentioned Dynamite Cop.  The combat loop in that game was incredibly addicting not to mention it got really zany with some of the weapons you get like a giant fish and a freakin nuke.  The other one is something I introduced to you in Japan; Zombie Revenge!  That was another favorite playing that a lot.  I even remember having one of my school buddies come over and play it along with me one time which was fun.  Then finally, I gotta give it to Marvel vs. Capcom.  It's probably one of my favorite fighting games right alongside Soul Calibur 2 and the Bloody Roar games.  The game just oozed with style with the visuals and it's soundtrack was God tier.  Hell, it was the first video game soundtrack that I bought a physical copy of on CD and I would jam out to that for ages.

 

 

[Koby]

I'll post the image of our tree a couple years ago:

 

 

Yes it's artificial. Yes, it's black.

 

Kind of wanted a "Nightmare Before Christmas" style themed tree utilizing a black tree, purple lights (that look pink lmao), with purple & white ornaments, some Halloween themed garland that has purple bats and silver skulls, etc. Also used a mesh-net thingy as the base but can't see that in the picture.

[Zemekis]

On 12/11/2024 at 1:21 AM, Starwind55 said:

The other one is something I introduced to you in Japan; Zombie Revenge!

Oh hell yeah, that game was fun. Shame the arcade was closing...I would have liked to finished it. Perhaps I'll snag a copy sometime.

 

 

On 12/11/2024 at 3:41 AM, Koby said:

I'll post the image of our tree a couple years ago:

 

Yes it's artificial. Yes, it's black.

 

Kind of wanted a "Nightmare Before Christmas" style themed tree utilizing a black tree, purple lights (that look pink lmao), with purple & white ornaments, some Halloween themed garland that has purple bats and silver skulls, etc. Also used a mesh-net thingy as the base but can't see that in the picture.

Pretty cool, although it does look Black & Pink in the photo. I've never seen Halloween themed garland outside of Halloween parties. That's a unique tree at the very least. Do you use that Halloween themed one most years? Or was that a one-time thing?

I'll share some of my trees from the past tree threads

Edited January 10 by Zemekis
removing placeholder

[Zemekis]

Missing 2021, I have the file (saw it the other day) but haven't had time to move it to the folder where I've been collecting these. Might get back to it later or save it as a treat for next Christmas.

 

2023 (only pic I had handy was prior to decorating):

2022:

2020:

2019:

2018:

2017:

2013:

This last one is only labeled "Ancient." Not sure on the year:

 

Edited January 10 by Zemekis

[Dave55811]

Damn; I'm running late here.

On 12/11/2024 at 4:59 AM, Zemekis said:

Was your parents' purchase of the NES the final act of consumerism/Capitalism that took down the USSR? Nobody can claim otherwise, feel free to take credit if you so desire!

Heh.  Somehow, I doubt that.  Like I said, I was "blissfully unaware", although I don't remember seeing my mom & dad celebrating it.  We had a nice Christmas dinner, but I don't think that was related to the USSR's downfall.  Now that I think about it, perhaps my dad would've taken the USSR's downfall more seriously (in a positive way, I mean).

 

Wouldn't it be funny, though?  An act of consumerism, to rub in the face of the dead Communist regime, with the product being something from Japan.  I'd like to think that was the case for Christmas of 1991.  But, somehow, I doubt it.

[Zemekis]

On 2/20/2025 at 4:46 PM, Dave55811 said:

Wouldn't it be funny, though?  An act of consumerism, to rub in the face of the dead Communist regime, with the product being something from Japan.  I'd like to think that was the case for Christmas of 1991.  But, somehow, I doubt it.

 

Perhaps the USSR were feeling nice & confident that day, juuuust about to launch the nukes...but when that NES purchase went through they lost their motivation & threw in the towel.