The qualities necessary for a perfect Christmas tree seem simple enough: a uniform cone shape, evenly spaced branches and a jolly green color.

Of course, any tree that seems perfect to one person is unlikely to meet the standards of someone else. This is no surprise to anyone who has ever visited a U-cut tree farm with a group of children. Eventually, compromises must be made, preferably before anyone loses a mitten, trips over a tree stump or suffers from frostbite.

Traditionally, our family has chosen trees that dominate the space available. Some might say overwhelm, but that’s a matter of opinion. Ideally, the angel on top should have her halo firmly pressed against the ceiling. Theoretically, the subtle friction is helpful in preventing untimely tree toppling, but some years it’s also necessary to tether the tree to the wall and the window frame.

A tree with generous proportions is necessary to provide adequate display space for our collection of ornaments. Although some people put together lovely trees with carefully placed, color-coordinated decorations, I prefer to mix sentimental favorites: all the homemade ornaments my kids made in Sunday school and art class, decorations we brought home as vacation souvenirs, the little airplane ornament that once held my engagement ring, and several stained-glass angels made by my sister and brother-in-law.

For some reason, we have also accumulated a lot of farm animal ornaments. The combination of angels and farm animals might seem mismatched, but some of the pigs have wings, so I’m sure that ties the look together.

Over the years, we’ve learned that a straight trunk is one of the keys to maintaining a stable upright position for a tree. Even, symmetrical branching is less important. In fact, it can be an act of Christmas charity to pick that lonely, awkward tree that others have passed by. The ugly side can always go in the corner and any bare spots can be filled in with enough ornaments. And having enough ornaments is not a concern for us after more than 30 years of Christmas accumulations.

Once they’re decorated, our trees end up looking about the same from year to year, with one exception. That year when we had our tree baled and carried to the truck by the helpful teenagers at the tree farm, while we went in the tree farm shop to defrost and guzzle hot chocolate.

Once we got home, the tree stayed on the front porch for a few days until we had time to put it up. That’s when we discovered the tree we brought home was not the tree we cut down. This one was the same height, but the top yard was a single spindly stem. With the exception of that stem, the tree would have made a beautifully shaped 4-foot tree, which is probably what the person who picked it out was expecting. Instead, that person was likely struggling to stuff our robust 8-footer into some tight corner.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY: Somehow the tree we brought home was not the tree we cut.

It didn’t seem worth the effort to drive back to the tree farm, and besides, that poor, ugly thing was already cut and deserved to be decorated.

I did my best, and, in its own way, it turned out to be perfect.