In 2006 my daughter and I attended a Red Hat meeting in Bellevue. My daughter wasn’t really interested in joining the group, but I thought it would be a fun group to belong to except the group all lived in Bellevue, Wa, and that’s a little far for me to go. I live in Kent, Wa which is about 30 miles from Bellevue.
A few months later I heard about a clothing store, Rottle’s, was having a fashion show for all Red Hat Ladies. I attended the show and while there I met up with the lady, Charlene Shipman, who was my Hairdresser, for over 35 years. She was there with the group she had started a year earlier in 2005.
Two weeks earlier my husband and I were shopping at the garden store. They had all their Christmas decorations out. I spotted a Purple artificial Christmas tree, I really liked it but we already had a Christmas Tree and really didn’t need a new one, or a second one.
After meeting up with Charlene and meeting all the ladies of her group at Rottle’s fashion show, she invited me to join their group. So, a few weeks later I met with them. They wanted to have a Christmas Red Hat Party, and I offered to have it at my house. So, I told them since I was having the Christmas Party. I would go and buy the Purple artificial Christmas Tree and I would like everyone to bring a decoration for the tree and at the party we would decorate the tree.
The day of the Christmas party I had the tree up and ready for decorations. As the ladies arrived each would put their decoration on the tree. Such a variety of decorations and all with a Red Hat theme. Over the years I have accumulated other Red Hat decorations. Even on lady who belongs to the Church I attend found out about the tree and on Christmas she came over one day with a Red Hat decoration she had made especially for the tree.
I belong to other organizations and have Christmas parties for each one every year. This is now 2022, each year for the last 17 years I have decorated the Purple Christmas Tree and it stands tall in my Recreation Room where I have the parties. Everyone loves and expects to see my Purple Christmas Tree.
Winona I Laird
“The Genealogy Granny”
