The Omega Tree Stand – A Seasonal User Experience Story

It’s been a year full of wonderful (travel!, new job!) and some not so wonderful experiences – lots of false starts and surprises. Thankfully, things have turned out very well in the end, but the trend continues through December. As a last test for my endurance and patience, my husband got very sick with the H1N1 flu and was unable to help with any holiday preparations. None. My young son and I kept waiting for him to get better so that we could cut down a tree (repurposing a tree from our crowded yard), but the days kept on sliding by. My son was becoming more and more anxious so I decided to purchase a tree as this would be easier for busy me.

We bought a lovely, slim, not too tall Douglas Fir and then my son and I proceeded to set-it up. We found the tree stand in the garage (accidentally locking our cat in the garage for a day), re-configured our family room to free-up some space and proceeded to set the tree in the stand. After several attempts we concluded that we could not get it to stand up straight and, even leaning into the corner, it threatened to tip over sideways. My son, already up past bedtime, was desperate to decorate the tree despite its risky infrastructure. My husband lay whimpering on the couch that he needed more Gatorade while I counted the hours to go until Christmas and all of the tasks that needed to be completed. We had to get the tree done that night! Off I went to CanadianTire for a new stand.

Of the five or six types available, the Omega Stand “stood-out” – it was the only one that did not use screws to stabilize the tree. Instead it uses quick-release plastic clamps. Hmmm, would they be strong enough? I vaguely remembered seeing a woman pitching a tree stand on Dragon’s Den last year – she set up a 10-foot tree by herself in one minute. I bought the Omega and arrived home to a prancing boy who grabbed the box and set-up the stand while I prepped for the transfer. The moment arrived. My flu-ridden husband gathered enough strength to lift the tree straight up, move it over and drop it into the new stand and then, in about 6 seconds, I stabilized it using the clamps. Done! It took longer to unscrew the old stand than it did to put together the new stand and secure the tree.

Halleluah!

This tree stand design will lead to fewer stories about “The Year the Tree Fell Down”, but as with that other old yarn “The Year the Christmas Lights Blew the Fuses”, this experience is officially retired in our family. Instead, this Christmas will be remembered as “The Year Daddy Got the Flu and Couldn’t Shop for Mom”. Sigh…

Happy Holidays to you and yours. Wishing you excellent experiences in 2010.