by the twinkling lights of the tree

We've had the same short , stumpy tree for years. Last year I almost bought a new tree, I wanted to have a tall towering tree, the kind you had to get up on a ladder to dress up. Philip convinced me to wait. "Next year," he said "in our new house".
So I waited, and finally the tree is up . 8 feet tall. We only put up the lights, so far, and it was so pretty we camped in the living room in the glow of the pretty lights.