VIDALIA, La. &8212; Trimming the tree is a part of the Christmas celebration at almost every house in the Miss-Lou.

But at the home of John and Linda Bandy, they take &8220;tree trimming&8221; a little bit more literally.

On Saturday afternoon, just before sundown and a promise of rain threatened to shut them down, the Bandys&8217; daughter, Patricia Maynard, and her two small sons were pruning the thick branches of a more than 10-foot-tall cedar in the Bandys&8217; front yard.

It&8217;s a tree with memories attached. Patricia&8217;s grandfather gave it to her about 15 years ago, when she was just a little girl, and it&8217;s been growing at a rapid clip ever since.

Now, the Bandys involve three generations in pruning the tree and, when that&8217;s finished, stringing it with plenty of lights for the holiday.

&8220;We did it for the kids when they were little, and now we do it for the grandkids,&8221; Linda Bandy said with a smile.

High above her, Maynard was on the next-to-top rung of the ladder, stretching to get her limb clippers to reach the top. On the lower branches, she uses an electric version.

While she supervises the work, Linda Bandy says she&8217;ll spend Christmas with her two daughters and their families, all of whom live near Baton Rouge. But that doesn&8217;t stop the Bandys from decorating their home to the hilt. Not only will they have Christmas lights on the cedar tree out front, but they&8217;ll also have a variety of other holiday decorations, including a manger scene out front.Then, around Dec. 1, they&8217;ll decorate their inside tree.

Decorating for the season, Linda Bandy said, helps get her family in the holiday spirit.