Abstract
Our specific purpose in this paper is to explore households’ negotiation practices as they co-create a key ritual artifact of the holiday—the Christmas tree. We find that four distinct pairs of tensions can shape consumers’ co-creation of the Christmas tree: aesthetics vs. tradition, inclusiveness vs. risk, family fantasy vs. family reality, and authenticity vs. convenience. We identify and interpret the negotiation strategies that emerge as consumers seek to resolve these sets of tensions.