Don't feel too bad....when my kids were real young we also made a bookshelf out of cinder blocks standing on end with 2 X 4s and 2 X 6s for the shelves. We had a used set of Encyclopedias....think the boys used them 2 times in their life??? At least you had a real tree...I remember one year when I got layed off from work we had to decorate a house plant with ornaments, to this day we call it the "Charlie Brown Christmas"!!! BUT!!!! We were happy!!