O Christmas Tree

We have a family tradition that every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we drive out to a Christmas Tree farm and cut down our tree. It started out simple enough. When Garrett and Hannah were preschoolers, I told Louie that I'd love to have a real tree. I saw that there was a tree farm about 40 minutes from where we lived- $20 for any tree you want. The kids had a ball running all over that farm. We cut down a lovely tree and a tradition was born. Every year I ask the kids if they still want to go and every year they say yes. This year, we broke with tradition a bit and decided to try out a new tree farm closer to our house.

I thought you might get a kick out of getting a play by play of our Tree Farm Adventure. We gathered up our supplies: a saw, rope, gloves and an old blanket to lay across the top of the car. Then we piled in the car with our Christmas music. Now, at some point when the kids were small we played a certain CD on the way and now it's become a must according to Becca- Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas. (Let this be a lesson to you. Be careful what you start with your kids because you could be stuck with it for life!) As Alvin sang off key, we headed down the road and easily found the tree farm.

Much to Louie's dismay, it was located up a holler. To those of you who aren't from WV, that means that the farm was in the valley between hills. So guess where all the trees were? Yep. Straight up three different hillsides. But we were eager so we scoured the first hillside. Then we saw it- I swear, the sun was beaming down from heaven on a beautifully shaped Scotch Pine.

(Are you having images of the movie Christmas Vacation?) We were in awe. Except Becca. "Too Fat" she said. Garrett was sure we'd come back to this tree so he left his glove on it to 'mark it' so no one else would take it. We hiked down the hillside and up the second hillside. Nothing impressive. We hiked down that hillside and approached the third. Louie decided that he'd just hang out at the base of the third hill... and apparently Garrett and Hannah decided that he needed some company. So Becca, insistent that there could be a better tree, headed up the third hillside and I trekked after her. When we got to the very top, she said simply "Found it".

Well, ok then. I hollered for the rest of the crew and they hiked up the hill to see the more perfect tree. It was smaller than the first, not as "fat", but nicely shaped. Garrett and Becca took turns sawing it down, then my men carried it back to the car. The tree farm owner's son put it on a tree shaker to knock all the dead needles off and tied it on the car. That's when we remembered that somebody had to go back up that first hillside to retrieve Garrett's glove!

Becca reminded me, because this year she seems to be the protector of all holiday traditions, that we usually stop for a treat on the way home. We found a Dairy Queen nearby and had to stop. We toasted our ice cream cups to our nicely shaped, not too fat Christmas tree before getting it home and into some water.

This is our tree, all decked out, on our living room. A beautiful finish to our Christmas tradition.