When is a Christmas Tree, Not a Christmas Tree?

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the day that we usually go out and get our Christmas Tree. It is a budding tradition that I started a few years ago when I realized that traveling hours with many young children was not the best idea in December. When I decided that I was staying home with the kids, I also realized that I needed a Christmas Tree. The first year I went out, I headed out with a couple of tree farm leads, that all turned out to be dead ends with not a nice tree in sight.

After hours of driving around in circles and getting nowhere, I sat at a crossroads at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway wondering what to do next. I was feeling defeated, but was determined to actually find a tree farm that had trees. Suddenly, in the distance, I saw a car driving ever so carefully with a beautiful tree tied to the top of their car! Somehow in my excitement, I managed to to get my window down and flail my arms around enough to get them to stop so that we could ask where they got their tree. After learning all I had to do was turn left and drive for a while that we would find the best tree farm ever, we were on our way.

It really is the best tree farm ever. At least I think so, and so do the kids. We love going out and running around in between all of the trees, picking the perfect one. Pure Bliss.

Last year, we ended up having a snow storm the Saturday following Thanksgiving, so we put if off until the next weekend. I don’t remember all the details, but things got hectic and I think we were having trouble finding time to actually get the tree. What ever day it was, we were on our way out the door when our neighbor knocked on our door and asked if we wanted her old artificial tree. Now as much as we wanted to head up to the mountain, we took that artificial tree and ran with it. We still drank warm cider and had a great time decorating the tree.

This year is not looking so good to go out and get a real tree either, so Iam using our backup artificial tree again.

Last year after Christmas, the weekends were packed with working on the addition and before we knew it it was February and we had our Valentines Day Tree and then before we knew it, we had an Easter Tree. Then I remembered that I posted photos of our Valentines Day Tree and Easter Tree decorations that the kids made. If you have ever wondered what Valentines Day and Easter trees look like, here they are Fun Friday Photos, Goodbye Valentines Day Tree, Hello…

I didn’t end up taking the Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter Tree down until April.

I was hoping to get the tree completely decorated today, but we only managed to get the tree down out of the attic, and put the tree together. All the boxes of decorations are down out of the attic too. We are going to finish decorating the tree tomorrow afternoon.

There will not be a Valentine’s Day or Easter tree next year. That is the plan, and I am sticking too it.

COMMENT

  1. Andrea | 29th Nov 10

    I hope you got it all done! I’m sure it looks super pretty, whatever kind of tree you have. :>

    • Hazel Nut | 29th Nov 10

      No, our tree is still not finished, lol. I only found 2 strands of lights…still need to get one more bin down from the attic. That is OK, I am tired today 😉

  2. sylvia | 28th Nov 10

    I must say the argument in my house is that they all feel that I put on my tree up to soon. I had always put up the tree with my mother on Thanksgiving day. we all ate and then it was tradition to put up the tree. My parents both worked so it was very hard to do it any other day. That is why it became traditional for us and I keep it that way no matter what. Christmas to me is a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ.Why should you not want to remember….

    • Hazel Nut | 29th Nov 10

      Thanksgiving weekend is definitely the best time to put up a tree. I feel like it helps the holiday be not so much about just one or two days, but a whole season of joy 🙂

  3. Angela (Toucan Scraps) | 28th Nov 10

    we have an artificial tree. I was my GrandFather’s and is lookng in a sorry state, so hubby is looking to find us a new one….. Might just have the battered old one again though as he doesn’t like the current prices

    • Hazel Nut | 28th Nov 10

      Artificial trees are soo expensive! We are lucky to have been given ours. It really fits into our schedule and budget this year 🙂

  4. Tricia | 28th Nov 10

    Some years, getting the Christmas decorations up really does seem to go in stages. On Friday , the girls managed to get the tree about 2/3 put up. On Saturday, they finished that and strung some lights on their window, not the tree. Maybe today, the lights will get on the tree? Life does not seem to cooperate with Christmas at my house.

    One year, when it was looking like the tree would never come down, I removed all of the breakable ornaments and drug it downstairs to a storage room and left it there all year. My kids would go in the storage room and plug in the lights at random times throughout the year (age 8&7). It was kind of funny.

    One year, we moved so close to Christmas that the tree was only up one week. I promised my then 3yo that when we found a house and got settled, I would put it back up. That was the year that we had a Christmas tree in July, decorated with red white and blue.

    • Hazel Nut | 28th Nov 10

      I sure hope that we can get the lights up on the tree today, and maybe even the ornaments! Last year we had bins out for weeks, I got so sick of stumbling over them and having to move them around because they were in the way so much, lol.

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