Tree Farm

In Florida, we don’t have Christmas tree farms (that I know of). You can get some pre-cut trees, but you can’t chop them down yourself. When I was a kid we only cut them down ourselves. And it was such a fun tradition. We’d drive out to a tree farm about 40 minutes away, trudge up and down hills in the cold and sometimes snowy weather, looking for the perfect tree. We’d look and look and find some great trees, and when we finally found the tree, my dad would get down on the ground and saw that perfect tree at the base while we held it up top so it didn’t fall on him. Then we’d carry the tree back to our car and strap it to the top (although there were a few years in there when my dad had a truck and he’d toss it in the bed). After that we’d go into the barn at the tree farm. They had hot chocolate there. Usually we got to get a cup of hot chocolate and we’d be so cold that we’d drink it too fast, and would of course, scald our mouths with it. But it seemed worth it.

Last year, we started visiting my family in Maryland around tree-cutting time, so we have gotten to go with them to get their trees. And my kids have gotten to experience the same things I have. Their grandparents have even been so kind as to let them decorate their trees with them when we get back to their houses, despite the frequent placement of more than one ornament on a branch.