November 25: Oh Christmas Tree

As a child, we always got a real Christmas tree each year.  I have fond memories of going to the Christmas tree farm and searching for the biggest and best tree we could find.  So I am determined that our family will continue this tradition.

The first year we lived in Springfield, I made Daniel go with me to a Christmas tree farm and I made him cut down our tree.  He grew up with artificial trees, and I thought he needed the experience of a cutting down a real tree.  I know Daniel would probably prefer to skip the hassle and expense of a real tree, but he is always a good sport and goes along with my crazy ways!  (This is Daniel cutting down our tree in 2005).

 Since then, we have usually bought our real tree from a local market down the street.  But this year, I thought the girls were old enough to enjoy a real Christmas tree farm.  We found a tree farm called Bomke's Patch and decided to check it out this year.

It was such a fun place!  First we picked out our tree on the farm.  It was a warmer day than the past few days, but it was still chilly.  I am known to be a little picky when it comes to finding the perfect Christmas tree.  Audrey thought it was great fun at first, stopping to point at all the trees and ask if this would be a good tree.  (I did not have my camera with me, so we are stuck with phone pictures).

But after experiencing my Christmas tree indecisiveness in the cold weather, Audrey eventually decided that she was done searching for the perfect tree.  So, we found one that looked pretty good and got it.  Daniel had a saw and was ready to cut it down, but one of the tree farm workers found us and offered to cut it down with his chainsaw instead.  Daniel was terribly disappointed.  =(

After finding the tree, we went back into the main barn to warm up. 

They gave us free hot chocolate, coffee and popcorn.  They had coloring pages for the kids and little tractors that they could ride on.  They also had a fireplace with rocking chairs.  It was so cute and cozy!!

Then they offered a free family picture...and of course, I wasn't going to turn that down!

Finally, we had to pick up our tree and pay for it.  The paying for it part was a little on the pricey side.  We are used to paying for real Christmas trees, and we know they are not cheap.  And this one was even less cheap than the pre-cut trees we typically buy.  I guess you pay for the whole tree farm experience.  And it was a good experience!  I would definitely go back there again next year.

We got the tree home, set up, lit and decorated all today.  I'm kind of impressed with myself, because I normally drag that process out over several days.  It looks good and smells good, and it is making us all very excited about Christmas!!