My Favorite Tradition: Christmas Tree Cutting

 Out of all of our yearly traditions, cutting down our Christmas tree is by far my favorite. 

It's a tradition I've been doing since I was little, and I have the fondest memories of driving through the mountains to get to the tree farm to begin the hunt for a Christmas tree. There was always Christmas music playing over the stereo, often from a cassette tape we brought along from home, and some years there was hot chocolate to warm our hands and bodies after our cold adventure. 

For the last 6 years, I've gotten to pass the tradition along to my littles, and while it can be chaotic to herd three small children, the magic of it still remains for me. There's something really wondrous about perusing through the pines to find a tree that stands just tall enough; offers a full roundness; and has little to no gaps. You find the right one, only to circle it once and find a very bare back- and so you keep searching, hoping to be the one that finds YOUR tree. 

This year we found the most perfect tree, truly. And we each took a turn sawing at its trunk to bring it  down. Pete lugged the tree up the hill to the tire-track-made road, and we watched the old farm truck bump its way back to the shop to shake and bail our tree for the ride home. Just like from my childhood, there were holiday tunes serenading our drive, and the hope of hot cocoa once back to the house. It's such a joy to see the excitement of the tree hunt in my children, especially when the excitement is still there for me!