O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

How lovely are your branches?  Pretty darn lovely if I do say so myself.  We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We were lucky enough to have a nice and relaxing extended weekend, but we didn’t waste any time moving on to my favorite holiday once we got home.  Is it a tad early to be buying a real tree?  Perhaps, but it just makes me so darn happy to have that fresh Christmas tree smell in the house that we couldn’t resist picking one up yesterday despite the fact that it isn’t even December yet.  We realize we may be the only couple in America who shops around for a Christmas tree, but that was us hitting three places before pulling the trigger.  Saving $50 was worth it though, and now we have a beautiful Fraser Fir decking out our living room.

Our only dilemma was how to transport a tree home.  Since we have the new car, we are very protective of it so of course Dain didn’t want to put it on top of the car in case of scratches.  However, our ride is so much bigger now that we determined it could comfortably ride in the car with us on top of a sheet or blanket to protect the car.  With that plan in mind, we hit the road.  Shortly after leaving our house we of course realized that we forgot the sheet so we turned around, grabbed that, and hit the road again.

We started our search at a nearby outdoor tree lot. After noticing them setting up a few weeks ago, we decided to head back since it was just such a quaint looking local lot.  They had a decent selection of Fraser Firs (the only option for us) at $12 per foot.  The only problem was that after we got there we learned that they only take cash or check.  Strike out.  Since we carry neither on us.  We popped by the house to grab our checkbook, but we decided to head to another nearby lot in a church parking lot where all of the proceeds go to the church thinking it may be a better all around deal.  Good idea.  In theory.  However, the trees we (and by we I mean me) had our hearts set on were $100.  Yikes.  We had to walk away at that price point.  What was plan number three?  Head to my favorite local garden center.

Bachman’s of course.  Not the small, cutesy local lot or the charitable donation lot, but it is a local business so we felt good about it as our third option.  And we were ecstatic to see this sign after we walked in.

Because we love ourselves a sale.  Who doesn’t?  We spent awhile perusing the selection.  We looked at the “Premium” Fraser Firs as well as the “Field Run” versions.  I don’t really know what the difference is, and knowing myself, I would have bet that I would pick a “premium” tree since I have a knack for liking the most expensive thing (that is usually outside of our budget.)  But to Dain’s surprise, we both agreed that one of the “field run” trees was the most beautiful tree on the lot.  So for $47.41 total, we scored a fabulous seven foot Fraser Fir.

We enjoyed looking at the fake tree selection inside, but once you go real, you can’t go back.  Plus, we still have two smaller fake trees from our apartments days, one of which we set up in the basement.

It was a bonus that they make a fresh cut, wrap the tree, and load it in your car for you.  Talk about service.  Our old sheet worked like a charm too.

We didn’t waste any time once we got home.  It needed to be in water within an hour since it had that fresh cut, and after settling on a perfect spot in the stand and adding water, we got to decorating it.

It’s always fun each year to pull all of the ornaments out.  I love them all, but a few of my favorites are a suitcase with “Africa” on it (since it reminds me of our very own African adventure), clip-on birds, a dia de los muertos skull, and of course a hand-painted Minnesota.

We’ve also recently started to pick up ornaments on vacations in lieu of other knick knacks that would just sit on a shelf.  We grabbed a miniature kayak on our trip to Madeline Island a few years ago, and we picked up a hand painted piece on our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta last December.  We also love our “new home” ornament from last year to remember our first year in our house as well as an ornament with a picture of us from our wedding that a friend gave us.

There really are very few things more heartwarming and beautiful than a Christmas tree in a window as you drive by.  Although snow on the ground would definitely take it up a notch.  I always think of family and the joy that Christmas brings whenever I get a glimpse of someone else’s tree.

Here’s a full view of the house in its light-filled glory.  We are happily rocking blue, green, pink, and white lights outside our little house.

It is certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.  Unfortunately, there is no snow in the forecast, but I have my fingers crossed that it will arrive soon.  Have you started decorating for Christmas (or any other tradition you celebrate) yet?