30 days before Christmas

Is yours a home that takes in a Christmas tree for the holidays? Yes? So how and when do you pick it up?

I have to say, I tend to get stuck in repetition, for the simplicity of not having to think this through. For years, pick up was at the University Forestry Department. Okay, that wasn't super easy -- you had to be there at 8 to get a decent tree, but still, you pointed to one, you were done. Other times? At the local garden center. Conveniently located across the road from Clasen's Bakery so you could reward yourself for overspending on a Christmas tree, by now overspending at the bakery. Once and only once do I remember dragging the girls out to a tree farm, dull saw in hand, going the cut-it-yourself route. The tree was miserable, but we had hiked for what seemed like miles to find something decent and we would have taken a Charlie Brown special at that point. So I sawed and we dragged it to the car and I said "never again."

Ed initially hadn't been a fan of the idea of any chopped down tree in the farmhouse so when I moved here, I kept it really small: a wee one from the grocery store. 

But it grew. I mean, not the tree itself, but the size of it, over time. Two years ago I ditched the crate where it stood and placed it on the floor and from then on it was the proper size and I was happy. It wasn't huge, mind you -- takes me fifteen minutes to decorate it! -- but it felt authentically Christmassy. 

This year, I approached the project with prior warning to Ed. Yesterday I gently mentioned that I would be picking up a tree, reminding him that it was good for the environment and for animal habitats to grow trees, and he should expect it to go up sometime this week.

He asks -- why dont you go straight to a tree farm and maybe even cut it down yourself? Or have me do it? Look, there's a story about one nearby...

This is how today, after the usual animal/breakfast routines...

... Ed and I met up with the entire young family at Hanns Christmas Farm. It could not be closer -- just 16 minutes away along rural roads. And it could not be more beautiful. And let's be clear -- it could be colder, but not by a whole lot. We're topping the day at right around freezing once again. And it could not be more buzzing! It's our busiest day of the year! -- the smiling attendant (one of many here) tells us, as we watch cars stream into their parking lot.

There's a whole lovely story behind this place -- how the son bought the farm from his dad, who had started growing trees so that he could buy himself a new truck, how the farm grew, how hard he, the son, now works at nourishing the saplings and growing them into holiday trees, how he employs dozens of helpers, providing extra income to so many in the local community, how he donates trees to the zoo so that animals can play with them, and to our lakes, providing more habitat options for aquatic life. But what stands out to me is how special it feels to see the kids play between trees, picking their favorite (no, not that one! I really dont like it! How about this (monster big) one? Oh, come on, it will fit!). 

(and can we get this (monster big) wreath?)

Then moving on to warm up in the Christmas shop, to make a Wisconsin moment out of this ritual (rather than merely going to a big store and handing them money for a tree removed who knows when and from who knows where.)

A few more pictures...

And they are done.

Ed and I were going to saw down a tree ourselves, but honestly, the ones they had precut (just last week) looked so perfect that I failed to see the point of heading out ourselves.

Fast forward to the afternoon and my younger girl arrives with her family. We all meet up in Clasen's Bakery!

(Sparrow runs to greet the new arrivals... as if he hadn't just seen them yesterday, in Chicago)

(I haven't seen this girl since...August! Clasen's has a huge gingerbread house. Kids love it. Adults love to take pictures of kids inside...)

(And this girl! How she has grown! Catching up to the Nutcracker!)

(carrying their load of cookies...)

(and now all four are in the house. Sandpiper is home napping.)

And then we all gather at my older girl's home for some tree trimming fun.

So, more pictures...

(My older girl's tree trimming snacks are legendary! The best is Wisconsin's Rush Creek Reserve -- a cheese sold only in the late fall, still in the oven, softening...)

(Sandpiper doesn't want his new truck to go on the tree just yet...)

(the oldest and the youngest in the room...)

(cousins: a tree shape in front of the now decorated tree...)

(who will place the topper? Sparrow has the honor this year, but he is too short! So he passes it to Primrose who passes it to Snowdrop who passes it to her dad...)

(The older threesome take a bow and curtsey. They're all dancers. They know how to do it right!)

(Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your branches green delight us!)

(The evening ends with pizza and a movie. Which one? The Muppets Christmas Carol!)

And now we are done (with their tree) and all of a sudden, Thanksgiving is but a distant memory. We are 30 days before Christmas, but we are fully in the right mood for it. And that's such a beautiful thing!