We have not had a 'real' tree in over fifteen years, but hubs got it in his head that this would be the year of the real tree. In hindsight it should have been the year of the live tree because we need several more trees on one side of our property. Sadly that idea didn't occur to me until after the tree was already trimmed but maybe next year.
Also, hubs did not want just any real tree. He wanted a GINORMOUS! real tree. Our family room ceiling is about eighteen feet high so that sort of ginormous. And fat. No chic skinny tree would do. The tree he had in mind must be fat and it must be tall. As fat as the room can tolerate (fatter in fact) and as tall as the ceiling will allow.
Let's just say that initially I wasn't 100% on board with this plan but I came around.
We've done artificial trees the last several years because we're normally not at home for the Christmas holiday. I feel like you need to be home if you have a real tree so you can water it everyday. For the first time in a long time we're celebrating Christmas in our own house, so we went with a real tree.
And it's ginormous.
We drove up into the North Carolina Mountains to the cutest little place called Tom Sawyer's Tree Farm. I think the trip there is what changed my mind, because it all felt very festive and Hallmark Christmas movie-ish.
The people who own the farm are so nice and when hubs described what he wanted they directed us to a particular side of the hill. They said to watch for baby deer scampering about and I mean how can you not love a real tree when there are baby deer scampering about?
We did not see baby deer, but I like knowing they were there somewhere.
The tree farmers gave us a big pole painted in various colors which you could hold up next to your tree to determine it's height and then it's cost. Hubs was not sure this pole would be tall enough for what he had in mind, but it did the trick.
The tree guys came out and chopped the winning tree down, wrapped it up, and tied it to the top of the truck for the trip back down the mountain.
The plan was to set the tree in a bucket of water for a few days before bringing her in the house. I won't mention here that the tree trunk was so heavy it crushed said bucket because alls well that ends well, right?
Hubs realized pretty quickly he was going to need some manpower to get the tree in the house and fortunately our future son-in-law was coming to town for the weekend. This is why you have daughters-so they can grow up and marry boys who help you carry heavy stuff.
And we had to move all kinds of furniture and I kept asking where are all the people going to go???,
but hubs made it work and she's a beauty.
Our Christmas spirit still intact.
