by Lis Garrett,

a mom who lets her children do the decorating

and who remembers to water the tree each day

 

Real or artificial?

Up until the year I got married, I never once considered decorating a real Christmas tree. Having grown up in the south, the thought of choosing a tree from the parking lot of a gas station seemed unappealing and devoid of holiday magic. Additionally, with my mother being the decorating guru in which all things had to be just so, the notion of finding the perfect live tree meant going home disappointed.

I once suggested an artificial tree in our early years of marriage, and the idea itself was the scandal of the century among my northerly, thick-skinned, newly extended family. I learned quickly not to mention the unmentionable again.

Each year, on the first Saturday of December, we bundle up in our warmest clothes and head for the hills, just north of Ithaca, to Moore’s Tree Farm, home to 35 acres of prickly Spruce varieties and feathery-soft Firs. Guess which kind of tree we prefer? To say that this holiday excursion is one of the highlights of our year would be a gross understatement. My kids live for this day, which, for us, symbolizes the official start of the Christmas season.

Despite the weather, which has ranged from sunny skies with not an inch of snow on the ground, to negative windchills and knee-deep drifts, we never fail to have an excellent time hunting for our tree. Our choices are hardly perfect, and we still laugh about the time, two years ago, when we mistakenly chose a tree that was much too large for our small space. Instead of removing excess tree from the bottom, my husband cut from the top, instead, leaving us with a tree in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid. Needless to say, we didn’t have company over that Christmas!

Moore’s Tree Farm not only mails us a coupon each year, they shake and bale the tree and give the kids free coloring books and candy canes. We even occasionally see Santa taking a much-needed break from his busy toy-making schedule. Should you require a hot cocoa to warm your hands and belly on those blustery December days, there’s a food hut to provide sweet and savory treats. In addition to trees, Moore’s offers a wide variety of holiday wreaths, kissing balls, and other green accessories in their barn.

Some may argue that cutting down a real tree is bad for the environment, but Moore’s and I couldn’t disagree more with that thought. While artificial trees are made of petroleum products and stay in our landfills for years, Christmas trees are considered recyclable materials, grown and harvested with sustainability in mind. Read this before you argue that cutting down a Christmas tree couldn’t possibly be an environmentally-friendly ritual.

Real trees just smell much nicer than artificial trees, anyway.

I’m getting excited! See you December 1st, Moore’s Tree Farm.

*This post was not endorsed by Moore’s Tree Farm. I just think they’re really great.*

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