My Tree Addiction

Last night, Chad and I finally got around to decorating the Christmas tree we purchased last weekend. For the last 10 years or so, our tradition has been to go out to a local Christmas tree farm and walk around in the freezing cold while Chad picks out trees that are adequate and I explain to him why they aren't perfect for our home. It was actually kind of fun and not really as painful as I'm making it sound.

Our favorite tree farm was this place in Eudora called Pine Hill, which was complete with horse rides, wassail, a pond with ducks, and dogs running around with big bows around their necks. The farmhouse was so gorgeous I would always tell Chad it was my dream house and I wanted to buy it if it went on the market. Then, one Christmas, it did. Of course it was way out of our price range, but the most awful thing about them selling the farm was that it meant our favorite tree farm was closing! The last year they were open, because they hadn't been replanting (knowing they were going to sell) and their crop wasn't that good, they flew in some White Pines and other non-Kansas varieties of trees from some northern states. This is where my tree addiction began.

For those of you who commonly cut your own trees in Kansas, you'll be familiar with the plethora of cuts and stab wounds you usually receive when trying to set up and decorate a Scotch Pine. They are dry and they are prickly. When I saw the beautiful soft, green, flexible needles of the White Pine and realized that I could actually touch it without bleeding, I fell in love. Although it wasn't quite as fun (for me) as walking around the tree farm in search of perfection, it was worth the sacrifice to bring home this soft, perfectly shaped tree that wasn't a fire hazard. Plus, we still enjoyed the ambiance of the tree farm.

So the last couple of years, we've gone to a different local tree farm, yet stuck with the new tradition of walking through the small selection of gorgeous White Pines and picking the most perfect one in 10 minutes or less. It's not quite the same, but this farm does have hot cider, which makes it a little bit festive and fun. It's worth the loss of tradition to get my White Pine fix and stick my face right into the branches!

So last night, we decorated our beautiful tree (that's so perfect it actually looks fake) and put up the rest of the Christmas decorations in preparation for our favorite holiday! We really only have one important tradition when it comes to tree decoration:


If you can't tell exactly what is happening here, it's the ceremonial hanging of Chad's favorite ornaments--Larry Bird and the more recently acquired Steelers bulb. I think we have a picture of Chad hanging Larry Bird for like the last 5 years, at least!

Anyway, after an evening of tree decorating we are very pleased with our beautifully soft White Pine!