There is an art to choosing a Christmas tree. It’s a science. Just ask my kids.
Last night was our family’s annual ritual of selecting a real tree. Everyone got bundled up. There was some frantic searching for missing gloves, a few hats pulled down too low, and some disobedient scarves. But armed for the cold, we set off on our adventure. I’ve decided that this is one of my favorite parts of Christmas for our family. No television, no video games, and no cell phone distractions. We’re all out together, united as partners in the hunt. Kyle, especially, looks forward to this tradition. He loves to pace through the trees and think happy thoughts. His whole countenance shines.
Here are the tips my children would give you if they could, after years of painstaking tree-picking. I’ve put their expertise into words:
- If you chase each other though the tree lot, you might get tagged by a metal spike.
- The fatter trees with sharp pines are better.
- The taller trees with silky pines are better.
- The trees without holes are better.
- After a while, they all look fat, tall, sharp, and silky. And they all have holes.
- When the guy saws off the end of the trunk of your tree, save the round piece of wood and carve “Christmas 2006” on it. Hang it on your tree like an ornament. Or… it makes a good Frisbee.
- Once you stand by the fire pit, you’re done looking. You’ll just wave to everyone else the rest of the night.
- When it starts snowing, look straight up. You’ll be soaring into hyperspace.
- That white tree-flocking stuff doesn’t taste like snow.
- If it’s the tree your little brother wants, it’s automatically ugly.
- You always end up going with the first tree you like. The next two hours are just making sure it’s “the one.”
- But then again, none of that matters. Mom always vetoes your decision and picks her own.
- If you wander around the lot, lost in your thoughts, you might end up tied to the roof of somebody’s car.
- Don’t believe Dad when he says, “It won’t fall off.”
- The bigger the tree, the harder it is to catch when it rolls into an intersection.
Kristyn Crow is the author of this blog. Visit her website by clicking here. Some links on this blog may have been generated by outside sources are not necessarily endorsed by Kristyn Crow.
Image by: hellokids.com
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