Along with many other families, we love to decorate for the holidays. Every year, the candle lights go in the windows to welcome for our guests and to help in decorating the neighborhood. One of the most important parts of our decorating is our Christmas tree.
For many years we have gone to a local farm where you cut down your own tree and drag it off to the car. Every time we walk around the corner of the shed that sits next to the driveway, I sigh at how pretty the landscape is with its skating pond, rolling hills and evergreens abound. They are trees that have not been manicured so they are full of character and perfect imperfections.
After we find the perfect Parker tree to bring into our home, we cut it down, drop our money in the coffee can and away we go to have hot chocolate back at the house. What I like best about going to get our tree is that each year it feels just as enchanting as the year before – the four of us on a quest to find the tree that will best display our special ornaments and twinkling (colored) lights.
One year we decided to get our tree on the morning after a rain storm. When we ventured around the corner of the shed, the whole field, pond and trees were glittering in the sun. Each blade of grass and bough branch was smothered in a thick coat of ice. The kids had a ball sliding down the hill and crunching around the trees.
After we found the Parker Tree, we cut it down and then, only then, did we realize how crazy we had been to get our tree that day! It was so heavy from the thick coat of ice that it took us several minutes to drag it up the hill to the car. I guess you could say that we had really earned our hot chocolate and cookies that day!
Do you have a favorite holiday tradition? I welcome you to share it.
Happy Holidays!
Parker House Designs 