This afternoon my husband, two grandchildren and their babysitter drove into central Connecticut to cut down our Christmas tree. The little house above holds a wood stove, hot chocolate and friendly people to warm up with after trekking around outside in frigid weather looking for the perfect tree.
Now clearly with five people exploring acres of trees the task of settling on just one takes a while. Any pick had to be unanimously approved(whose idea was that? oh yeah-mine). Many were too tall or too wide to fit in the corner of our living rooms. Others were lopsided(according to a veto vote) or scraggly(in the eye of another veto vote) or crooked(my veto). The babysitter added the helpful tip that presents needed to fit under the tree, eliminating ones with boughs to the ground. Finally the cold won out and we all agreed that one tree was just fine. I headed for the warming hut while the others took turns with the saw(helpfully provided by the farm.) The place had a device to squish the tree into netting so it could go in or on the car. This year’s went on the car since the back of the van had passengers.
Many people we know have fake trees. They don’t call them fake of course since that is derogatory. But we lived in Oregon for many years and they were called fake, looked down on, and generally scorned and mocked. After all, we were The Evergreen State and needed to stay faithful. Fortunately our town picks up discarded real trees curbside after Epiphany Sunday and chips them into yard bark, available for residents to pick up for landscaping. So a farmer makes some money in the winter, we have the smell of a real tree, and the tree gets usefully recycled.
We will be back at “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree Farm”(its real name) next December to repeat the search.
Saved By Words 
We don’t have real Christmas trees in Jamaica, so I’m accustomed to the synthetic kind. I’ve also never had my own tree, period. I always help Mom set her trees and lights up and then leave my own place bare!
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Ok. Yours can rightfully claim the adjective synthetic and I will not shame you!
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Hahahaha, thank you!
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Wow, a real tree, we don’t have that here. I didn’t put up a Christmas tree because Oreo freely roams the house and he bites and play with everything he can reach. We have garlands and Nativity set instead.
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My grandkids little dogs do the same. So they decorate our tree instead. I wouldn’t expect you to have a real tree.
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Love picking out a tree, its the best feeling.
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Hi guys! Any new food tries?
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We got a few brewing but we’ve just been so busy with the holidays to post them the holidays always sneak up on you.
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No kidding. Thank goodness there was one extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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Yes true, but still the time just flies by.
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That’s great Elizabeth. In my childhood we pick a tree in the compound and decorate it with stars made of bamboo and colour paper. We made the stars ourselves and the biggest one will have a candle in the centre and that’s the only one lit at night as we could not extend electricity onto the tree. But it was fun.
Obviously crib became the main thing in Christmas
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I love learning about different ways to celebrate His birth.
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Yes, good to know the different cultures and practices
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Christ really does belong to all people.
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What great tradition! I currently live in an apartment building where real trees are not allowed and my partner is a holiday grinch, anyway, so I always look forward to decorating real trees🎄🎄 in my family’s homes!
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How can a building forbid trees? Yikes. Do they also ban flowers, or just trees?
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Only trees, thank goodness! I’d like a big, bushy poinsettia.
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That’s a relief. Go for the poinsettia.
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My goodness, I would hate to get my family agreeing on a tree. We used to have a real tree when I was young but it was in a pot with its roots intact. After Christmas my father would plant it.
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Oh no. They will want to do that next year if they hear about that. We don’t need more trees in our yard.
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I understand Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska. Which kind of tree grows in Connecticut? I like the white pine best.
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I am not sure of the type. I think it is Noble Fir.
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