I love good traditions. Not tradition for tradition’s sake {I kind of hate that}, but traditions that imbue meaning and memories to the special seasons of our lives. The truth is, the holidays can be tough for a lot of us as we recall some not-so-happy times gathered around the old family Christmas tree. But I believe that for those of us for whom that is true, we get to redeem the meaningful seasons on our calendars and in our lives and by making them special now.
So this year, we’ve started a new tradition, and I thought I’d share with you a few shots from our family adventure of cutting down our very own tree for ourselves for the very first time.
The day was in fact kind of magical to start in that we had the first frost the night before, so the morning had a misty-grey filter that had washed over everything: sky, earth, trees. I managed to get a few shots {above} of the incredible details of the frost. Truly winter wonderland kind of stuff.
Gratefully, the day warmed and the frost melted by the time we headed to Will’s Christmas Tree Farm.
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| Buckle & Bridle Cardigan via Anthropologie |
We were looking for a tree that was not too big {so as to not swallow our living room whole}.
And not too small {though it was sweet to see the beginnings of Christmas Trees Future growing up out of the mossy earth}.
After perusing the rows with a critical eye, we spotted the Douglas Fir that would display our ornaments and shelter our gifts this year. With the saw provided by the farm, my guys set about cutting it down {to the delight of our 9 year old who felt like the embodiment of a lumberjack in that moment}.
It came down with surprising ease {says the girl behind the camera} and my strong and noble husband then decided to forgo waiting for the wagon in favour of carrying it back himself.
The last step in the process was the coolest. This giant, whirly Christmas-tree-bundler-upper packaged up the trees in the blink of an eye. So much easier to get them home like that, and so fun to watch!
And with that, we had successfully started a new tradition! What are you favourite and most meaningful Christmas traditions? I’d love to learn from you as we craft our own unique rhythm for this season.
Tomorrow watch for some special photos with inspiration on trimming the tree {and yourselves} for the season.
Happy Thursday!
xo
s.
We've never cut down our own tree, but we used to always carry it back from the local nursery singing carols as we walked (until the nursery stopped selling trees and now we have to drive to get one). The other thing we do that our kiddos love – especially now that they are young adults – is we have hors d'oeuvres for dinner and nibble on them while we decorate the tree. I started this when our boys got to be teenagers and weren't really that interested in decorating the tree, but it was amazing how bringing out the yummy munchies helped motivate them and now it is one of their favourite parts of Christmas. We are doing it this Sunday in fact.
That sounds like a lovely tradition, Grace! When in doubt, woo them with food! Brilliant.