I'll admit it, I have been spoiled throughout my nearly 30 years of life. You see, my grandma and grandpa have owned a Christmas tree farm since before I was born. For as long I have have known, there has been a direct relationship with my mother's side of the family and Christmas trees. I honestly have no idea, how or why, or even for how long they have had this relationship with Christmas trees, all I can tell you is it's there. Every year in the late fall, early winter I recall driving up north to my grandparent's tree farm to harvest trees for that holiday season. Each and every year my grandparents would sell trees from their home, hundreds of them. Just as going up north to harvest the trees was an annual tradition, so was spending nearly every night at my grandparents house helping grandma and grandpa selling and flocking the trees, making wreaths, and keeping their yard stocked with trees. It's memories like this I truly cherish, especially now, as I age, with children of my own, and also since my grandfather is no longer with us. My grandma still sells trees from her yard to this day, with help from her only son and other members of our family. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the busiest time of year for my grandma, as she spends most of her time making some of the most beautiful wreaths you will ever see. She has made wreaths for many business and churches throughout the area. A tree from her tree farm was even selected one year by the Green Bay Packers to be in front of Lambeau Field. She still makes her wreaths from hand from hand trimmed branches from her tree farm up north. As far as trees, she doesn't sell nearly the volume of trees they had in the past, but continues to enjoy the social aspect of selling a Christmas tree. Selling Christmas trees isn't about making money to my grandma. Hell, for the amount of time and effort she and the family puts into the act of selling trees, it's hardly worth it. But it's not done for money, at least for our family. A Christmas tree is apart of your family and it has been this way with my family for as long as I can remember. My family has made it a point to travel around to each and everyone's home just days after seeing everyone on Christmas Eve simply to see their Christmas tree. We usually do this within a week of Christmas and have always called it "Tree Hopping." The simple Christmas tree has always meant so much more to my family then most.
My Grandma, her children, and her tree at Lambeau Field
Yes, Christmas has become very commercialized, there's no denying that. On nearly every corner you can find some commercial Christmas tree lot, looking to make a quick and easy buck. But, that's not how it should be done. See, buying a Christmas tree is like buying a pet. Each and every tree is unique, there is no other tree quite like it. You have to care for it throughout it's stay in your home. As much as some people don't like it, there is work involved with putting up a natural Christmas tree. Buying one, should take time. Everyone looks for "that perfect tree." THIS is why my grandma sells Christmas trees, the social aspect of it. She enjoys talking to the regular folks who have been buying Christmas trees from her since they started. She enjoys meeting new people each and every year come in to find their "perfect" tree. I imagine she enjoys seeing their faces light up when they inevitably find that "perfect" tree. This is what buying a real tree is all about.
The tree farm during summer.
It bothers me when I hear people say they have made the change from real trees to artificial trees. Truth is, more and more people are making the change to artificial trees. From 2001 to 2007, artificial tree sales went from 7.3 million to 17.4 million, just over a 238% increase. The reasons are usually the same; real trees are too messy, real trees are too expensive, real trees are too much of a hassle, or artificial trees are just easier. Sadly, I think this is just another case of an easy decision to take "the easy way out." All to often I see people opting for the easy, short cut option; such as premade food options, magic diet pills, get rick quick schemes, even professional athletes take steroids as a get fit quick option. It's sad because, you miss out on so much during the process of getting what you want. Most of the times, the process is when you learn valuable lessons, and more times then not, its the more memorable aspect of the end result. It's been said that, "How you reach the mountain top is more important then reaching the top." The same can be applied to life, and opting for the easy way out to avoid the quote unquote "hard work." You see, when you purchase an artificial tree, you're missing out on so much more then you are gaining. Buying a real Christmas tree is a family event, it's something you should bring the entire family out to do. Everybody has their own visions as to what kind of tree they are looking for. It's an adventure looking for a tree to bring into your home, to be apart of your family. You're missing out on the smells a single pine tree can bring into your entire home. I also believe there is a Zen like attribute to having a fresh tree inside your home. It almost makes you instantly in a better mood. The unique shape of a real tree gives the tree character, it seems to give it a personality. I have never owned a tree that reminded me of a previous tree. Each tree is truly unique. You just can not say that about artificial trees.
If you're even more ambitious then most, I would HIGHLY recommend taking a trip to your locally own tree farm to cut down your own tree. This is something my family has done for years and a tradition Sarah and I have continued to share with our daughters. Each year, usually on the weekend following Thanksgiving Thursday, we make the trip up to my grandma's tree farm and spend the day as a family walking through the rows and rows of fresh pine trees to find literally, our perfect tree. What is even more special about it now that we are older, is that many of the trees we are cutting down now are the same trees my cousins and I planted as kids years ago! I find spending the day together as a family walking through nature is a relaxing and peaceful way to kick off the holiday season. I'll admit that I am not your typical Wisconsin outdoorsman who hunts, fishes, and camps. My idea of getting outdoors is usually a quiet bike ride on a county road or a quiet trail run at a local state park. So, any time I get the opportunity to just get out into the woods with my kids, it's a pleasant change of pace. It's as though time slows down, just for a moment. Plus, on top of simply getting back to nature, I get to share my same passion and love for Christmas trees as my parents and grandparents did with me as a child. It's for these reasons alone, I will never own an artificial tree and I urge you to opt for a real tree, opposed to an artificial one.
It's simple really, buying a fresh cut, locally grown, real Christmas tree is not only a great family friendly activity, it supports your environment and your local economy. On average, for every Christmas tree purchased, that farmer will plant 1-3 additional trees to replace that one tree. Christmas trees are truly all American, where majority (if not all) artificial trees are produced over seas. Most often, Christmas trees are grown on soils which are unable to support other crops, better supporting the environment.
If you are interested in starting a new tradition and putting up a real Christmas tree in your home this holiday season, here are some websites to help you locate local Christmas tree farms and farms that will allow you to cut your own Christmas tree. www.pickyourownchristmastree.org www.christmas-tree.org www.realchristmastrees.org
Below are some tips learned from my grandparents on having a successful real tree last.
Pre-measure your floor to ceiling height, then find a tree that is slightly taller than that height. Cut your tree as close to the ground as possible.
When you bring your tree home cut at least a 1/2-1" section off the bottom of the tree (if not more) before putting it in the stand. This will allow the tree to better absorb water and thus live longer.
Allow the tree to "fall" before fully decorating it. By giving your tree 12 or more hours will allow the branches to fall and the tree to open up.
Water your tree every day to ensure proper hydration and prevent it from drying out. This will ultimately keep the needles in tact and lessen the mess around the house.
Place a small tarp or garbage bag underneath your tree stand to make clean up easier at the end of the season.
Do not place your tree in front of or near your heat registers...see below.
By setting our tree up directly next to our heat registers, the warm, dry air completely dried out our tree.
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