Real or fake? Wild or planted? Or maybe none at all. Most households that celebrate Christmas have their own traditions surrounding the holiday, especially when it comes to picking out a tree. Amongst the endless Christmas decorations that go into making our home feel festive, the tree is typically the focal point. Some enjoy bight multi-coloured lights, homemade ornaments and a big star on the top; others prefer the more simplistic white lights with a peaceful angel at the highest point. Regardless of the decorations, it all starts with the tree!
Let’s begin with a quick look at fake trees. There are the plain artificial trees that still give you the ability to decorate, or you can buy the ones with lights already attached. It tends to be much more common for people who work a lot, whether home or away, and for folks without kids or whose kids have grown up, that invest in the already lit ones. This typically saves time on set up and tear down, along with little to no maintenance once the tree is up. Then we move on to the fake, but not pre lit trees. I have found that those who have this type of tree either put it up extremely early, therefore a real one wouldn’t survive the duration, have an allergy to pine, or they have a home that is very difficult to get a real tree into. This gives you the excitement and luxury of still decorating your own tree, just without the hassle of a live one. There is no stigma around fake trees at all, it’s all about finding out what suits you and your family’s personality best!
Now onto live trees. These day’s it is much more uncommon to trek up the mountain and hunt down your own wild Christmas tree; but that’s not saying it isn’t still being done! Driving to the outskirts of town, parking at the base of a mountain and trudging through the snow with your frozen toes. Rope in one hand and a saw in the other, nothing puts you in the holiday spirit faster! On the other side of that, the burden of actually sawing the tree, tying it and hauling it back to the vehicle can be grueling. The work isn’t done there either, you then proceed to get it into or on top of your vehicle, by then you are covered head to toe in sap before you finally make sure it is secure for the drive home. It is definitely a bittersweet process but never a dull moment!
If the wild tree hunt doesn’t tickle your fancy, lastly, we have the classic Christmas Tree lot. This is where individual taste can really shine through; some like the ones with character, others require it to show no bald spots, and some go for the height. That’s the beauty of a tree lot, there is something for everyone, but that also can make it difficult for all those in the household to agree. In the end, there is some sort of compromise worked out, usually followed by a cup of hot chocolate and some laughs on the way home. With that being said, potentially in some locations, you will find the U-Cut tree lots. This gives you the fun of cutting down your own tree while saving you the day long trip up the mountain to find your own, it is basically right in the middle of the first two options, but can be a tad more difficult to find in the city.
Regardless of the type of tree people you and your family are, it may differ every year and traditions evolve, but the purpose is to bring everyone together. There is no such thing as a perfect tree, and we learnt that first hand from Charlie Brown when he showed us that it’s all about the inner beauty we see and the symbol it represents.
Photo – A Charlie Brown Christmas