Miss Celie

Christmas Tree Farming

As evidenced by my earlier post, I like my trees white, pink or black and faux. It works well for my personal style. I asked my frequent male companion if he was going to get a tree this year. He answered in the affirmative. I suggested Ikea and he said, ‘Why wouldn’t I go cut down my own?’ You see. He’s from the midwest. And there, apparently, you go and cut down your own Christmas tree. What a novel idea! I was game.

I remember two years in a row my mom and I got a free tree on Christmas Eve from the abondoned tree sales lot. I don’t know that I’ve ever paid for a tree never mind left the City limits looking for one. So, on Saturday a group of us went to the country, err *county* to cut down some trees.

Turns out there is a lot of walking when looking for the ‘perfect’ tree. Perhaps, dare I say, it’s like hiking?

You walk

And survey

And walk some more.

And evaulate and compare different trees.

Finally, you settle on one tree (when truthfully the three ‘contenders’ look the same)

And it must be cut.

Not with power tools. But, a hand saw. Unless you choose to ignore the rules…

And the tree comes down.

I did initially help with the carrying of the tree. I mean truthfully, I felt my role was to document the process. And to insert my will over color schemes. But, apparently, I didn’t do a very good job with the carrying.

Hah! Well. That’s one thing I can check off my bucket list!

36 comments

  2. oh gosh, well we made our sentimental journey to the Home Depot where we found a 2-foot tree.
    We keep telling each other, “we are empty nesters! we don’t need a tree!” and it is probably just as exciting when young adults get their first big tree.

    Always smelling the roses, yessirree……
    you look mighty cute in your country outfit 🙂

  3. Nice, a big strong man to carry home the tree 🙂 Looks like fun. We did that a couple times when I was a kid, with my dad trying to hand saw the tree down.

    Oh yeah, you’re totally a young adult because we’re the same age!

  4. i’m laughing at the cross that off my bucket list line…seriously, hiking around looking for a Christmas Tree made your bucket list!?! *LOL* Even though I live near a Christmas Tree farm, we always got the already cut trees when my girls were younger. Now I pull that sucka out of the closet, fluff it up and plug it in…yes, I have the one that’s pre-lit!

  6. We always go to a cut your own tree farm. Hubs and I will participate in the selection of a cut tree. But if any damn fool in my house wants to cut one, well, I’m sitting in the truck until it’s time to pass out dead presidents. Glad you got this one off your bucket list.

  7. For years that is how we did it, you actually got off easy – no snow and freezing temps as you make your selection! We lived in Kansas for years, was always so cold at the Christmas Tree Farm, but they always had hot chocolate & fresh hot vegetable soup ready while you waited for them to ‘bag’ it. I loved it! Now 2 of the kids are on their own, and I’m tired of cleaning pine needles so it is the outa-the-box tree for me 😆 something 20 years ago I swear I’d never do 😉

    • Oh the needles! Somehow I got sweeping duty after it was finally installed in the house. I thought taking my tree out of the 30 gallon tub was tough! No more complaints from me!

  8. There was soo much truth in your post! Especially trying to decide b/w 3 identical trees! hahahaa. I did this recently with my “gentleman caller” and it was soo memorable. Sadly Home Depot sells trees for half the price. But its the memory of your man cutting it and hauling it that means the most!

    • It was totally memorable. I’ll have jokes for years. And the tree was *expensive* when all was said and done. I helped a friend get a tree from Sam’s Club last week for a third of the price. But, seeing the seriousness he applied to getting a tree was well worth it.

  10. This was hilarious. I’ve never actually cut a tree because our family is so deathly allergic to all things coniferous, so ever since I can remember, our Christmas trees went up on December 1, and came out of the storage box. I love the pic of him carrying the darn tree! My DH would be sure to do the same if we ever went on a perfect-tree-hunting date!

  12. Hilarious! I’m glad you had nice weather for your hike. And also a nice…rear view. LOL

    Hoping you also had some warm adult beverages at the end. That makes the hike worthwhile. 🙂

  13. We had real trees when I was growing up, with a special holder that we put water in every day so that the tree wouldn’t dry out….they were pretty, but kind of a pain. Now that we’re on our own, we have a fake tree from the after Christmas clearance sale a couple years back. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t smell bad or look too bad once it’s decorated. I’m so jealous your boyfriend has a sawzall. I’ve been eyeing one for years!

  14. You can take the boy out of the Midwest, but you can NEVER take the Midwest out of the boy. 🙂 I saw that as a born-and-bred Midwesterner myself (Wisconsin girl). I don’t know if I’d ever live there again, but it’s a good place to grow up. And cut down trees. 🙂

  15. I didn’t realize he was your beau! You guys are so adorable together!!! Glad you had fun tree hunting. I must confess I’ve never done that, but it does look like a good time.

  16. Oh, I remember our (likewise Midwest) tree-hunting expeditions as a kid! The best ones always came from the tree farm! And I well remember the frustration that we had because it had to sit in a bucket of water over night before we could put it up and decorate it!

    We are actually going to do a fresh tree this year; we’re not traveling so it will work. We haven’t had a fresh tree in about 10 years…I think the Christmas season will hit me once we get it up and the fragrance spreads through the room…our expedition is planned for Friday.

  17. You mean I have to hike, cut my own tree AND bring my own saw. Yikes! Home Depot it is. Great pics though and you guys looked great.

  19. There are a lot of, um…interesting angles in your photos! LOL!

    (I think he needs to wear tighter jeans next time he goes tree-hunting. Just sayin’. Girls need eye candy too.)

  20. We hunt the wiley Christmas tree as well. They are rather sneaky, blending in, looking all the same, but when you find the right one…

    It’s actually a full day affair for us with a friends family. We meet up at his parents house, everyone wears a silly hat, we scatter to find our trees and then head in for hot cider. Early people wander around the crafts for sale waiting for the indecisive people. Then we all go back to the house and eat entirely too much food. It’s the real kick off for Christmas for us.

    And no, it’s the not cheap way to get a tree. But it’s a good experience and I know when it was cut.

  21. Love it – your frequent male companion seems kike a good one since he did hoist it up and let you just “document the process”.

  23. We used always to go to my grandfather’s farm, and cut a cedar tree that had sprouted up in the old hog lot (all that piggy manure, you know). Somewhere along the way we switched to a “Charlie Brown” pine tree. Then we grew up and moved away and now we all have plastic trees … my sister also prefers a fuzzy white faux tree. Grampa himself had a silver aluminum tree, that stayed up and decorated all year long, but which was relegated to the unheated/uncooled front parlor most of the year. You just averted your eyes as you passed it on your way through the house.

  24. Well, being from the Midwest (err…that’s really Southern Plains), and having a frequent male companion (more like a live-in) who is familiar with power tools, let me tell you they are more than just a “little” handy….they are almost addictive. And keep asserting that color thingie stuff, cause unbeknownst to them, they need it!!!!

  27. A great, fun post. But my first reaction was — where’s the snow???!!! I do like your winter. (Though up here, we’d probably go sledding along with getting the tree) And then secondly, the guy’s on a date with Miss Celie and he’s on the telephone???? “Get your priorities, guy!” Then, I figured, he’s probably talking to his kids. Or at least that’s what my guy did. Actually still does….within reason! ; )

  28. And that’s how you get a real tree – although in our case, growing up in New Brunswick there was snow, lots of snow and no Christmas Tree Farm (a farm, really ?), we went out to the woods and hiked in to find our trees. Getting lost was always a possibility as was ‘getting caught’ – apparently we didn’t always manage to stay on my uncle’s property LOL

  29. I have to admit that I kind of miss the whole cutting down our own tree thing. We last did that before we had kids. And yes, there was a lot of hiking and sawing with a hand saw and eating pine needles while doing so (but there was always hot chocolate and sometimes candy canes to be had at the end). The last time we did this my husband had just had stomach surgery, so guess who got to do the majority of the work? And I think he seriously picked THE fattest tree on the lot. We had to attach it to a car’s bumper by a chain to haul it through the netter and then when we set it up it hit the wall on both sides of our sunroom. That poor things got attacked with a chainsaw to get it out of the house after the fact. Now we go the easier, if more expensive, pre-cut route, cine its just not worth listening to small children whinge about all the walking required when doing the self-cut thing. But I do LOVE a real tree.

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