Celebrating a Christmas tradition

family, originally uploaded by Anne A.

There is something magical about a field of Christmas trees. Maybe its the maze like pattern they form in the field. Maybe its the brisk wind blowing on your face. Maybe it's the smell of the country side compared to the city. Maybe it’s part of the year round experience of seeing nature’s bounty, walking through the field to harvest, and then taking home your finds from the field that make it magical. Or maybe it has that feeling because it's part of Christmas and Christmas *is* magical in every sense of it.

Being part of the nature seems to always bring our family closer together. We visit for berries in the spring, we chase lighting bugs while we camp in the summer, and go pumpkin patching in the fall. Now with winter it is time for a tree. It’s one of my favorite family traditions. For the kids it is the real start of the holiday season. For me its about a tradition that involves family being together, working together and making memories together.

Each year my parents come down to share this day with us. Now with 3 kids we still manage to cram into our Volvo so we can all ride together. We travel out to Nelson’s Tree farm near Lizton IN because Santa makes regular appearances here. And this Santa, well he’s the real thing, not one of those less than par Mall helper Santa’s. He beard is white, his nose is red and his HOHOHO is jolly and genuine. I’d like to say we sing carols the whole way there but let’s face we aren’t a Charlie Brown show. However, Grandma has been known to read Christmas books on the trip there.

At the farm, we bundle up and make our trek to the back of the field to find the most perfect, most beautiful, most “our” tree in the bunch. The kids each have their own criteria. Ella has to have one she can lay under and look up at all the ornaments. Graham has to have one where the needles make an interesting pattern. Even better for him, is one with pine cones or leftover bird nests. You’d think they would want one that would house lots and lots of PRESENTS, but that hasn’t come up just yet. Once we’ve settled on the tree, which is no quick process, we cut it down. Graham has taken over this role and even brought his own saw this year. Grandpa usually sneaks in to give a bit of a helping hand and then timber it falls to ground.

Always being chilled to the bone at this point we head to Santa’s house to pay him a visit. The kids have their hand written lists and hop right up to present him with their wishes. And with a HOHOHO, Merry Christmas, we head to our car.

On the way home a stop for Peppermint Mochas and Hot Chocolate is a must. What’s a tradition without some sort of treat or food?

Once we hit the driveway of our home, the kids charge out ready to decorate. I use to take pride in wrapping twinkling lights on each and every branch of the tree. Now, I stuff the lights in toward the trunk barely even untangling them. I might as well leave them on the plastic contraption they come in and just plug them in. At least this way they might work every year. I try to stay one step ahead of the kids with their ornament hangers but usually fail as they push me off to the chair so they can reach a bit higher. This year I think I even broke a sweat running from box to box, around the tree, to the dust pan to clean up broken ornaments, to the candy canes to unwrap just one more. Then in a blink of an eye we are done. The tree is filled with their favorite ornaments. It looks just perfect to them. They don't notice the ornaments are that are upside down and backwards. Not an eyelash is bat over the uneven garland or the branches that are weighted low with a dozen or so ornaments globbed together.

The tree is ours. And the magic of another year from field to home is ours. The true meaning of Christmas surrounds us--with a family full of love.

Dr. Seuss
And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?

And with one small day at the tree farm my Christmas spirit is full. How lucky am I?
It just has to be part of the Christmas magic.