The Great Christmas Tree Hunt of 2011

Christmas tree gathering was always a family tradition when I was younger. We would pack up the truck and go off and up into the mountain to cut down our Christmas tree. Mom would make turkey sandwiches from the Thanksgiving leftovers and we would have hot chocolate from a thermos with marshmellows. Yes my mom is pretty kick ass, I’m pretty sure that she would mail me some hot chocolate and a turkey sandwich if I asked her to. She is just THAT cool. There was even snow up there (this was exciting when you are a young kid living on the California coast where snow is not a natural occurrence). This tradition was something that our family did almost every winter, until the winter that we almost died and the Christmas tree cutting down adventure ceased to exist. I don’t remember all of the details, except that the roads were icy and I’m pretty sure that we were half on and half off the cliff…We all survived, but the tradition of getting a tree didn’t. Which is fine with me. I actually don’t LOVE being outside in the snow, which is ironic now that I live in MN and snow is usually a regular occurrence from about November until March (or April).

Anyways. Now that I am grown up (kind of sort of) Dru and I have our own Christmas traditions to start as a family. Now that we have our own house and are considered grown ups, we thought that we needed a Christmas tree. The very first Christmas in Minnesota, Dru went out and got the tree from the local supermarket parking lot. It was great! We decorated with what little Christmas decorations that we had (which wasn’t a lot) and celebrated in our cozy little home with Molly the kitty. The Christmas tree came down promptly after Christmas because I couldn’t stand it anymore and the holidays were fantastic.

Last year was a little bit different. We now had two kitties and much more decorations thanks to a very kind friend who gave me some of hers (she has a TON). Dru picked up the tree and it was beautiful. It was also pretty large. We got more lights than one person needs, and hung all of the ornaments with care. My mom was nice enough to mail me a lot of my ornaments (as well as some of my brothers J, Erik if you want them back you have to come and get them), and Christmas decorations. I felt festive and our house was decked out. As you know, I work from home. Which during the winter means it isn’t uncommon for me to not leave the house for a few days, especially when it is snowing or cold. I’m not a winter driving type of person. Well the tree had been up for 48 hours and I needed to leave the house for 20 mins (I had to tan, I can’t STAND being white). Anyways, I went to the tanning bed and came back 20 mins later to find this http://erinanddru.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-biggest-fear-came-true.html

This year I knew that we HAD to secure the tree to the ceiling from the beginning. This was a MUST. I also begged and pleaded for a fake tree. I didn’t win but we did go out to get the tree as a family + 1. Dru’s little sister Karissa was here and it was the perfect outing to do on Black Friday after some shopping. We all got in the truck to head out to the Christmas tree farm. I didn’t even know that such things existed, but they do. And it was only 2 miles from our house. How hard was this going to be? Surely I can pick out a tree. Little did I know that there would be rows and rows of trees to choose from. And not one of us could agree on the “perfect” tree. We walked up and down the lot looking for the tree. After choosing many many trees (none that had a tag on them and weren't actually for sale) an hour had passed. I'm pretty sure that Dru and Karissa wanted to kill me. 

We let Karissa hold the saw. It made her feel better. I'm pretty surprised she didn't use it on me :-)

After an hour we had finally agreed on a tree. Notice that there was NO snow on the ground, it was a great day and we got to cut it down. 

Notice how helpful Dru is being...Not! 

Okay, he actually was the one who succeeded in cutting it down, but it was fun to try!

It is now December 16th and I'm happy to say that the tree is still standing. Even though Stan and Molly have tried their hardest to take it down, it is secured to the ceiling. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!