The Christmas Tree Farm
Today was the day we went to the Christmas tree farm and got our tree. We started a tradition in our family of going to this one Christmas tree farm and we’ve been doing it for the last three or four years, I think, since our triplet’s first Christmas. Now it’s coming back to bite us in the butt. It’s become a super important part of the holiday experience for the kids. They look forward to it every year, start talking about it a couple of months in advance. And it ain’t cheap.
Like everything else in California, it’s over the top. It has rides, a petting zoo, ponies, roving musicians, a gift shop, Santa Claus, and food. Oh yeah, and Christmas trees. We easily spend three to four hours there every year. Between the rides, food, and trees it’s very easy to drop a couple of Benjamins without batting an eye. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very fun day but come on, when is enough enough?
I suggested blasphemy to my wife this year; a fake tree.
“What! Are you kidding? We can’t do that to the kids! And it’s just not the same!” were her replies.
I said, “Sure! They look very real these days. And we can hang a couple of those car pine air fresheners in the back. No one will know!”
She gave me one of those, “You’re an idiot,” sideways glances and the subject was dropped. So, now we have a beautiful, seven and a half foot, blue spruce in the living room. It’s all dressed up in our collection of ornaments. The cheaper, not so nice ornaments are on the bottom half and the collectable, nice, heirloom ones, are on the top half, out of reach of the children. There are also some Playdough and Popsicle stick ones that were made in preschool. I tried hiding them a little to the back but the kids noticed right away and insisted on a place of prominence in the front.
I have to keep telling myself, “It’s not about me, it’s about the kids.”
