I love Christmas: the lights, the presents, the church services, being around family and friends and, of course, the tree. As a child, going with my family to the tree farm was a magical experience. The car ride, with the evergreens popping up well before we arrived, the smell of the pines, the dirt road that led you to the trees, I remember it all so clearly in my mind. Which is why the trip to the get the tree nowadays is so depressing.
Tree farms are a very memorable way of getting your Christmas tree, and should not be replaced by home-improvement stores and tents.
In lieu of going to a tree farm, my family, like many others, have begun to get our tree at home improvement stores, such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. Some people buy their trees at tented areas and tree lots, but grabbing your tree at stores like Home Depot is gaining popularity. Personally, I believe this is not the way to go. If receiving the tree that you will gather around with loved ones on Christmas morning is picked up quickly, without real thought or effort going into your choice, it makes the tree less meaningful and you will miss out on quality family time. In my case, although my family and I prefer chopping our tree down ourselves from a farm, we do not have a place to go to anymore due to the wildfire that took out most of Bastrop in 2011.
Another big reason I prefer farms to getting a Christmas tree at a store is that it’s a quick trip, and you don’t have the fun you would have at a farm. For one, it does not have the same smell. Tree farms smell like a pine forest and the pine needles scattered around the dirt trails give you the feeling that Christmas is right around the corner. Stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s have a distinct stank that penetrates your clothing long after you have left the store, so, smell wise, farms are the way to go.
Going to the tree farm is also an opportunity to check something else off of your to-do list besides the tree: Christmas cards. The pines give the perfect backdrop for the season, and you will have a picture to remember the trip by for years to come. You will create lots of memories squabbling about which tree has the best branches and spend hours trying to find the perfect one, so why not knock two things off your list?
Christmas is a time to be with and make memories with family. Getting your Christmas tree at a farm is a prettier, more valuable and more memorable way than going to the tent down the street. It’s not just about getting the tree, it’s the memories that come with it.