The "real" Christmas tree debate
It’s 5:30 A.M. and I’m sitting here quietly surveying my
household. A cup of java is steaming in my hand and I can see the fog is heavy
outside this morning. Christmas paraphernalia is spread out all over my table
and the lights of our tree are visible in the living room after being darkened
for the night. I feel cheery and warm this drizzly morning.
We are “real” tree people. I grew up in a household that
always had a fresh pine tree to decorate. The smell would permeate the house as
the fiasco with the bottom branches was evened out, and the tree was finally
nestled into its home in the metal base. Décor from homemade crafts, school
projects, and vintage balls were hung with care on intertwining branches and a
star found its home at the top of the tree. I carried that tradition into my
marriage and every year of our twenty-three married Christmases together have
seen a real pine tree ensconced in our living room. In the end, it may not be
the cheapest way to go. Artificial trees are by and far worth their money over
and over. Spend $100 on a nice one and it will last you many, many years. But
for me, sacrificing the ambiance of a real tree and the adventure we always
have picking one out is not worth it to me. I will gladly spend that $30-$40 every year.
In the early days I used to buy a tree in whatever grocery
store was selling them. I remember buying them from the small mom & pop
store in Walnut Creek when we lived there. Scraggly scotch pines filled our
living room and I felt we had it all with those first trees filled with hand me
down ornaments and vintage ones I had collected and bought from thrift stores.
That was back when you could still buy a beautiful vintage Christmas ball from
Save & Serve for ten whole cents. Prices have gone up a bit, but I still
hold on to the collection I amassed all those years ago. Our babies, in
succession, have laid in front of our trees – their eyes full of wonder at the
lights and spectacle of Christmas that overtakes the house. Somewhere along the
line, probably when the kids got older, we headed down to New Phila to a small
Christmas tree lot that looked like it was straight out of a movie. Row after
row of trees stood under strewn lights, Christmas music playing, and we walked
each row until we found the perfect one. The kids would dodge in and out of the
tree rows and shout to each other about this tree and that one. Finally, we
would hoist it on top of our vehicle, strap it down, and head home to put it
up.
I’m not sure what made me want to do something different
this year. We have never been to a tree farm to pick one out, but I posed the
question to my Facebook friends where the best place to get one was and
overwhelmingly one place was mentioned:
Fencerow Farms just south of New Bedford. Now, I’ve lived here my entire
life and I’ve never heard of Fencerow Farms. After being told and hearing people
rave about how quaint and awesome it was we decided to meander down that way on
a rainy Sunday. We headed out and turned right on SR 557 and immediately I
realized that all those chipped signs saying “Christmas Trees” were the path
that was leading us. As we drove farther, turned south in Charm and headed back
that curvy road, the Christmas songs were blaring on the radio and I could feel
the mood in the car change. Every care or trouble we had seemed to drift away
as we got closer and closer. Finally, a sign came into view – nothing fancy, no
lights or anything – pointing the way down, down a hilly narrow drive. We saw a
farm with an outbuilding warm with lights and smoke curling up and away from
the chimney. We parked and got out and row after row of perfect Christmas trees
spiraled away into a field as we stared in wonder. It was too late to actually
cut one of our own so we chose one already cut. We even went home with a $6 Charlie
Brown tree for my daughter’s boyfriend who doesn’t usually have a real tree –
she said it was time to change that. The small little shop held antiques and
trees with ornaments to buy. A big wood stove put off heat and we sat by its
warmth and sipped cocoa as the kids ran through the shop like they were small
again. There was magic in the air that night, and as we drove away they said
that this was the coolest place they’d ever been to get a tree.
Our beautiful tree is now glowing softly in the place of
honor in our living room. Its verdant
green branches are hung with orbs of white and balls of sparkly color. The smell
of pine and sap fills the house and it finally feels like Christmas with our “real”
tree in place. Maybe someday, when I’m old and gray, I’ll give in and buy an
artificial tree. Chances are, though, that I’ll be dragging my grandkids out to
help me pick out a real one – because without the smell of pine, softly
dropping needles, and watering the tree every other day – it wouldn’t really
seem like Christmas. It’s the best money you’ll ever spend.
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