O Tannenbaum…

We went to Tannenbaum Farms in Mason, MI, to find our perfect Christmas tree. This is the first time we have gotten a live Christmas tree since our first Christmas as a married couple (2006) and the great debacle called, “Arden knocked the Christmas tree over and ruined our carpet and our nicely wrapped presents."” There was still a lot of snow on the ground, so we bundled Ashleigh up in her snowsuit and off we went to the tree farm.

Now, I’m no amateur when it comes to hunting for the perfect tree, but I’m used to southern tree farms. With no snow. And different types of trees. When we arrived, we had to walk very carefully across the pavement (lots of black ice), and we were given a saw and a long, red cart/sled which we would use to haul our tree back to the car. I didn’t realize how much work it would be pulling that sled behind us. Up and down the hills of snow. Trying to turn sharp corners. Making sure I didn’t whack the sled into Matt and Ashleigh. Whew.

We walked all the way across the fields until we got to the Frasier firs. They were pretty but they were not full and didn’t have a pretty “christmas tree” shape to them. Off in another field, we saw some other types of trees that looked like Frasiers but with a lighter, bluish color. These trees were beautiful and we immediately found the one we wanted. Matt chopped it down and we loaded it onto the sled. We tied it up on top of our car and away we went. When we got to the house and worked on getting the tree into the stand, we realized something… it was SHARP!! We had our gloves on the whole time we were at the tree farm, so it never crossed our minds to touch the needles to test their sharpness. Ouch. After getting a bit upset about how difficult it would be to decorate and set up, we realized that this might work to our advantage. We didn’t want Hobbes or Ashleigh messing with the tree, so what better way to keep them away? Sharp needles! And sure enough, neither of them has really messed with the tree at all! What good fortune! We did have to wear gloves to decorate it, but that’s okay!