This Year's Tree

Despite our best intentions, somehow we made it all the way to mid-December without a Christmas tree this year. Since Anders is mobile now, we actually briefly considered whether we should even get a tree. But in the end we decided that it just wouldn't feel like the holidays without one. So two weeks before Christmas, I ventured out into our stands to find a suitable tree.

We decided to go with an even smaller tree this year compared to last year. Originally I had wanted to "go big" again this year, but in the end a smaller tree just made sense. A smaller tree wouldn't need guide wires and would hopefully be less dangerous to a toddler. And we would be in NJ for part of the holiday season anyway. Oh, and remember that commercial Christmas tree stand that we ordered last year? Well, one of the legs was missing when it arrived. Finding a replacement leg has been on our "to do" list since last year.

A thirty minute walk through some of our grand fir stands resulted in several reasonably sized and nicely shaped options. Time to bring out the rest of the family. Anders may not be a net positive in terms of productivity yet - (question for all you parents out there: at what age does that actually happen? Does it actually happen?) - but he is old enough to participate.

Once we had made the final selection, I cut it down and all three of us carried the tree to the house.

We decided that we would leave the tree under the eaves of the house for a bit before bringing it inside and setting it up, to let some of the snow and water on the branches dry out. Of course, the following day we received a foot of snow which covered the tree up again. It wasn't until the following weekend that the tree finally made its way into the house.

Believe it or not, we managed to bring the tree into the house, set it up in the stand, string it with lights, and hang all of the ornaments all during a single Anders nap! (Thankfully, he slept for over 2 hours.) The tree is only about 10' tall, but looks lovely.

- Mike, Corinne, and Anders Rocket

Date: December 22, 2009