oh christmas tree

Last week I had blogged about the notion of holiday traditions and essentially that I would like to take this tradition thing seriously going forward. In the past I've tended to mostly commit to a consistent thing whether it be casual, a monthly occurrence or an annual event. I'm not sure why on occasions such things are a no question about/we are definitely doing this now and then why another equally as worthy practice is passed upon so nonchalantly. Who knows.. I don't. And I guess there's no point in pondering why. What it is worth pondering is figuring out which traditions I may do say this or next year that will continue to make sense to commit to down the line once the kid and God willing the other kid/s are bouncing and consuming all of my time and space. I suppose there is no way to guarantee it and perhaps should be a little bit trial and error and a lot of intentional effort.

It dawned on me just the other day that since celebrating my first Christmas with the hubby as man and wife, we have bought a fresh deliciously divine smelling real Christmas pine tree every year. Yes! 1 for me on the mental traditions board. I've always loved the idea of a real tree. Perhaps even more than the actual tree itself. Something about the timing, the mood and the overall feel of being with other fellow holiday celebrating patrons all bundled up navigating a sea of trees all sorts and sizes. And then heading into the nearby mom+pop store for some hot cocoa... isn't it such the early scene of a Hallmark holiday movie? :) guilty pleasure yes! (Hmm that could be potential for another future tradition .. though it might just be me myself and I ..hmm). So yeah, last week after our tummies regulated post turkey and like we did the year before, we visited our local tree farm Thanksgiving weekend to get an early start on all things Christmas decorating. Out with the old ... bye bye Woody you cute straw light up outdoor pumpkin you, in with the new... hellllllo Francis our just today fully lighted and ornamented balsam fir. We welcome you. Except you'll notice little man is straight up all over you unlike last year.. sorry for the endless tugging and yanking. Despite my unintentional ombre of ornaments from heavy glass/breakable on top to plastic and kid-friendly at the bottom 2 layers, all lit up, you look like a falcon of hope in this otherwise messy but cozy house :) Looks like we got our first Christmas tradition realized!

Will you be putting up a tree this year? Do you go real or fake?