Christmas Tree Cutting Tradition

We have a tradition in our house of cutting down our own Christmas tree.  We have done this every year since our first was born.  The first few years were simply as close to the road as we could get cause the baby was sleeping.  Now it's how deep into the woods can we go, and still pull our tree up the hill.  We searched for about an hour which is not unheard of for us as we look for the perfect full tree, which is hard in the forest and not in a tree lot, and balance the needs of the kids who will inevitably complain about all the hiking. 

                                                                      

 

This also was the first year that our youngest (8), got (or wanted to be) involved in the cutting process.  She put all her effort into cutting, and ended up doing most of the work! :)  Our tree was heavy this year, so lugging it up that hill became a huge issue, but again our youngest rose to the challenge, and gave us a big helping hand!

 

We go to the same place in Woodland Park, CO every year since the kids were born.  They start the Christmas tree cutting the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The area we go to is in the Pike and San Isabel National Forest, and it is worth the hour and a half drive for this special family experience.

 



 

 

 

Here is our tree all decorated!  Yes I know you can see straight through it, however for us this is the charm of the tree, plus we get one of the best family experiences of the year.  Our kids look forward to this event, and we all have a great time.

 

We will also keep this tree, and cut it up in the spring.  Use the branches for mulch, and use the tree trunk for decorations near the fireplace, or I have also used them in my garden.  The trunks make perfect stakes to hold up my beautiful clematis vine.  We get to keep and be remined all the time of our great family experience.

 

 

Happy Tree Cutting

-K-