For the seventh Date of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a search for a perfect Christmas tree…
Finding (and decorating) the perfect Christmas tree has been a cherished part of my Christmas experience since I was a kid. It’s something I look forward to every year. Last year, I wrote about our search for the perfect Christmas tree – the strict pomp and circumstance that surrounds the selection and set-up of the tree in my family.
We aren’t allowed to have a real tree in our condo, so this year we added some real boughs to the shopping list for our tree-day festivities. I wanted to bring some of that lovely real-tree scent into our condo, and put some of the lessons on tablescapes and wreath making I learned during Twas the Month Before Christmas at The Algonquin to good use.
Tree-hunting was our seventh date of Christmas. This year we packed the whole family into the car and stopped into just two lots before we found our perfect tree – only someone else had also found our perfect tree before we could get to it.
It felt like a stake-out…peering through the other trees lined up in the lot to see if our tree would indeed be selected. The family measured it, and turned it, and twisted it some more, hmm-ing and haw-ing. And finally deciding it wasn’t for them and moving on to another tree.
We snapped it up in a second, and rushed it home so fast we… forgot to measure the height. An hour (and a few curse words) later, the tree had been trimmed and clipped and tweaked until it could JUST squeeze into the family room. There will be no tree topper this year, but none of us care. The tree is a beauty.
We usually find our tree on a lot in Halifax, though I have always wanted to try choose-and-cut, and while putting together the “Real Trees and Trimmings” section of The Local Wishlist this year, I discovered that there are some lots across the province that offer sleigh rides, fresh baked cookies, or hot chocolate on-site.
A little Christmas tree day-trip would make for a lovely date idea this weekend if you’ve yet to get your tree. You can see a map of Christmas tree lots in Nova Scotia and a few photos and descriptions over on the Local Wishlist in the Real Trees and Trimmings section.
While you’re there, pick up some boughs and extend the date with a little DIY decorating. We had fun pairing our boughs with things found around the house to make a centerpiece, and finding new use for old ribbons and ornaments while creating our own oversized wreath with the leftover boughs.
There’s a reason I’m not a DIY blogger…
But we still had fun putting our decorations together…
We’ve worked with The Christmas Tree Council the past two years as one of our sponsors for The Local Wishlist and, while real trees have always been a key piece in our Christmas traditions, I’ve learned just how important the Christmas tree industry is here in Nova Scotia. If you have a minute, check out these 10 reasons to feel really good about your Nova Scotia Christmas Tree.
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