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Christmas is my favorite thing.  Ever.  I just adore the cheer of the season, the hustle and bustle, the generosity of spirit, the parties, the food, the cookies, the decor, the gifting,  and most of all– the TREE.  For as long as I can remember, trimming the tree with my family has been my favorite Christmas pastime.  Growing up, we would have live trees– roots and soil still attached– and we would plant them on our land after the holiday.  Now I live in Southern California and have an eco friendly astro-turf yard…aka It Aint Gonna Happen.  So, now we go the “cut-tree” route and I’m great with that.  We go to a standard Christmas Tree lot to pick out our tree every year! Kyle and I have always had so much fun going to get our tree– I find it so seasonally romantic to get dressed in some cozy clothes, find your favorite fir, and do the haul home together. This year is Marlowe’s first real Christmas (when she is aware enough to know what’s going on) so I had planned to bring her along to pick out our tree.  A little family activity!

But then, I thought again.  Kyle and I get so few opportunities for dates just the two of us– it’s something I really miss about our life pre-baby.  I decided last minute to turn our tree shopping in to a fun and playful daytime date and bring us back to the good old days.  We went off together, with mugs of coffee, and set out to find our perfect tree!

We decided on a six-footer almost right away, and had it wrapped up as we explored the rest of the lot.  I took a few moments to make out with some ornamental reindeer, obviously.

It was so nice to have some time during the day with my husband, without worrying where Marlowe was, keeping an eye out for her, or scanning the room for possible death traps. It almost felt like an hour-long vacation! Kyle loaded the tree on to the top of our car, and we drove home– chatting the entire way about what Lowie’s reaction would be to her first big Christmas Tree!  And let me tell you, that reaction did not disappoint.  We have a particularly expressive child in general (when it comes to excitement or disapproval, I admit) and her joy and surprise when she saw the tree is not something I will soon forget.  When we took the white plastic bag off of the tree she shrieked and immediately did a happy dance! We can’t wait to decorate our Christmas tree with her– I will definitely make sure to share some pictures and stories when we do!

Have you already gotten your Christmas Tree? Do you have any tree selecting traditions? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo

EAM