Firsts: We Cut Down our Christmas Tree
We’ve always gotten our Christmas tree in Chicago.
Last year we got it at 90 Mile restaurant in Logan Square – which was located conveniently around the corner from our house. Stephen and Ronny walked home with it.
Many years we hit up a tree lot, but quite honestly, several times we got our tree from either Home Depot or Costco (it’s hard to beat the price).
This year, since we had moved to the Milwaukee-area from Logan Square, we thought we would try something new.
With many firsts abounding, a first time getting our Christmas tree from a farm seemed appropriate. We got some suggestions from friends and family – Noffke Tree Farms, Sandhill Farm and Stumpf’s Trees. We looked at the websites and decided to try Stumpf’s in Cedarburg.
The cost of a tree at Stumpf’s is $55 for whichever you pick – small, medium, or large. You pick and the price is the same.
“This is going to be awesome,” Stella said as she dashed toward the farm full of Christmas trees.
Stephen dialed into this giant tree and claimed it to be the one.
So, he cut it down.
I love the girls’ reactions.
Ronny: “Watch out, dad. Watch out. Watch out.”
Stella: “Timber.”
Classic.
It’s a big tree – a gorgeous Austrian pine.
The tree needed to go from where I am in the image pictured below to the large building you see in the background of the photograph.
I tried to pull it … but conceded.
Stephen took over and worked up a sweat getting it to the front of the farm. Here you can see him, in the shadows, pulling it.
We didn’t stop with one.
Caught up in the unseasonably warm weather and the giddiness of the moment, we decided that we needed not one, but two trees. This upcoming spring/summer, we’re doing a renovation on our house, so this is the year to double up on trees – the giant tree would be for lights only and the smaller tree would be for lights and ornaments.
The girls and I sawed this one down.
Then together they dragged it back.
Well, they started off together, but then the fighting commenced. We had a quick huddle and decided they would take turns pulling.
First tree: The Austrian pine takes up a good portion of our front living room, which is not a small space. (24’6″ x 14’6″).
The second tree isn’t decorated yet, but will look a lot like our tree from last year.
It was a fun first experience finding and cutting down our Christmas trees. We’ll be back next year (probably just for one).
Ciao.
Rudey
P.S. I just have to share a gorgeous sunset from our backyard. Nbd.
2 Responses to “Firsts: We Cut Down our Christmas Tree”
Love the tradition of cutting down your own tree. We go to a tree farm in Michigan. Horse drawn wagons take the families all over the tree farm and drop them at the type of tree they wish to cut down. They have Fir sections, Pine sections, etc. (We always go for the Frasiers) Then we go back to the main building where they have free hot chocolate, coffee, hot cinnamon nuts and other snacks. The worker elves in the barn put your tree in a special drill stand, stand it straight up, and a drill comes up and drills a hole in the middle of the trunk. Then they tie it to your car. When we get home, we simply put the tree on their special stand which has a big spike sticking up. Voila! A perfect tree, perfectly aligned, and ready to decorate!
Merry Christmas to all!
Judy
I love it Judy!!! Thanks so much for sharing. How cool to have a special drill stand. Merry Christmas to you!