This morning the kids asked why we wait until it is so late to get our Christmas tree. Bill remembered that once his family started getting a live tree, about when he was in 7th grade, they waited until it was close to Christmas to get it. I remembered that, while we did not celebrate it ourselves, our family always waited until after the Posadas began to shop for a tree.
One year there was a hayride with the twins on the way out to the trees. Once, Bill held the tree up while I cut it down. In Hawaii there was a tree shortage that made the national news. We had a Charlie Brown tree that year. One year the kids hid in the van while Bill went to get the tree. They were afraid of the farm cat. And this year we let everyone who wanted a chance help cut the tree down. There were mud puddles and toasted marshmallows and an open fire. And new family memories. 
This inherited inclination to put up the tree close to Christmas rather than Thanksgiving directly
led to our new tradition of cutting the tree ourselves. One year, when there were only 2 scraggly, over-priced trees left in all of Manhattan, KS, Bill and I were given directions to a local tree farm. It was such fun choosing which tree to cut and then running into the barn for hot apple cider while the farmer shoved the tree sideways into the trunk of Bill's Accord that we have looked for a tree farm everywhere else we've lived.
led to our new tradition of cutting the tree ourselves. One year, when there were only 2 scraggly, over-priced trees left in all of Manhattan, KS, Bill and I were given directions to a local tree farm. It was such fun choosing which tree to cut and then running into the barn for hot apple cider while the farmer shoved the tree sideways into the trunk of Bill's Accord that we have looked for a tree farm everywhere else we've lived. 
One year there was a hayride with the twins on the way out to the trees. Once, Bill held the tree up while I cut it down. In Hawaii there was a tree shortage that made the national news. We had a Charlie Brown tree that year. One year the kids hid in the van while Bill went to get the tree. They were afraid of the farm cat. And this year we let everyone who wanted a chance help cut the tree down. There were mud puddles and toasted marshmallows and an open fire. And new family memories. 
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