This post is sponsored by North Carolina Fraser Firs.
It seems like the holiday season begins earlier every year. Now we’re in the aisle picking out our Halloween candy next to a display of dancing Santas.
But for our family, the holiday season doesn’t truly begin until we go pick out our tree, and bring it home where it fills our house with the scent of Christmas.
Real Christmas trees are important to our traditions for so many reasons. Other than the memorable scent and tree lot memories, real trees are a zero waste tradition. The trees are completely renewable and recyclable, which is a value hard to live out this time of year!
Our favorite tree has become the North Carolina Fraser Fir, which is native to the Southern Appalachian mountains. We discovered this variety with soft needles and strong branches years ago and not it’s a must-buy.. We love that it’s grown in the U.S. and our tree is supporting local farmers.
When we ask our kids to pick the tradition they want to keep, they predictably talk about unpacking the boxes of Christmas ornaments and hooking them onto tree branches. There are the ones that always take their place front and center — my favorites are always the construction paper ornaments made at preschool with a cute picture glued on.
We hang the ornaments together and discuss the history of each one.There are the ones knit by my great grandmother. The ones representing our Swedish heritage. The baby’s first ornament from my childhood. And the Hallmark series we started for each kid when they were born.
Although it takes considerable time in a life where I feel like our calendar is overflowing, this tradition around our real Christmas tree is worth the core memories it is creating.
The presents will eventually be opened and discarded. The food will be eaten. And even the tree will be recycled, going back to the Earth where it came from.
But these memories will remain.
