Christmas Tree In The Dark

Every year we purchase a tree from one of the local tree farms (White's Tree Farm) a few miles from our house.  In the past few years, because we want the tree as soon as possible, and the sun sets very early, this adventure has been done in the dark; this year was no exception.  Growing up, my father and I would often cut our own tree.  Most of the time it was from my grandparents farm and buried under a foot of snow.  Now that we have a child, cutting our own tree is a tradition that we have upheld. 

 This tradition does have its problems though, as we try to purchase the tree as close to Thanksgiving as possible, and some years we are traveling at that holiday, leaving us with the weekday to purchase our tree.  Given the lack of daylight hours in December, this often means walking around the tree farm with flashlights, looking for the perfect tree.  My theory is that we are at a tree farm where they raise trees specifically for this purpose; how bad could any of them be?  Once we drag the tree to the tree shaking station, Little Man and I head inside for hot chocolate, while Daddy straps the tree to the car.  Once it is secured on the roof, we head home to see what the tree actually looks like in the light.  So far, we have done well and the tradition of finding the tree in the dark will continue fir a few more years.  ("Fir" a few more years? Is that an intentional Christmas tree pun? -editor)