Today marked our very first visit to a Christmas tree farm. Tradition #4 is to decorate a live tree. We decided that now that we have a child the whole experience should be more than just running to the local Home Depot to pick out a tree.
To kick things off Daniel researched tree farms in the area and we settled on the Thornhill Christmas Tree Farm in Pisgah, AL. As the crow flies, it is 9 miles from our house, directly across the Tennessee River. As the GPS {and roads} dictate, it was a 35-minute drive.
With an infant we have to be strategic in our trips. I fed Jack before we left. We bundled him up and off we went. Thankfully the car lulls him to sleep. After a quick stop at Zaxby's for lunch, we were on our way up Sand Mountain.
The Christmas tree farm was easy to find. Going in the middle of the day on a Friday was perfect for us. We were the only ones there and were able to let Sophie run around off leash – I think she was in doggy heaven. I was also able to squeeze in a quick feeding for Jack in the car.
Initially the tree we picked a tree that was straight out of the Griswold's Christmas Vacation. It was 13-feet tall and about 8+ feet wide at the base. Granted we have a two-story living room, but still.
We were all set to take it home, but the guy that works at the farm took one look at our Subaru and asked "Yall gona put it on top of that thang?" Daniel told him we haul a 16-foot canoe on the roof of our Subaru regularly. The guy still didn't look convinced.
In the end, he told us that he wouldn't cut the tree because he wouldn't be able to fit it through his tree bagger. He then directed us to another part of the farm where there were more manageable 10-foot trees.
So Jack got to go on his first "off road" driving experience on a dirt road with ginormous pot holes. We picked out a tree we liked and the tree farm guy still had trouble bagging it. It actually took Daniel helping him to pull it through the tree bagger.
When Jack is older, we may have to go back on a Sunday since they have a "train" that takes you out to look at the trees. I am sure a little kid would adore that... but then we couldn't take Sophie.
Once home Daniel had to cut down the base of the tree because it was too large to fit in our tree stand. After cutting the trunk to size, Daniel used a dolly to move the tree into the house.
After we had it inside, I helped to hold it steady while Daniel set the tree in the base. He told me that the tree wasn't that heavy. Easy enough for him to say... I almost dropped it while "holding it steady." When I quizzed him on what he meant by "not heavy" he said that it was probably around 100 lbs.
Now that the tree is inside of our house it looks ridiculously big. It is actually 11-feet tall {we only paid $7/ft} and it is over 6-feet wide at the base. Good thing our living room ceiling is tall because we have officially found the maximum size that we can fit into our living room {without the help of a third person}.
I would say that our first trip to the Christmas tree farm was a success.
