I woke up to the smell of fresh pine tree, this morning…having gone out with my children and grandchildren, last evening, to pick out our Christmas Tree.
This really is a special time of year for our family.
We’ve always and only ever had a real tree.
When I was younger, it was hard to rationalize buying a new tree every year, when we’d struggled with paying bills and even buying presents…my wife insisted.
I’m glad she did.
Because while it took a quite a few years for me to really get on board with this…it’s now become one of our seasonal traditions that I can’t see doing without.
Having lived in the same neighborhood for over 3 decades, we’ve always even went to the same lot…a Pop-Up tree lot, at the Dalhousie Canadian Tire.
And for the last several years, it’s been the same guys working the lot.
They remember me and our family, having originally gone to see them when we only had children and now we show up with Grandchildren.
While I do tip them every year, for their dedication and service…they remember us and our family for our story of what a Real Christmas Tree means.
You see…several years ago, when the Climate Alarmists came into power and there was a bit of a tree shortage, CBC happened to be at the lot doing interviews with people who came out to pick up a tree.
It was a blustery cold day, winds of irony blowing - us shivering, while they’d wanted to talk about a warming planet…they’d asked if they could do an interview.
Their interview hadn’t gone the way they’d wanted, but I think they got a better sense of what tradition looks like - especially by way of our family.
They’d wanted it to be about Climate Change and Christmas Tree Shortages…to where I could explain that we are part of the reason that these trees are still available - farmed for this specific purpose, not clear cutting a part of the Boreal Forest…and given that it takes about 10 years to grow from seedling to maturity, I’d started reserving mine by being a buyer over 10 years prior…and until it was time to hand the torch off to my children, we’d continue to support this because of what this really means to our family.
Our Story:
We had the fun house. Kids always over throughout the year playing a pickup game of street hockey in the driveway and safe from traffic, throwing around a basketball to a hop that I’d secured to our detached garage roof, or just generally hanging out…always over for snacks and beverages.
As our children and their friends grew, we aged with them…seeing them from Elementary through High School, continuing on. Their friends had become a part of our extended family.
They’d moved from back yard hockey and the like to having backyard parties…
From sodas on to other beverages…
And by the time we’d even realized, they were adults…but still a part of the family.
A tradition of having them over on Christmas Eve was born, I can’t even remember how long ago…maybe 15 years ago…maybe longer.
These gatherings spanned into the late nights; early mornings…some Christmases tough to even recover from for presents and dinner.
Every year, while some would celebrate with us for the first time, others unfortunately could no longer make it…having moved out of the community, some out of the province…some off of the continent and we’d always try to take the time to remember all of those who’d been a part of our tradition. The year prior, fairly easy…years past that, not so much.
To try and preserve these moments, I had an idea - to make sure that we could always have a sense of our extended family with us and something to remember them by.
Another new tradition came in to play.
For those that wanted to join in…they had to bring a Christmas Ornament for our family tree. Something that was special to them…something that signified who they were…something we’d remember them by.
I’d even planned to have some blank ornaments, a hot glue gun and some macaroni for those who came empty handed, (this never happened).
Because each year, as we continued on in having them over, everybody showed up with an ornament for our tree.
Every year, when comes time to decorate…we still have “My First Christmas”, ornaments from our children…some that they’d crafted in elementary, some they’d picked out along the way - are still part of what decorates our tree…but the vast majority of what we see now…memories of the families that we grew up with, in their ornaments.
We can all remember who brought which one…maybe not the year, but definitely some of the great times we’d shared.
Some as unique as a fork, on a string…for one of the kids that came by, not wanting to show up empty handed…
A Christmas Dinosaur…with a leg that’d been snapped off in years past - swiped from his own family tree to be a part of ours…
A framed picture of my son and one of his friends when he’d joined the Canadian Forces…
Others…from the Baker family, a Croissant a doughnut.
The list goes on and on…
2020 was devastating to our Christmas Eve gathering…everybody afraid of getting a ticket for coming over because of lockdown measures and stern warnings echoed throughout the media…
And while we are 4 years later…a lot has changed.
With our family…with the families of those who’d always joined…
And our Tradition of the “Friends Night” - Christmas Eve Gathering, has sadly passed.
But here’s the thing…
Each member of our family still carries on the tradition…buying a new ornament for the tree…and each year, we still all get together to decorate the tree - reliving the moments that we’d shared through the memories given.
Tragic as it seems that we no longer have these seasonal get-togethers…
We’re thrilled that so many had made us a part of their lives and will always cherish the time they’d given to be with our family…and we’ll always have their ornaments to decorate our Fresh Cut and Real Christmas Tree, to remember them.
If you’re in the market for a tree and happen to find yourself in North West Calgary, stop over and see the guys at the Dalhousie Canadian Tire tree lot…they’ve always treated us well and have become as much a part of our family and tradition as those who’ve helped decorate our tree.
This is our tree…my 2 children with their children and the guys that have helped us pick the perfect tree, every year!
Christmas is a time of traditions. Most of the ones celebrated in North America are based upon Christian values, even for those who don't practice. It's great that you had such a long run on yours and it's awesome that you are still able to get a tree with your family. It's too bad that the government's heavy handed response to COVID stole so many traditions from us all. I still have a row to ho ho ho with my brother due to this so it makes this season a little tougher. Bless you and your family. Hopefully your ornament tradition continues as long as everyone is able.
Thank you for sharing that. That was incredibly heart warming. I'm so glad you see the value of family traditions and are able to create such beautiful memories. Wish I'd been part of your family. Didn't have anything like that with mine and it's all gone now. Have a Merry Christmas!