Every “Saturday after the Saturday after Thanksgiving,” we dawn our winter coats, gloves, and hats, throw the dogs (and now, the baby) in the car, and drive to our favorite off-the-beaten-path Christmas Tree farms to make one of the toughest decisions of the year.

I use “off the beaten path” lightly. It is still anyone’s guess if you’ll have to park on the road due to a full parking lot… but it isn’t what I would consider a “puppy factory” of Christmas Tree farms. It has more of the “homegrown, lived in the house being snuggled by the breeder for their first six weeks of life” kinda Christmas Tree Farm feel if you know what I mean.

This is one of my most loved traditions. Not only does it officially kick off my favorite time of the year, but it is also one of the few non-birthday-or-actual-holiday rituals we have. 

My parents, Sam’s parents, and my best friend and her family all meet at the farm, drink hot chocolate (and beer), eat sugar donuts, and spend way too long looking for the “perfect” trees. When we’re all done, my mom hands everyone a Waxed Amaryllis, and we go our separate ways to spend the rest of the night watching Christmas movies and decorating.

Because we’re a picture-and-video-taking family, we have yearly documentation of these trips. And it is so, so fun to see how much things change from year to year. From dogs who have passed to new puppies who become big dogs. From flat stomaches to babies in bellies, in carriers, and then jumping in the snow (or mud).

As Henry gets older and begins joining in these traditions, I realize more and more that the magic of the holidays doesn’t just happen. A part of growing up and having your own kids is realizing the nostalgia we feel for the holiday season doesn’t come from thin air.

It is because of (often stressed and exhausted) parents moving elves (please, holiday Gods, help this trend pass before Henry is old enough to want an Elf on the Shelf), planning parties, decorating trees, baking Christmas cookies, and staying up late wrapping gifts.

It comes from cozy nights in front of the fireplace, watching Christmas movies after spending hours building gingerbread houses (do you know how much work goes into baking those things??).

I am so grateful to my parents for creating Christmas magic for my siblings and me. (They get extra bonus points since my brother, sister, mom, and I all have birthdays during the holiday season, too!) and I fully accept and appreciate the responsibility Sam and I have to create the same magic for Henry.

Anyway, these trips have become a sort of time capsule. The kind you keep adding to each year and can look back on to see how much changes while appreciating how much stays the same.

Here are some photos from our most recent trip!