Completed: #3. buy a real Christmas tree

I'm quite sure my Dad may have come from the era where Christmas trees were lit with real candles. As such, he harboured an understandable fear of fires. As a result, we never had a real Christmas tree.

I have not lived with my parents since age 19. However, I have spent every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day of my life at their house. I have also, for most of my adult life, lived and been alone. For these reasons, I've never really felt a need to buy and decorate my own tree.

In a life saturated with marking, planning, and an extended no-break stretch from October until mid-December, Christmas has readily become a major highlight to my year. It warms my heart. It saves my sanity. It gives me an excuse to give. It smells fresh and tastes like mom-cooked meals and good coffee beans. It feels like cold air and warm pyjamas, good books and a couple worry-free lazy days.

I've tried to extend this time of year, along with its cozy feelings, as far as my conscience will allow. (An admission: In preparation, I've been gathering a small and steady collection of vintage and rustic Christmas ornaments from Etsy and various dollar stores since late October. If such things interest you, please check out these wonderful virtual stores: Dans and Adi, I Prefer Vintage, The Vintage Road 2 Retro, Boho Shabby Chic, Tripple C Shoppe, and Prodigal Pieces. I also highly recommend these gorgeous LED Christmas tree lights from Lightkraft.)

I figured now was as good a time as any to knock the real Christmas tree goal off my bucket list. I live literally three houses down from a church that runs a Scouts fundraiser yearly, where lots of cute kids help you pick and purchase a Christmas tree. I took them up on that offer this year, and wound up with a lovely short and fat Fraser Fir.

Geoff carried it home, sawed into the base so it would soak up some water, and did most of the legwork regarding putting it up and securing it into place. I gave it some water. We set up the tree skirt, cut the top branches, strung the lights, and put on the topper together. I decorated and he supervised. It was a really fun team effort. 

I'm about as thrilled as I get.

Here are some photos, both of the process and the finished piece:

[Original goal list posted here.]