Southern Highlands Christmas Tree Hunting

southern_highlands_christmas_trees
Today is the day I am taking down our Christmas tree…….and it is with mixed emotions.  The end of another Christmas and all that goes with it……the anticipation and preparation both good and not so good!!!  The start of a new year …..always exciting but can be a little daunting as well.
I reflect as I take down and wrap each decoration…..the beautiful ones that have been passed down from generation to generation and the ones that bring back memories of where or when they were purchased….each with a story to tell.
Each year we try to have a theme or at least a colour scheme….that is until we can’t possibly not use the favourites that don’t quite fit in with the scheme.
The Christmas tree ritual starts with identifying the date that we are acquiring the
 tree.  This doesn’t vary greatly and is usually mid December.  This is based on trying to maximise the amount of time we have prior to Christmas to enjoy the tree.  Holidays to the beach happen soon after Christmas.
The only variation to this being when we spend Christmas in London……yes we must still have a tree but it is put up earlier in December.
We set off from Bowral to the couple of tree farms on the way to Kangaloon…..never really knowing which one will have the best trees.  Some have years where they don’t open in order for the stock to grow or where they have been depleted from previous years.
Each year there is disagreement after disagreement over which is the perfect tree with each family member adamant that their tree is the best.  After cutting the ‘best’ tree with the saw provided the tree is netted for the journey home on top of the car……not an unusual site in the Southern Highlands at this time of year!!!!
The decision over which lower branches must removed followed by the orientation of the tree are always tricky …….by which time a cup of tea is always in order.
We have the ritual of cutting our Christmas cake to enjoy with our tea and the decorating of the tree (once bags of decorations from the previous year have been located….also tricky!!!)
And the joy of rediscovering those beautiful decorations starts all over  again.
PS The date to take down the Christmas tree is generally believed to be somewhere between the 2nd and 6th of January.
http://www.mydesignfile.com.au/images/christmas_tree_2011.jpg
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