Christmas trees are important to the holiday experience. If you don’t have a real Christmas tree are you really in the spirit? The aroma that it produces through the house beats a candle any day. Just close your eyes and imagine… your alarm wakes you up and the first thing you notice is the smell coming from downstairs. At first you don’t pick up on it, but then you realize it’s your Christmas tree greeting you.

In elementary school, my family would buy a real Christmas tree every year, and I was in love with each and every one. When I went to middle school it all changed. Instead of going to a farm and cutting down our chosen tree, we pulled the fake one out of the attic. I went along with it and just continued to feel merry like every holiday season.

For three years we had not gone to a farm to get a tree, but then things finally changed. It was my freshman year of high school and my parents mentioned at the Thanksgiving table, “We should go get a tree this Christmas up in the mountains.” I was ecstatic: bye-bye fake evergreen.

The time came, and we drove up to Boone to pick the perfect one. We get to the farm and split up in search of the best tree. Let’s just say splitting up is a bad idea. My sister and I had no service to reach our parents, and we became lost amongst the towering trees. However, we did find a tree and eventually our parents along the way.

Finally, we got it loaded and headed back to the 336. It was definitely a fun time, but it was the last time we actually went up and picked a special Boone evergreen. Due to our busy schedules this year, we decided it would just be easier to go to a local tree farm in Clemmons and buy it there. Even though we didn’t go to a farm and get to enjoy cutting one down, we still have the fresh smell roaming around the house.

I recommend persuading your family to get a real tree if you currently have a fake one. You get to revel in the smell, which amps up the holiday spirit in addition to listening to Christmas music, baking and going to see the Festival of Lights. If you are allergic to evergreen, I am deeply sorry that you don’t get to smell such a good scent.