Now we don out gay apparel... this means as much pink as possible. Then we drove to Gogo's, a local Christmas tree farm about 15 minutes from our house.


It took us about 15 minutes to find 'the one'. It only took a minute before it sacrificed its life for our holiday merriment.


To the van to be tied to the roof-rack...


The end result.


So which is better, real or fake? Here's the list of why real is better:

1.You can't really put a price on the fun of getting the tree even if you get it from a pre-cut place. Getting a new one every year adds to the family tradition.

2. Fake trees are almost all made in China by factory workers working in hazardous conditions.

3. Fake trees are made with plastic... the manufacturing process not only pollutes the air and water, the trees tend to be made of PVC which is offgassing in your home.

4. When your fake wears out, it goes to the dump to sit for 1000 years. A real tree gets chipped and recycled and eventually decomposes.

5. Fake trees aren't really much less of a fire hazard if you keep them watered like you are supposed to.

6. The real Christmas trees you buy came from a farm and don't come from old growth forest. You are supporting small farmers, who are growing trees which benefitted the environment during their growth. If you can support a local farm even better. :)