Sustainable Christmas tree

Snow has come and gone temporarily, but December has arrived and is here to stay. This year, it was anxiously awaited by the kids.

Years ago, we decided that nothing Christmassy would happen before the date of December 1st.  Seeing the Christmas decorations and music making their appearance earlier and earlier each year was a cause of irritation for us; I even remember one year when we felt that Christmas had outlast it's welcome in our house before December 24th.  We just couldn't wait to remove the decoration, and get on with something else.  This is the year we promised ourselves that we would restrict Christmas to december, and that was going to be more then enough.  It is really.  And we have no problem holding on to our word.

Since saturday,  Christmas has started to creep up everywhere.  From decorations to music, to handmade gift ideas scribbled on a piece of paper.  We see the old traditions happening again, from getting the box of decoration out on December 1st, to going to pick the tree that very same day.

But sometimes traditions needs to be revisited according to new believes, and to include even the littlest amongst us.  The Christmas tree picking was the one to go this year.

We have made big stride towards a more sustainable living.  We still have loads of road to travel, and things to learn.  But the Christmas tree tradition has been troubling me for the last few years, and I was happy to have find a solution to it.

Last year, we decided to choose a potted Christmas tree amongst else to decorate the house.  Once the celebrations were over, we took the tree outside, and let it be until spring in a well protected area of our yard.  Once spring came, we transplanted the tree to an area of our yard.  It was such an amazing experience to plant the tree we celebrated upon a few months earlier, (and most of all see it grow through summer), that we decided to do it again this year, and use only this tree as our "official" Christmas tree.

It feels so good not to have to throw a tree out once the celebrations are over, and instead to keep nurturing and protecting this tree until it becomes part of our outdoor environment.

Now this little thing needs to be trimmed, and since it is right at E's level, he'll be able to participate fully to the process from start to finish.