It's a Charlie Brown Christmas

12 simple steps to insure you end up with a tree to rival Charlie Brown's:

1. Starting in early November, describe in great detail to your kids how much fun it is to cut down your own Christmas tree (drawing upon personal childhood memories)
2. Then, once sufficiently excited, promise them that they will get to cut down their own tree this year
3. Neglect to research whether or not any Christmas tree farms actually exist in your county
4. Pick an unseasonably cold morning two weeks before Christmas (to insure most good trees are gone) and then drive 45 minutes to the last remaining tree farm within 100 miles of your house
   
5. Skimp on breakfast so everyone is very hungry once you arrive at the tree farm
6. Disappoint your children by telling them that we aren't buying the glorified shrub they have fallen in love with (see photo #1)
7. Celebrate the end of an epic search by finding a non-deformed tree of appropriate height (see photo #2)
   
8. Select tree without taking note of dramatic curve in trunk
9. Buy tree stand that requires 8" of clearance at the bottom of trunk
10. Lop off bottom third of tree so it fits into stand
11. Decorate with home-made ornaments which, at your kids insistence, can only be placed on the top-half of the tree
12. Lastly, stand back and marvel at a tree beautiful in its own right (see photo #3)
    

In our house tonight, the kids are asleep, the presents are wrapped, the wine has been opened, and Santa has come and gone so we wish a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.