When December is near, my family embarks on an adventure to fill our home with the spirit of Christmas and the scent of Evergreen. But since Genesee is too young to fully appreciate my most-anticipated holiday, I’ve carefully constructed a step-by-step process for her to review once she’s prepared to be a more active participant in the Goodenough tradition:
- On the ride to the Christmas Tree Farm, play walkie-talkie with family in the accompanying truck because that’s way more fun than conversing with family members right beside you. (No offense, mom & dad!)
- Enjoy a hearty Perkins breakfast of rainbow-sprinkled pancakes (compliments of Grandma & Grandpa) and consume enough calories to keep a syrup smile on your face.
- Arrive at Patterson’s Tree Farm and search for the biggest, hugest, most enormous Fraser Fir the world has ever seen.
- Allow yourself to get distracted once in a while so you can pretend you’re a reindeer.
- Settle on a smaller tree because Dad is the one with the chainsaw.
- Document everyone’s tree-finding success by saying “Cheese” in front of each tree.
- Bring the outdoors indoors by placing that Fraser in a tree stand and hoping it remains erect throughout the season.
- Sweet-talk Grandpa into inviting us over for a Grasshopper ice cream drink in celebration of the most wonderful time of the year.
- Return home with a full bully to decorate so hard you break a sweat… and three ornaments. But who’s counting? (Answer: Mom)
- Sit back, relax, admire your tree, and impatiently wait for Christmas to hurry up and get here!
He moves like Jaeger 