When I was a kid we always went and cut down our own Christmas tree on our family farm.

There was always soggy gifts from too much watering and pine needles everywhere. 

The imperfectness of a real tree was all I knew.

Then when I grew up and decided to put my own tree up, I chose the more convenient option. An artificial tree. 

For the past decade or so setting up for Christmas has been a breeze. The tree is pre-lit. All I had to do is take it out of the box, fluff up the branches a little bit and decorate it. 

This year, we decided to opt for something different and we went out and bought a real Christmas tree.

The edges aren't perfectly aligned. The branches don't hold the heavy decorations as well as the artificial tree. There's pine needles everywhere and I got sap all over my hands during the set up. 

But, the smell is amazing and the look in my kids eyes was priceless when they saw the tree all lit up and decorated.

It is definitely more work and more of a mess, but this year more than ever I am going to soak up and enjoy every ounce of my real Christmas tree. 

Do you have a real or an artificial Christmas tree? Send us a note, give us a shout 403-981-0915, or hit us up on our Facebook page. 

~ Lauren