Finding the right Christmas tree is like finding the right mate. You search far and wide, even consider giving up. And then, out of the mist, it appears and you know it’s the one for you!
For many the search mode begins just after digesting your Thanksgiving turkey, just when you get a hankering for listening to Christmas music. Over the years I relied on getting a Christmas tree from my father’s tree farm, but with the diminishing number of trees it’s less of an option. There were years when a mature tree was not available at the family farm, so I would find one elsewhere. Some years they were purchased off vendors who had them shipped in from Canada. Too often these shed profusely at the lightest touch. “Locally grown” became my mantra, and I found a few excellent sources. Sadly, some of these have gone by the wayside, but the memory of those experiences are still fresh in my mind.
I found one as we returned home from the Thanksgiving holiday, unlike the premature and overdone Christmas promotions by many retailers, it felt like a natural progression between the two holidays. Rather than postponing it, we turned off in Marion and swung onto County Road where the once P.T.L. Christmas Tree Farm resided next to the Ansel Gurney House gift shop. I instructed the three children to stay in the car while I got details and followed the Christmas music to the shop to learn the system of selecting your own tree. I’d wanted an 8-footer, not too wide at the bottom, and began looking amidst the assorted sizes and shapes.
Before I could say “Oh Tannenbaum,” the kids were out of the car and running in three different directions through the trees, resembling the airborne kung-fu fights of the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The stumps from the previous year’s cuts soon halted them, refocusing them on our collective mission. We roamed around the field, along with the little birds darting from tree to tree, enjoying the search.
The moment we found our tree will always be with me. I was chastising the youngest for his usual mischief. I glared at him as he lay on the ground, his arm cocked back ready to launch a pinecone at his sister. Then my gaze fell on the soft green curtain behind him. I knew the search was over. “There’s our tree.” It’s uncanny how you just know when you find the right one. As when Clark Griswold pronounces “there it is,” as he drags his family through the deep woods in search of a Christmas tree in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
There is something primal about walking through the woods for your own Christmas tree – it’s partly the pine scent and purity of the tree in its natural place. Something any fully fledged New Englander should experience.
Another of my memories of getting a Christmas tree occurred at the Douglass Farm on Sconticut Neck in Fairhaven. This was a solo venture – my husband was working, and the kids were away at college and work. I pulled up to park on the field of the farm alongside numerous others and quickly began navigating the rows upon rows of assorted trees. It must have been an election year because I can recall humorous political messages hanging on various trees.
As I wandered the seemingly vast expanse, it began to snow! My humbug vanished and I was suddenly in a real-life snow globe. I felt my heart grow three sizes. What began as a perfunctory task turned into pure magic. Students from Fairhaven High’s Blue Devils did the cutting once a tree was chosen, and hot cocoa was at the ready. The original mission was to use the proceeds to benefit the ALS Therapy Development Foundation.
After the 2024 sale of the farm to the Buzzards Bay Coalition, the one day “Christmas Tree Flash Sale” serves as a fundraiser supporting the work of the coalition. Trees are $50 and buyers are asked to bring their own netting/rope to secure the tree to your car for transport. The farm is located at 242 Sconticut Neck Road, Fairhaven, and the sale is on Saturday, December 6 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Looking for more greenery to deck the halls? The sixth Annual Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Holiday Greens Sale will be held on Saturday, December 6 at the “What the Taco” porch and parking lot on Rte. 6 in Mattapoisett from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm or until items are sold out. The sale will include elegant, one-of-a-kind designs in the form of decorated fresh wreaths, swags, centerpieces and 2025 ornaments, all beautifully handcrafted by the talented women of the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club. Bundled evergreens and holly branches will also be available for purchase. Proceeds from the sale support the club’s scholarship fund and other charitable community endeavors.
You will find the magic of the holidays in unexpected ways. But it’s a lot more likely if you get out and mix with humanity for a while. You’ll come home to see the old Santa doll with the broken arm isn’t some old, mangled toy, but rather a treasured part of your past.
“Looks great. Little full, lotta sap.” – Clark Griswold
The Seaside Gardener
By Laura McLean