Day 16: The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree

Day 16 of Advent

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree

On a frigid winter night Ruthie and her mama bundle up and venture out to cut down the perfect Christmas tree that her Papa chose before going to war. In a similar vein, our family has had a tradition for many years of going into the woods together to cut down “wild” Christmas trees. It being Alabama though, these trees can’t exactly be called perfect... but they are shrouded in tradition and memories to make up for their lack of branches.

-MaryClaire

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Scripture Reading for the Day

Luke 1:39-45

39 In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah
40 where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Then she exclaimed with a loud cry: “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed!
43 How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me.
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”

Activity for Today

Mini Tree Scavenger Hunt & Angel Ornaments

Most people fall into one of two Christmas tree camps, team real tree or team artificial! Our family has made it a point to always have a real tree whether we buy one from a tree lot or find our own out in the Alabama wild. While we love having a real tree for many reason, we know the upkeep that comes along with it: a lot of watering and an increasing amount of needles on the floor as the end of December draws near.

Whether you choose to find your own mini tree out in the wild or simply have a cedar/ pine branch or two instead, adorn whatever you find or forage with homemade ornaments and love!

Growing up, Caleb remembers their family Christmas tree always being adorned with homemade ornaments. His favorite ornaments (apart from his own snowflakes) were these beautiful raffia type angel ornaments. In making the calendar we looked far and wide for the material these angel's were made of and Caleb even called his mom to see if she had any, however all we have to remember the angel ornaments by is an old family photo where you can see them shimmer in the lights on the Christmas tree!

So while this angel activity is not quite as shimmery and beautiful as the ones Caleb had growing up, they are a good starting point to spark some creative angel ornament making inspiration!

Here's how we made our Angel Ornaments!

Toast with Ruthie and the town with winter's minty delight, ginger's snap, and blueberry's cheer, sweetened with a dash of honey.

Let's spill the tea about Piper Mint Blues...

Eloquent Description

Sparkling peppermint fronts the ensemble, directing the delicious chorus. Wintergreen and spearmint pierce through with crisp, high hat taps. Jamming-out, mellow bass notes are the smooth blueberries. The heart of this refreshing blues ballad is the vibrant, haunting solo of the butterfly pea flower. Impossibly colorful, this floral crooner sings to your thirsty soul. Let’s welcome to the stage: Piper Mint Blues.

Ingredients

Spearmint
Blueberries
Ginger
Blackberries
Butterfly Pea Flowers
Peppermint

Steeping Suggestions

For hot tea, steep one tea bag in 8 to 10oz of 212 water for 7 minutes. For iced, use half the water(same temp), steep for the same time, and add ice after you pull the tea bag out.

Someone Else's Thoughts

“I have to confess that I generally don’t like mint teas. I purchased this one for my young daughter (she adores it) and was pleasantly surprised. The berry is a nice compliment to the mint flavor and the touch of ginger really rounds it out. The best mint tea I’ve tried.”
– Beth

All about The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree

Fun Fact!
One thing both of our families did growing up was venturing out to cut our own Christmas tree! Though, finding the perfect Christmas tree always proved to be somewhat of a challenge and adventure all in one!

Caleb's family had a go-to spot where they knew without a doubt they could find a Christmas tree that would suit their requirements— on the edge of powerline clearings! To others, it may have seemed like a pretty odd place to cut a tree, but to Caleb's family, the tree's were always just right... and they don't think they were breaking any laws in the process.

The Knapps, while they didn't cut their tree beneath the powerlines, they found their perfect tree in a tad more unusual place. "Radiant"... some might say.

The Knapp family lived on the Arsenal— a military base. One year, they saw in the newspaper that there was an area on base open to cutting trees for Christmas! So, they went on their merry way to cut the tree, blissfully ignoring the warning signs on the property that cautioned of possible radioactive materials.. maybe that's why the trees always looked so lush.

Despite cutting their tree form what seemed to be an old nuclear waste testing site, they are pretty positive their were no laws broken in their tree selection process, after all, there was a sign about it in the newspaper! Looking back, us kids always wondered why we never had to plug in the tree... kidding!
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree
It was geting toward Christmas in the valley of Pine Grove. The wise folk
said the old woman in the sky was picking her geese, for the Appalachian Mountains lay blanketed with snow. The road wound like white ribbons around the misty blue ridges, tracked by the runners of wagons, sleds, and sleighs. Occasionally an auty-mobile chugged its way through the silence.

Across the ocean the Great War raged, but in the valley all was at peace.
It was getting on toward the Christmas Ruthie would never forget. The Christmas when the village almost did not have a Christmas tree. It happened this way. Ruthie told me so.
About the Author
Dr. Gloria Houston is an acclaimed author and educator known for her award-winning children’s books and dedication to teaching. With degrees from Appalachian State University and the University of South Florida, she has inspired students nationwide and founded the Suncoast Young Authors Conference.

Her beloved stories, including The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree and My Great-Aunt Arizona, celebrate Appalachian culture and have won numerous awards. Now living in western North Carolina, Gloria continues to inspire young writers while managing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), sharing her love for storytelling in her community.