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The Perfect Tree

When I was growing up. we always had a fake Christmas Tree, so when I moved out, I knew immediately that I wanted a real tree. After that first year with a real tree, it dawned on my how natural it was to have a real tree, with its in perfections, and warming pine smell, it instantly gets you into the holiday spirit. And buying a Christmas tree can be pretty convenient living in New York City, considering there are tree vendors planted on every street corner, selling everything from Fraser Firs to Scotch Pines, in all shapes and sizes.

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As a special treat for the kids, this year, Jason and I decided that we would head to a tree farm and cut down our own tree; something I’ve always wanted to do. So, this past Saturday, we drove to the Manza Tree Farm, in Hudson Valley. I partially chose this place since their name was so close to ours, I figured how could we go wrong. We have a car, but for this special event, Lexus loaned us a fancy set of wheels for the weekend. The kids were super excited for a road trip in a new truck, and since the Lexus RX offers more room than ours, Jason and I enjoyed the ride. We’ve been talking about getting a new car, so this was the perfect test drive.

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Unfortunately the weather wasn’t on our side much Saturday, with a full day of rain, but the kids didn’t seem to mind one bit. We roamed through the tree farm in search of the perfect tree to cut down. Ryder wandered from tree to tree, as it seemed like every tree was the perfect tree to him. Finally, we discovered our tree, and Jason, with Ryder’s help, proceeded to saw away, while the girls ran around in the rain. Lexus decided to challenge us a bit, offering to make donation to the Holiday Express charity based on the height of our tree. At just over 7ft tall, I started to panic that it may not fit in our apartment. It’s funny how the trees outdoors look much smaller than they do once you take them home. I kept easy, and just used Jason’s height as our marker.

While we were walking through the tree farm, Santa made a special appearance for the kids, which came at the perfect time because the kids were drenched at this point, and it was a good distraction from the cold. After a photo op with Santa, we warmed up inside their little shop with hot cider and cookies; and on the way out, we even saw a couple of reindeer. The kids asked if they took Santa to the Christmas tree farm that day!

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Once we tied our perfect tree to the rooftop, we headed back to NYC. Despite the weather, it was definitely an experience and we even think it will become a new holiday tradition. On the way home, all three kids slept soundly after the excitement and the cold. I have to say, the Lexus RX was a very smooth ride, and I felt that my family and I were super safe on the slick roads, an hour and a half from home.


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By the time we pulled into our building, it was pretty late, so we decided to let the tree dry overnight. On Sunday, since we still had our hot wheels, we decided to take a trip to Union Square. We found parking on the street and decided to pop into ABC Home & Carpet to see our favorite Santa in town. He resembles Santa so much, I even believe!

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It was such a special weekend with my family. The Lexus Tree Trip Challenge truly inspired the spirit of generosity in all of us for the holidays!

Thank you LEXUS for sponsoring this post and having SITC part of the #DecemberToRemember campaign.

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