Not every tradition has to be missed during this unusual holiday season. In a year full of lost experiences, preparing for the Christmas holiday is giving my family all kinds of feel good moments. Chopping down a Christmas tree and visiting a tree farm is a tradition that doesn’t need to be lost this 2020 holiday season. Yay!
Literally, on Friday after Thanksgiving, the family and I were at the tree farm by before 10 am.
We luckily had a beautiful day! Chevrolet even let us borrow an amazing 2021 Chevy Tahoe for our family adventure to make bring the tree home even easier. This car is AMAZING and the perfect car for a family with tons of space and safety features.
Borrowing the Chevy Tahoe made our outing even more exciting since the kids were WILD about all the space in the car plus we knew we’d have plenty of room to put our giant holiday tree on the roof to bring it home!
We were excited to walk the fields to see if we could find a tree big enough to chop down or if we’d need to find a bigger tree from the pre-cut options at the farm. We like to go for the 12 foot plus tree so sometimes we can’t find one that big in the fields.
Yes, we were wearing masks -minus the few photos we captured quickly with them pulled down for photos – but this will just add one more unique holiday memory to our family collection!
Visiting our local farm brings back so many memories and each year finding the perfect tree with the kids. This year we couldn’t get our classic photos in “Santa’s Chair” that Yeager’s sets up since Santa was not there, but we grabbed lots of other memorable photos.
I admit we started decorating our house with holiday decor by mid November as we felt like with all of us home pretty much all the time, we felt like we could use the change in scenery thanks to all the festive decorations and colors!
Keep the Tree Chopping Tradition Alive in 2020
I love that so many people are thrilled about the holiday season this year and can’t wait to chop down their tree earlier than normal. Apparently we were not the only folks with this idea!
I expected our local tree farm Yeagers to be empty, but it was full of many like minded families excited to find the perfect tree. I think this year so many people are anxious to get out of the house, enjoy a safe socially distant family adventure outdoors, and to prep for the holiday season with a gorgeous fresh cut tree.
Look at our tree via the ENORMOUS sunroof in the 2021 Tahoe while it sits on the roof of our vehicle. And yes, this sunroof is a favorite feature for my family – it seems like it runs practically the length of the car and the kids have high hopes of doing some nighttime star gazing while on long evening car rides!
Topping off Thanksgiving weekend with a fresh cut tree and decorating it as a family was perfection!!! Our cat even got in on the action as you see the work in progress!
Look how our tree turned out! It’s a beaut!
CHEVY HOLIDAY TREE TRANSPORTING TIPS
Chevy shared lots of tree chopping and transporting tips with us since they knew we’d be using the fabulous 2021 Tahoe for familly adventure. I felt like one of the most important and useful safety tips is that when you put the tree on the roof of the car you must ALWAYS put the stump first. Just like this….
Here’s a bunch of other great tips from Chevy to help you transport and care for your fresh tree.
- Use Cross-Rails: If available, properly installed cross rails on the roof of your vehicle are the preferred way to transport the tree home. Creating a hitching post with the roof rails makes it easier to tie the tree down.
- Use a sleeve: All trees should be put into netting or a sleeve for easy transport. Make sure the tree isn’t longer than the roof of your car once wrapped up.
- Stump first: With the tree in its proper sleeve, position the tree stump-end towards the front of your vehicle. It’s the most aerodynamic way to transport your tree home.
- Tie it down tight: Lay your tree directly overtop the cross rails, loop twine over and around, and repeat to cinch with a “figure-8” motion. This will help protect the tree from moving around while you drive.
- Stabilize the tree: You can always use more twine and crisscross across the street for extra support if you need it.
- Don’t forget to water your tree: Make sure you put your tree into water immediately when you get home and place it away from heat sources like fireplaces or radiators that can dry it out. The tree will drink up a lot of water the first couple of days so make sure to constantly check on the water level throughout the season. Help keep it alive and healthy all holiday season long!
CHEVY HOLIDAY TREE CHOPPING TIPS
- Be prepared: Always make sure to measure the space in your home and car so you know exactly what size tree will fit as you pick one out. Don’t forget to leave enough room for the tree topper!
- Stay warm: Bundle up, wear boots and bring a pair of gloves to make sure you stay warm when chopping down your tree. Be sure to bring something to kneel on while you cut your tree down.
- Choose Wisely: Most tree farms have a lot of options to choose from, so take your time and inspect the trees before you pick one out. The National Christmas Tree Association recommends testing out the branches to make sure the tree isn’t too dry or unhealthy.
- Chop Chop: Cut your tree low to the ground and straight across. Have a buddy pull the tree slightly away from the side you’re cutting to prevent the saw from binding and make it easier to cut all the way through.