Shop Local - Buy your tree at a local Tree Farm!

Since we have had kids, one thing we have made a family tradition is to head out to one of the local tree farms around Houston.
I have always loved the smell of a REAL tree and I will admit my husband and I bought our first couple from Home Depot or Kroger etc.  That was until I read Freckletown and she posted a list of tree farms near Houston.  That first year, we chose from her list and picked HighStar Tree Farm.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that every since 2008 we have been back year after year :D
I love going to a tree farm for several reasons:
1. We actually get to show the girls this tree while still planted and growing
2. The smell is AMAZING!  Seriously, you are surrounded by Christmas trees STILL growing!
3. It makes a GREAT family memory every year to go out to a tree farm and pick a tree together, rather than going to a paved parking lot to pick an already chopped tree
4. The cost is very close to the same as buying from a retail store but so much more fun
AND the MOST important
5.  We are buying local and thus supporting our local farmers (at High Star you see the kids of the owners/operators right along side working the farm and HAPPY doing it!)

Today was the day of our annual venture and these are some shots we captured from our adventure

S was super excited about Santa UNTIL she actually got to Santa lol.  We had to snap several pics of the trauma it was to take her to Santa!  Z had no problems hanging with the man in red and letting him know her list :D

There is a "Merry Maze" on the outside of the tree farm so your kids can blaze through that while your tree is being strapped to your car :D  This is my girls running out of the exit.  They go through it about 5 times trying to improve upon their time each run, lol.

This is a hay stack that kids go NUTS on.  I have about 12 pictures of the girls on this but this is the ONLY one I had with both of them in the same shot! I actually snagged one picture of Z making "hay angels!" (hey, that is what we have to do in Tx, no snow around these parts, lol)

And here is the final result:

Thanks to Freckletown for introducing me to Tree Farms many years ago!

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