As the winter break countdown has become a constant fixation in my brain and the holiday commercials dominate every television channel, it was time for my family to start getting into the holiday spirit.

            We decorated the house, we strung the lights, we started playing Christmas music or we began shopping for presents. But this wasn’t going to cut it; something was missing from our celebration. We needed something new.

            In addition to Christmas being the holiday my family celebrates, it is also my mom’s birthday. That left the decision of a change up to her. Her choice: we had to cut down our own Christmas tree.

            I was not opposed to the idea of trying something new; in fact I wanted to go. The idea of four women (two of my friends joined us on our trip) seemed fun and empowering. There’s also a sense of pride in looking at the Christmas tree in my living room now knowing that I helped pick it and cut it down.

            So we started doing research on where to go cut down a tree. Living in the most urban part of Loudoun County, I often forget about the other larger half of the county that is rural (except for on snow days when I rely on western Loudoun for a day off). Doing our research, we settled on Snicker’s Gap Farm in Round Hill, about 45 minutes away from Sterling.

            Upon our arrival, we were given a saw, a rope, and a map of the large farm. The map outlined where each type of tree was on the farm and that was all the direction we received. The type, height, and ability to chop down a tree rested in our hands.

            We walked around the farm, careful not to trip over stumps, deciding where to go and which tree to choose. After a time of much consideration, we finally selected a tree. Okay, easy enough…now we had to cut it down.

            With all the strength the four of us had, we chopped down the 8-foot tree and hauled it back to be priced and secured to be put on top of the car (Tip: Make sure you cleanly cut the bottom of the tree before bringing it home, this will make it much easier to put it in the tree stand at home). Tying the tree to the car, I realized that this was the way I wanted to start my holiday: surrounded by friends and family on a beautiful day, starting something new.

            This day reminded me the true reason we break for the holidays. It’s not to get presents, or stress over getting those SAT scores that come out two days before Christmas, or to sleep away the first semester of work.

            It’s a time to come together; to see the family you haven’t seen in five days or five months; to find the joy in wasting gas while driving around looking at Christmas lights; to enjoy the time away from school; to reflect on the past year and be excited for the next.

            All this from cutting down a tree? No, but it helped me appreciate a new tradition, one that I hope to embrace in the years to come. Happy Holidays! Enjoy every minute of it.