Every year people celebrate Christmas all over the world and each person and family has their own traditions. Growing up, Christmas was a favorite holiday in my house. We had several traditions but one of the most memorable traditions was the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. My dad and I looked forward to getting up on that first Saturday morning of December to pack into his truck and head to the state's farmers market to find the biggest and best Christmas tree ever. My mom would just shake her head in amazement as we walked from vendor to vendor looking and inspecting the Christmas trees. No, too skinny....No, not tall enough....no, not full enough. These were common words spoken between my dad and I. He would hold them up and I would stand back and inspect. My dad and I felt that picking the right Christmas tree was what started the holiday season. We would sometimes spend hours walking around the outdoor farmers market but there were some years that we found the right tree right away. My mom liked those outings because it meant she could get back into the truck where the heater would be blasting. It also meant she could get back home and prepare for our annual Christmas party which was always held the first Sunday of December. That's why finding the right Christmas tree was so important. Our Christmas party was a little different because we would ask all our friends and family to come over to help us decorate our tree. My parents started this tradition when I was super little and it quickly grew to a favorite that our friends and family looked forward to attending every year. After all it wasn't unexpected to find a 15 foot Christmas tree in our house to decorate. That's right you read that right. We had to climb on furniture in order to decorate the top of the tree. It may have been hard to find, hard to get in the house, and even hard to get it to stand straight but in the end it was the perfect Christmas tree. Every year we would claim it was better then the year before.

Even when the years past and I grew older the tradition still continued. I remember the first time my now husband met my parents. It was actually to head home for the Christmas party which meant he got to experience the hunt for the Christmas tree. I tried to explain and prepare him for the weekend ahead of him and the traditions we had. At 8 o'clock on Saturday morning when we were all awaken from a deep sleep by my dad I think he soon realized I was actually telling the truth. A few hours later as we searched in one of the coldest Atlanta days of the year he questions this tradition we had and perhaps questioned our relationship....only kidding. I know one thing though, the tradition of finding the perfect tree and all those memories that came with it will forever be inplanted in my mind as what Christmas is all about.

I am now married to the man that experienced the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree and we have since started our own traditions. I'm looking forward to the many more we will create together with our children.

What are some of your Christmas traditions?