During our rustic childhood, cutting down our own Christmas tree was a normal part of the holiday routine. Rather than going to a tree lot, we would troop out to a tree farm that looked a lot like a tree lot – rows and rows of identical, pre-tagged and measured trees. You marked the one you wanted, it was cut and brought to your car, and you drove it home. Fun, but not quite the slogging-through-the-snow Paul Bunyan adventure we wanted. more ›