This afternoon, we drove up towards the Feldberg Mountain in the Taunus to buy our Christmas tree.

There are various types to choose from, but we always get a Nordmann Tanne (Nordmann fir).

My better half does need some time to choose the perfect one. That is where we differ, but we have survived 32 years of that. The helper was quite patient with us, and held up various trees to compare. I did leave him with a tip though for all his patience and good humor. Told him it was not Trinkgeld (lit: drinking money = tip), but in regards to the current climate, it was meant as Heizungsgeld (lit: heating money).

This is our tree going into the funnel, this means getting wrapped for transportation.

Last trimmings to insure a safe transportation in our car. This Nordmann fir was €65, and this was the same price as last year. This is one of the few items which hasn’t gone up in price.

I would prefer a small potted tree which could be reused every year. A big cut tree like ours has to get tossed every year after 6 January when the tree pickup truck comes by.

Traditionally, most Germans put up their tree in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and keep it until Three Kings Day, 6 Jan. Then we move it to the designated pick-up spot on the sidewalk. We toss ours from the 4th storey balcony, and in our case, the Hausmeister drags it to the designated spot then.