In search of an authentic Christmas, ax required
Parents pull their children on bright red sleds through the Christmas tree grove, amid rolling hills of Nordic and blue spruce and white pine. Saws grind. Trees fall.
Back at a barn that dates to 1850, strings of white lights hang from the beams. Families sip hot chocolate topped with crushed candy canes and whipped cream as they gather in circles on hay bales. Outside, two little girls feed a bonfire with pine twigs.
It looks like a scene out of a vintage Christmas print. Yet not all is old-fashioned on this 98-acre expanse in rural Ontario. Amid the bonhomie at Elliott Tree Farm, millennials like Justin Davies are putting a decidedly modern twist on the ancient ritual of cutting their own conifers. The heavy-machinery mechanic is planning on decorating his tree, which he chose for its height and fullness, with parts from his dirt bike.
Then there is Brooke de Oliveira, with her new husband and Yorkie poodle dressed in a red coat, who says that for her it’s all about the experience, which will include posting the “final product” on Instagram. And Frederico Marques says environmental concerns brought him out this year, after having put up an artificial tree last year.
