Denise asked me to write a post about the one thing that I am planning to do this holiday season even if I do nothing else. I have been thinking about it ever since.

Maybe I could say that this year I would finally donate my time to serve a holiday dinner at the soup kitchen. And get my children involved.

Or maybe I could say that this year we are going to have a completely green Christmas. And I don't mean the color of my tree. Except that would be lying.

I could say that I plan to be drunk. But that doesn't exactly sound like a goal I should be aspiring to. At least not publicly.

Every holiday season I feel overwhelmed. I take on too many projects. Stretch myself too thin. Think of all the millions of things that I have to do with the kids and then feel guilty when I can't possibly do them all. I am not sure how to change this. I'd like to say that this year I will let go of some of this and finally relax through the holidays, but I know that won't happen.

The only thing that I can say I will be doing with absolute certainty is getting a Christmas tree. It's the one tradition that stands virtually unchanged every year. Since my oldest son was a baby we have been going to the same little tree farm. It was originally operated by an older man and his wife. It was a small place and they remembered us from year to year. They'd remark on how big the kids were getting and we would spend a few minutes touching on the highlights of each others year.

One year we went and he told us his wife had died that previous year. A few years later we went and his grandson was now running the tree farm, the man had passed away that year. It's only a matter of time before the grandson stops selling the trees all together and the little tree farm closes down for good, probably to be replaced by a housing development. Not that I am bitter about that prospect or anything.

But for now the little tree farm is still there. The trees are not as plentiful. They aren't pruned to perfection like some of the neighboring places. But we love this little place. We will tag our tree Thanksgiving weekend and then return to chop it down a few weeks later. I am always amazed by the people who get their trees Thanksgiving weekend and manage to keep them alive through Christmas. I am not one of them. Most likely because it is also a tradition in my house not to water the tree. Okay, maybe it isn't exactly a tradition, but doesn't sound better than I am lazy and forgetful?

So we will drag the tree home and it will inevitably be too tall or too fat to fit through the door. And we will remark that it looked so small at the tree farm. Then we will get out the saw and start pruning the tree. Eventually it will fit.

I'll be sad when the little tree farm closes and we have to replace our tradition with a new one. The other tree farms are all slick business operations. They have been commercialized with their sleigh rides and complimentary hot cocoa. You just point to your tree and someone cuts it down for you (can't chop it yourself, liability issues!), carries it to your car, and ties it to the top of your vehicle. No trekking through the woods with your axe flung over your shoulder. No letting the kids take turns trying to chop the tree down. No dragging it through the snow to the car. No trying to hoist it up onto the roof of the van while it slips and falls scratches your arms. No using colorful swear words.

So what are your holiday traditions? DO you have one that you will be doing with absolute certainty?

When she isn't writing about her life at Notes from the Trenches, Chris is working to rescue her house from a century of neglect and bad taste. She can also be found at DIY This N'That, where she blogs about home improvement and design ideas.