TRADITION: CHRISTMAS TREES AT BARTELS FARM
Somehow, December showed up as quickly as I anticipated it would, and still, I’m surprised by its speed. The day after Thanksgiving, Buck + Bee pulled up with bakery in tow to Bartels Farm for our first Christmas tree-cutting season. We spent the next three days gifting chocolate chip cookies, selling other decadent treats and mostly, watching the JOY this tradition-making experience gave to its participants.
This is the tangible of what we aspire our tagline to achieve: Where Joy + Sweet Meet. This time, though, the manifestation of it happened through an invitation to BEE part of the hard work and family legacy of another local business—a gift of giving in this season of gratitude and reflection.
Growing up in the (often) snowy mountains of Pennsylvania, our yearly family tradition included tugging on boots and decking in our warmest winter gear to traipse through a curtain of pine as we looked for our “perfect” tree for the year. I grew up in the 90s when handsaws and manual cutting were a thing. The five of us would hike around trees—examining shape, height and limbs. In exclamation, we’d call out finds for what would be my mom’s ultimate approval on the tree we’d take home.
Then, we’d stand around and watch as my dad crawled under the tree and cut it down, one back-and-forth saw at a time. The act of “going to get” wasn’t to be overshadowed by the decorating experience of being together as we placed storied ornaments on hooks and arranged it all on a tree we’d gaze at with admiration for the next six weeks.
TRADITION. I cherish that one, a deep fondness for the intentionality of creating in a season that’s often rushed.
When we created Buck + Bee, it was wrapped in a deep longing to offer genuine community to every person who might interact with us. We are compelled by the personal experiences we’ve had that were lacking in this. To show up and feel unvalued and unwanted is crushing. Every human yearns to belong, but often, we forget to gift it in return. It’s in moments of BEEING that we center on the values that matter most, finding our best self so that, in turn, we might help others find the truest version of themselves.
In every bite, every sip, every meal with every card and present, through every tree-decorating experience, we have an opportunity to just BEE and invite others to do the same. Presence is a promoter of well-being—the best gift we can give to ourselves and one another this season. Buck + Bee is centered and established in this atmosphere, and when we find other local businesses offering the same, “better together” becomes our shared, lived-out motto.
Bartels Farm is the story of a rich legacy rooted in generations of farming. With a passion for growing, the Bartels family has cultivated, not just the practical and sustaining components of farming with trees and livestock, but also the immeasurable “farming” of memories for a community beyond their own.
It is kind. It is inclusive. And it’s a reminder of the type of business Buck + Bee wants to BEE.
So don’t miss out. Sign up while space is still open to tag your tree this season. Bartels and Buck + Bee welcome you to come BEE this holiday.
M.
