When our children were young, we wanted to do something at Christmas that they would enjoy and remember.
We were a farming family with an assortment of animals, so we thought searching for an animal tree was a good idea.
There were lots of young families in the Perigord, Sask., area in the 1980s so our annual event expanded to include the neighbours.
There were sometimes as many as 16 children to pack in the van for the short trek.
From the road, it was a half kilometre wade through the deep snow to get to the 10 acre bush.
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My husband usually went a week ahead of time to decorate the mysterious tree in the spruce bush with leftover ribbons and bows, being careful to cover any signs of human tracks.
The children either went in pairs or searched individually. Each child carried a gallon pail, laden with oats, wheat, barley, apples and carrots, to dump under the tree after they yelled out that they had found it.
There was a dollar prize for being first, 50 cents for second and 25 cents for third.
It often took an hour to find so the children were ready for hot chocolate and cookies at home.
As the kids grew older and figured out how the Christmas tree got its decorations, they still wanted to look for it.
With the arrival of grandchildren, the tradition will continue into the next generation.
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