The Tahoe Lodge 2025 Christmas Tree (and the Annual Search for It)

Here at the Tahoe Lodge, we love making the place feel warm and festive for the holidays—nothing over the top, just enough to give you that cozy “ahh, this feels nice” feeling when you walk through the door. We never want the lodge to feel like a random rental you booked at the last minute. Our goal is simple: create a space that feels welcoming, lived-in, and a little bit magical… without trying to be the North Pole.

And for us, the whole holiday feeling starts with the tree. 

Real Tree? Yes. Easy Tree? Absolutely not.

Every December, I tell myself I’m going to keep it simple. I eye the trees being sold at local fundraisers—because honestly, they’re great, and buying one would take all of five minutes.

My husband? That’s a hard no.

According to him, a real Tahoe holiday tree must be found “in the wild,” as if we’re contestants on some backcountry Christmas reality show. So once again, we blocked off a chunk of time we absolutely did not have (like everyone this time of year) and headed into the forest to begin the annual ritual of agreeing, disagreeing, re-disagreeing, and eventually finding common ground.

Too tall. Too skinny. Too full. Not full enough. Basically, the usual.

But eventually, we found it: a perfectly imperfect cedar with tons of personality and just enough quirks to make it lovable.

We cut it down, hauled it back, and put it in its first bucket of water to perk up. Then my husband took the kids home for dinner and bath time, and I stayed behind at the lodge to trim it, wrestle it into the stand, and decorate it at lightning speed while listening to my audiobook (My Friends by Fredrik Backman). There’s something very therapeutic about decorating a tree alone with a good story playing—it’s like a tiny holiday retreat.

She’s cute. She’s quirky. She smells like Christmas should. And she gives the lodge that warm, woodsy, “you belong here” feeling we love so much.

So what do you think? Did our annual tree adventure pay off?

We’re feeling pretty good about it—and we hope it makes your stay feel festive, comfortable, and just the right amount of magical.

Happy holidays from our slightly chaotic, very merry family to yours. 🎄✨