We ended up with three Christmas trees.

And even then, Raven reckons she could do with more. That she doesn’t mind turning our house into a mini forest of both organic and synthetic trees to make Christmas all the merrier.

“Mama, is that tree $5?” she asked as we passed by the aisles at Kmart, referring to the little ones on display that was almost half her height.

“Yeah, it is,” I confirmed. The sign was pretty hard to miss.

I assumed it was a passing curiosity. I knew she wanted “a proper tree” but we already had a DIY one at home so I thought we were good. Or so it seemed as we walked around the toys section just having a look around.

Until…

“I think I’ll buy that tree,” she said suddenly and pensively. “My budget is $10.”

“You mean you’re paying for it with your own money?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said with certainty. As if she had already thought it through and an executive decision had been made.

I’m not gonna lie. I was caught off guard. I sure as hell didn’t see that coming.

Nor did I anticipate the guilt that washed over me as I realised that she really did want a tree. Something I could’ve given her had I given in and not been too anal about saving the environment and all the principles I held that started the tradition in the first place.

But my daughter is growing up and she’s turning into her own little person and I support her independence 100%. So I helped her pick out her tree and her baubles and proudly followed her down to the counter to stand back and watch her pay.

As soon as we got home, she got busy setting up her tree. My heart bursting with so much love for this kid who, at that moment, wasn’t really a kid anymore.

But she got her tree. She said we can use it again next year and I totally agreed. 100% we’ll set up the little tree again next year because it is a beautiful tree and I love it just as much as she does.

Because at this point, it’s not even about the tree anymore.

*Raven at 8 years old