How to Find the Perfect Christmas Tree
The search for the perfect Christmas tree is a holiday season rite of passage for many families. You want to love your tree – after all, you’ll most likely be looking at it for several weeks, and for many people, the tree is the center point of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations, so it’s an important decision. But the very importance of choosing just the right tree is what makes the decision so potentially overwhelming. Is it better to buy a real tree, or an artificial tree? Do you want a small tree, maybe tabletop size, or the biggest one you can find? How can you find the fullest, greenest, best looking trees? Here are a few tips to help make your tree hunting experience easier.
- Narrow it down. You shouldn’t just wander out into the wilderness of Christmas tree options without some idea of what type of tree suits your home best. If you don’t want to deal with vacuuming up pine needles, watering your tree, and going through this Christmas tree hunt every year, you should look for an artificial tree. If you feel it isn’t Christmas without the smell of pine and you love the hunt for the perfect tree, go for a real tree. Also, it may surprise you to learn that experts lean towards real trees being the more environmentally-friendly holiday decorating option. Once you decide between real and artificial, you’re still not ready to shop yet. Take a look at your living room (or wherever you plan to put your tree) and evaluate your space needs. A giant tree, however beautiful, may not be practical in a tiny apartment. Do you have pets or very small children? You may want something that sits on a tabletop, to avoid constantly having to pick up low hanging ornaments that were knocked off – or you may be better off with a larger, heavier tree that isn’t easily knocked over.
- Shop early. No matter what kind of tree you’re looking for, you’ll want to find it before the inventory ends up looking picked-over. Although the weekend after Thanksgiving is the most popular time for Christmas tree shopping, if you can beat the crowds by finding your tree earlier in the month of November, you’re liable to end up with a fresher real tree, or the first pick of the artificial trees in stock. You might also consider buying your tree online. You may not realize this, but you can buy a real tree online as easily as an artificial one. This is a great option if you’re in an area with limited options for Christmas tree shopping.
- Have an idea what type of tree you want. There are so many types of trees – spruce trees (sharp needles) ; pine trees (soft needles); fir trees (soft needles). Make sure to measure so you don’t get a tree that is too big for the space you have.
- Check the freshness. and for secure needles. To do this just bend a needle in half. A fresh pine tree will bend and a fir tree will snap. You also want to grab the inside of a branch and run your hand along it to make sure the needles stay on.
- Try a tree farm. If you’re shopping for a real tree this year, consider buying from a Christmas tree farm instead of a lot. This is a great way to ensure that you get a fresh tree that will last through the holiday season. You’ll know that it’s freshly cut, and you may even be able to to cut it yourself. The National Christmas Tree Association has information on where you can find a Christmas tree farm near you.
Now that you know what you’re looking for and where to start looking, you’re on your way to choosing your perfect Christmas tree. Remember to have fun with the looking, buying and decorating process. This should get your holiday season off to a great start!
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I remember when we were little the whole family went to a tree farm with so many trees we had to pick from. We had fun running around each picking the one we thought was the nicest. Its best to go early as you can cause you may end up picking a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. At some farms they may even allow you to cut the tree down . have fun : )
when we were kid we g t the tree farm it had to be at lest 8 ft tall and full aobut 3 to 4 ft around and lot of branches if it had net they stayed in the tree and then put it up dad carry ladder and mesause it and tehn the bottm then cut it down with chain saw and then tie to roo of van
Love hunting for the perfect tree!!!
Nice entry…
We use to do real trees for a long time, many memories of it! But now since I am older, I have to say, there are so many fake trees out there that look so real. I can’t get out there and get a real tree and duplicate the feeling of those memories, but I do the best I can with a fake one!
thanks so much for the free tips you give i love to read them everyday
We did real trees when I was a kid and for some years after that. One thing to consider is where the tree will go. If it is in the corner of a smallish space, it is okay–in fact might be better–if one side is a little thin on branches. It will nestle nicely into the corner, and the “good” side will look nice and full 🙂
I’ve actually never had a real tree. I wonder which way is better for the environment? Fake trees get reused but real trees are grown specifically for this purpose and don’t fill up dumps. What do you think? Probably better to go with real trees? Great tips either way. Shopping early is always best.
My dad has a tree farm yet he always gives us a “charlie brown tree”
I grew up with artificial trees because we don’t have the fresh ones back here. These are great tips though.
Love real trees, but alas, we decided on an artificial. One day I’ll go back to the real ones. You can’t beat the smell!
Going to find my tree. Thanks for the great tips
We had real trees before, but now we use the fake one. It lasts for many years and looks pretty natural.
love shopping for christmas tree,my hubby ussually pick one and it is always very tall around 8 feet.
I used to get a real tree every year when my kids were little. I loved going out and picking out just the right one.
I had my daughter read this in case she got a real tree. I wanted her to know all about them. They are a lot of work, but they are so much nicer than the fake trees. Since I’ve gotten older though, we ended up with the fake one. Thank you for all your great tips. thank you for the great deals you get for us and thank you for the great giveaways. Merry Christmas!!
There’s nothing like a real tree at Christmas. Wouldn’t have it any other way.