Choosing a Christmas Tree
Your Christmas tree is the most important holiday decoration. The perfect Christmas tree can transform a living room or family room into a winter wonderland.
The size should be appropriate for the room it is going in. Trees look much smaller outdoors with the sky as the ceiling. Before you leave for the tree farm or your local retailer, measure your ceiling height accurately. Then subtract the height of your tree top ornament and the height that your tree stand will raise it off the floor. Now you have the height measurements you need, now for the width. If it is going in a corner, near tables or a sofa measure the distance between these objects to get the correct size.
If you are placing a real or live Christmas tree near a window or against a wall make sure it is not over a heat register. Direct sunlight and heat will dry it out faster. Live trees should not be touching a wall either, you can get pine pitch on your walls that is not that easy to clean.
Do a freshness test before you buy. Grab hold of a branch between your thumb and forefinger and pull it toward you. Very few needles should come off in your hand if the tree is fresh. Shake or bounce the tree on its trunk. You should not see an excessive amount of green needles fall to the ground. Some loss of interior brown needles is normal and will occur over the lifetime of the tree.
Keep your christmas tree looking and smelling fresh by following these easy tree care tips
Let the tree stay outdoors on a cool porch or garage, out of the rain, until you are ready to decorate. An area that provides protection from the wind will help the tree retain its moisture.
Before you set up your tree, make a fresh, straight cut across the base of the trunk (about an inch up from the original cut) and place the tree in the stand that will hold close to a gallon of water or more. Trees may soak up between 2 pints to a gallon of water per day – so make sure to check daily and supply fresh water as needed. Remember, a constant supply of water is essential to keep the tree fresh and the needles from drying and dropping off. It will also help the boughs in staying straight and your tree smelling great.
A seal of dried sap will form over the cut stump in four to six hours if the water drops below the base of the tree, preventing the tree from absorbing water later when the tree stand is refilled. If a seal does form, another fresh cut will have to be made. This is very hard to do if you have decorated your Christmas tree.
