How Do You Ensure Your Fresh Cut Christmas Tree Is Really Fresh?
The best way to ensure your Christmas tree is freshly cut is to go to a tree farm, rip it out of the ground, and strap it to the top of your station wagon (oh sorry that was National Lampoon’s Family Vacation).
Yes I have a warped brain, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite holiday movies, along with A Christmas Story. You don’t have to rip your Christmas tree out of the ground like the Griswalds, but cutting your own tree can be an annual event.
Cutting your own tree really is the best way to ensure your Christmas tree is fresh. It can be a fun family tradition to go cut your own Christmas tree each year. But if traipsing through the mud and snow with 5 children in tow isn’t for you, here are a couple mostly obvious things to look for when you’re picking a tree off the lot:
1. Check the needles to make sure they’re still soft and pliable, not hard and brittle.
2. The needles should also be green and have a shine, and not be turning brown, or dull. Many places spray paint their trees, but you should still be able to spot dry dull needles.
3. When you touch the tree a bunch of needles should not fall off. Give the tree a light shake and see what happens, or drop it on the ground from a couple inches in the air. It will lose a few needles, but it shouldn’t be raining needles.
When you get your tree home you should re-saw the base of the trunk before putting it in water to help the tree take up water and stay fresh. Keep your tree well watered, and don’t let the base dry out.
If you decide to go with a dug Christmas tree here are some guidelines to help you care for the tree until you can replant it in your yard.
Image (c) L Gerlach
Video via YouTube