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I had three must-have qualities in mind during our tree hunt:
1) Pretty
2) Taller than Jacob
3) Wider than Brewster
The tree looked so small once it was wrapped in netting. I worried it wouldn't be big enough when we got it home. Ha!
Jake the Tree Slayer
Fraser Fir 7-8ft tall
Here's what I've learned so far:
- Select a tree stand that's sized appropriately.
- Don't forget you'll be crawling around underneath the tree regularly for watering. Even more often if your pets discover this handy watering hole.
- If you're buying your tree lights in the small boxes of 100 count bulbs, buy 1-2 boxes of lights more than you think you need (around $2/box at walmart) and make sure they all have green wire before you leave the store. Trust me. :)
- Measure your ceiling height before you start your tree hunting adventure. The tree will look much bigger in your house than it does outside!
- Move any furniture necessary before you have a big ol' tree laying in the middle of your living room.
- Skip the crowds and get your tree on a weekday.
- Update 12/3 - Find out how your city collects and disposes Christmas trees before you buy one. Ours recycles them into mulch for city parks and gardens.
- UPDATE 12/3 - Put plastic sheeting under the tree to protect your floor. Thanks for the tip, Sky Princess!
A couple more for the pet owners:
- Give pets some time to acclimate to the outdoors coming in before you load the tree up with your priceless ornaments. Don't risk losing all your ornaments if your tree takes a tumble.
- Save yourself some stress and mess by using shatterproof ornaments in the tail wagging range.
Do you have your tree up and decorated yet? Do you have a fresh cut or artificial tree?
28 comments:
I am blog hopping today and decided to stop by your blog.
We already have our Christmas decorations up too...I LOVE Christmas!!
Hope you will stop by and follow either or both of my blogs.
Jessicas Lil Corner is our family blog http://jessicaslilcorner.blogspot.com
So Stylilized is where I am currently offering FREE custom blog designs at http://sostylilized.blogspot.com
Have a blessed day! :0)
Your tree looks very pretty. We tried to bring a tree here but Marie thought we were planting it and came at it with a chain saw before we could get it inside...
Just kidding of course.
Happy holidays...
We already have our tree up and decorated, although minimal decorations this year. We normally do this the day after Thanksgiving. Why minimal decorations? My sister and her husband both work on Christmas so the plan was for her to drop off her kid (he's 2) at our house so we could take him to the family gathering and then the in-laws would pick him up for their celebration. I didn't want too much out that he could break or mess with. Now we are hosting Christmas..so I might do a bit more decorating and just make sure things are up higher so all the kiddo's can't mess with it.
Hi, I am following you from Friendly Friday! I hope you have a happy Friday and wonderful weekend!
http://caseysgoodlife.com
Hi. I am visiting you from the hops.
That is a big tree! And a big dog!
Our is fake. If we got a real one I would have to live in a bubble on a steady diet of Benedryl all season!
Awh, pretty tree!! Love it! We had a few real ones growing up then it was hard to clean so we didn't get anymore. I'd love to be able to do that for the kids. They are so much prettier. Thank for linking up girl! :D Hope you have a great holiday!
Hi blog hopper here. You look like you are having fun. My son is spending his first Christmas in his new home and texted me last night to say he's got his tree....it's black to match his sofa. What can you say? I'm your latest follower. Super name for a blog too.
Carol from www.facing50withhumour.blogspot.com
Also put plastic sheeting under the tree to protect you floor.
Beautiful room and blog. Following you from a blog hop. Would love a follow back!
www.channelingricky.com
Never mind the above. I am already a follower. Losing my mind! Too cold to think!
I love real trees too! Yours is gorgeous and love your house too. :-)
Trudy
www.asophisticatedmommy.blogspot.com
New to the blog hop!
This was going to be my first real tree.. but I chickened out!! I'll say .. next year!
Just found your blog through Friend Finding Friday. Love it! Now a follower
Pretty! Looks just like the tree we just cut down...and put in our 1800s house...and my name is Alison (with one L)too....so I'm thinking I'll follow to see what else we might have in common!
Blessings,
Alison
Stuff and Nonsense
Hi there from a new follower! Would love it if you stopped by my blog and followed along too! Have a great weekend!
New follower! :)
www.theloveliveshere.com
We just passed some trees for sale today and the scent was so enticing! Love that, there's nothing like it! We do fresh, cuz its the ECO thing to do, and it just sorta feels better, doesnt it?
I'm now following you through the Boost My Blog Friday Blog Hop! I hope you'll do the same! You can find me @ http://sofiasideas.com/
Sofia's Ideas
Just found you on a bloghop, would Love for you to follow me back (unless you already are Lol!
We get a real tree too. Love the smell, hate the needles. We usually put the tree up around the 15th of December and it comes down on New Year's Day.
Happy Friday!
Found you from the Friday Blog Hop at Home Grown Families. Your tree looks very nice. We use an artificial tree, due to allergies, and will be putting it up later today. I love decorating the tree.
I am following you now and would love a follow back. (My blog is www.starsideacademy.com/blog ) I just finished adding Google Friend Connect to my blog. Hopefully I did it right.
Following you now from Super Mega 7 Blog hop I hope you will follow me back you can find me at http://beachbabys.blogspot.com/
I love REAL trees!!
Following you from the Super 7 Blog Hop!
http://peachesreviews.com
I am a new follower! Saw you on Trendy Treehouse. I love the color of your walls and the ceiling is beautiful! Very lovely blog. Stop by when you get the chance:
www.karismaheartsavannah.blogspot.com
Hi Alison, we live in a heavily treed neighborhood and the smell of evergreen is with us everyday, so I must confess, we have a fake tree. I did change trees this year, from a limb by limb assembly tree to one that has 3 parts. I am fairly happy about that.
i have always wanted a real tree! It is beautiful. Thanks for linking up at Making Friends Monday! I am now following your lovely blog!
Found you through the Friday Blog Hop. Having a real tree is so much fun. I remember my first one, and the excitement. Now I live in Asia, and I am usually somewhere hot on Christmas Day. I miss having my own tree, and the plan is that one of these Christmas's I will (once I move into a bigger place). I'll drop back to see the trimmings :)
http;//budgettravelerssandbox.com
I found you through the Meet Me Monday hop! I'm at mommydoes.blogspot.com if you'd like to follow back :)
Making Friends on Monday! I'm following your blog now! Looking forward to reading more posts!
Anna, The Pilot's Wife
www.pilotwife.blogspot.com
Hi, new follower here! I LOVE real trees but have NEVER cut one down. We keep saying, "next year"...but we never do.
I have a giveaway going on if you're interested: We Don't Have It All Together
Congratulations on your tree! We have a fake one because of all the animals. I hope some day we'll have a real one :) Love your blog and what it's about! I hope you'll come follow back.
xoxo
Kate
http://loveiseverywhere.blogspot.com/
So, what do you think? Don't be shy...we're all friends here. :) We love hearing from you and read every note you leave us!