How to Buy a Christmas Tree: Part Five

Getting the Christmas Tree Home 

When you are learning how to buy a Christmas tree, your education does not end at the Christmas tree farm or at the local Christmas tree lot.  There's a few more steps to the process.  You've gone to a lot of trouble picking the perfect Christmas tree, and now you need to get it home, safe and sound.  Whether your tree is attached to the top of your vehicle or shoved into the trunk of your car, laid into the back of a van or SUV or in the bed of a pickup truck, here are some tips to minimize damage to your tree and your vehicle:

1.    Protect your vehicle.  You don’t want scratches or pine pitch to ruin your vehicles paint job, carpet or upholstery.  An old blanket or a large piece of heavy plastic will do the trick. 

2.  Protect the Christmas tree.  At the website:  PickYourOwnChristmasTree.org it is suggested that if your trip home is more than 15 minutes, you should wrap the tree in plastic or a tarp.  The wind created by driving can damage the branches.

3.  If you are tying your Christmas tree onto the roof of your vehicle, position the tree with the cut end of the trunk facing the front of the vehicle.  It will be a little more aerodynamic that way and cause less pressure on the branches.

4.  Tie your Christmas tree securely.  Once you think you’ve got it just right, wriggle it and jiggle it aggressively to check for slippage.  You do not want your $100 tree to fall off on the highway and be run over by a semi truck.

5.  If your tree is going into the trunk, do not force the trunk lid down.  Tie it loosely with some twine and don’t forget to tie a red flag to the tree tip extending out the back, even if it’s only a foot or two past your bumper.

6.  While it's tempting to run all your errands while you’re out and about, it’s probably best at this time to take your tree home right away for a couple of reasons:

·         It is never a good idea to let a cut tree sit in the sun or in a vehicle that can heat up substantial while sitting in the winter sun.

·         There is always the possibility of theft.

·         If your tree is protruding from the trunk, another car could back into it and break off the tip. Or somebody could just walk buy and clip it with a shopping cart.