Picking the Perfect Christmas Tree: Part Two

In my 50 plus years as a Christmas Addict, I’ve had every kind of a perfect Christmas tree imaginable, as my idea of perfection is directly related to my anticipation, inspiration and desperation. 

I’ve had large trees, short trees and table top trees.  I’ve had fat trees and skinny trees, trees that were too sparse and trees that were so full that the ornaments could not hang down.  I’ve had blue trees, green trees, silver trees and -- unfortunately --a few youbrown trees.  There have been long needled trees, short needled trees, soft needled trees and needles so sharp they drew blood on the very hands that decorated them. 

Over the years, my perfect Christmas trees have had straight trunks and trees with trunks so crooked that they had to be hung from the ceiling by fishing line and an eye bolt.  I’ve had trees that smelled lovely all season and trees that stunk so bad I had to open a window.  There have been live trees, artificial trees and half dead trees.  Some of my perfect Christmas trees held their needles until Super Bowl Sunday and some lost their needles by December 1^st.  I’ve bought trees from florists, designated tree lots, the Boy Scouts, the North Fort Myers Marching Band, the feed store, Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's, a country store/liquor store/tavern, a “U Cut” Christmas tree farm, and trees from my own acreage.

With all this experience, there is just one thing I know for sure – there are NO ugly Christmas trees, and that includes that Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  Who knew back in 1965 when I first saw A Charlie Brown Christmas that one day, you could actually buy it. 

Go figure.                           

But I digress.  In your quest for picking the perfect Christmas tree, I urge you to be a little pickier than me.  Regardless of your taste and definitions of perfection, here are some tips to help you choose the perfect Christmas tree before you even leave your home.

Determine your tree needs:

•   Do you have limited space?
•   Do you have a particular spot that the tree absolutely has to go?
•   How tall a tree do you need?  Measure the area where the tree is going from floor to ceiling.  Don’t forget to subtract inches or feet to accommodate the tree topper and the Christmas tree stand, plus another 2-6 inches you'll need to trim off the bottom of the trunk in order to water it.  If the average price is $20 a foot, do you really want to cut off and throw away $40 worth of tree?
•  How wide a tree do you need?  Do you really want to watch TV through the branches of your Christmas tree?
• Is there anyone in your family or who will be visiting your home during the holidays that have allergy issues?
•  What’s your budget? Your perfect Christmas tree will not only fit in your home, but in your budget as well.

Picking the Perfect Christmas Tree: Part One

Defining Perfection

Everyone has their own idea of the Perfect Christmas Tree. I’m sure my idea is different than yours and both of our ideals are different from the professional Christmas tree grower.

Perfection comes in all sizes, shapes,colors and scents. Some of us want the Christmas tree of our childhood memories. The perfect Christmas tree was the center of our holiday traditions.  Some of us have matured and we want that sparkly tree that we saw on Martha Stewart or in Southern Living magazine. Some of us are simple trying to forget the trees of Christmases past.

So take a few moments and define your version of The Perfect Christmas Tree for you and your family. Here are some things to consider:

• Height
• Width
• Fullness
• Length of needles
• Color
• Scent

Remember: You will pay for perfection. A perfect Christmas tree that is perfectly fresh and perfectly symmetrical along with a perfectly straight trunk and perfect all the way around is going to cost you big time. And I don’t know if a "perfect" Christmas trees really exists. 

In your pursuit of picking the perfect Christmas tree consider where you might be willing to compromise. If your tree is going into a corner or against a wall does it really need to be perfect all the way around? Can I tell you how many times we’ve “turned the bare spot to the wall” -- every year since 1958. Nobody noticed and in the end, nobody cared. In my experience that one bare spot that you didn’t see at the lot will end up being the perfect place for that over-sized ornament you never know what to do with.

Probably the one characteristic to stand strong on is the shape of the trunk. Granted, no one will see it but the actual installing of the tree in the stand sets the mood for the whole Christmas tree trimming experience and no one wants that job to take 5 hours. On a Sunday. With all your kids sitting patiently. With boxes of breakable ornaments on their laps. And that very special one that they spent all week making at school.

In retrospect, the trunk doesn’t even have to be that perfect. Just make sure that the bottom foot of the tree trunk – the part going in the stand – is as straight and as true as possible. And make sure that that perfectly straight tree trunk will fit inside your tree stand. If your tree stand is in two parts, why not take the cup part with you and try it on for size.

And it won’t hurt to remind your honey that you when you were picking out the perfect Christmas tree, you sacrificed the one you really wanted in order to get a straight trunk for him.