Why we are getting a live Christmas tree.

Last week we decided to go check out what a local nursery had to offer for Christmas trees. Yes I know, it’s only November. A friend of mine had rented a live Christmas tree last year, and we were intrigued. 

For several years my husband and I have been talking about getting a real tree. For as long as we’ve been together we’ve used a fake tree. Growing up my family had a real tree once. Once we found out that we could rent a tree, and return it after we really liked the sounds of that. No chopping down a tree, and worrying about it dropping needles all over our home. 

At the nursery they had the Christmas trees all lined up in rows, all different types of pine trees and heights. Now, part of why we went at the end of October was because they had early bird prices, as it gets closer to Christmas the rental price goes up. Plus we wanted to have as big of a selection as possible to pick out our Christmas tree. After some direction from the staff, we headed outside with our yellow tag to mark the tree we picked. 

I was hoping to find something with a nice shape. We found a 5 foot subalpine fir tree that we all really liked. The huge selling point for us was that this tree has “soft” needles. They are not as pointy as the other trees. Even Evie commented right away on how the tree was soft. We then went back in and filled out the paper work to book our tree officially. It will be at our home for a little over two weeks. It cannot be in the house for too long, in a warm environment as you do not want to the roots and the tree to dry out. We are still debating having the nursery deliver and pick up to our house, we just are not fans of what they are charging in order to do this. So we are looking into renting a truck or trailer to pick up and bring it back on our own. We were also told how to take care of the tree over the time it is at our house. To water it, you use ice cubes! Brilliant. We were warned that if water is instantly pooling in the tray, the inside environment is too hot for the tree. We learned lots while there that’s for sure. 

For some this is a great option as like I mentioned earlier you do not have to worry about needles dropping on the floor. Many really like how this is more of an environmentally friendly options, no chopping down a tree that then has to be replaced with a seedling and grown again. No wasted trees that end up in landfills, or on the side of the road. Instead this tree still has its roots and continues to grow. If you’d like, and can do so at your home, you can even pay the difference later and purchase the tree to plant in your yard. Sadly we cannot do that with living in a town house, but I love the idea. Maybe some day if we ever have a home of our own. 

The only disappointment for our family, was that Evie had her heart set on a pink tree. We had to explain to her that trees are green. It looks like we will be covering our tree in pink decorations this year.