How I pick my California
Christmas Tree:
After
visiting the Newland House Museum today and finding out the advertised
carolers were canceled, I helped a family get their photo for their
Christmas cards in front of a wreath at the beautiful entry to the
Newland House. I asked Susie (the mom) where I should buy my tree. She
already has one and is among the trend of those using artificial
specimens this year.
"Try
Low's or Home Depot," Susie advised. BIG MISTAKE. But not for
long. I drove to my local Home Depot and discovered a traffic jam just
to get into the parking lot. As I gazed over to the fenced tree lot
while waiting for traffic to move, there was a line around the block,
(kind of like the line that winds around and around for Space Mountain
at Disneyland.)
If I
could get out of the parking lot, I'd be happy. It took maneuvering but
I made it out of there. Next stop was where I went last
year...Snow Mountain Trees. They had beautiful trees, I walked right up,
they deliver tonight, put the stand on, and the price was $25 more.
That's perfectly fine by me.
I made a
video above of my tree I selected, because they misplaced my tree last
year and I wanted documentation of which one I picked.
How do I
select mine? I always get Douglas fir, the cheapest. But that's
not the reason I pick it. I like the shape of them and find Douglas the
easiest to decorate for artistically challenged tree decorators. I
looked at bundled trees and am generally fairly adept at getting a good
one. So when the guy showed me a bundled Christmas tree (from
Washington, I believe), I wanted something fuller. It should be at least
four times as full, when bundled, as I can get my arms around. Then look
at the shape all around for a smooth contour. Pay attention to the
top, to make sure there's not too much trimmed off. Pay attention to the
bottom, as well, to make sure that it doesn't have large gaping spots
that will look empty.
video |
