Christmas tree shopping: finding the ideal tree

During the holiday season some people decorate their homes with a Christmas tree.

It’s the 11th year for “Trees for Troops”.

The Christmas trees are wet out at Kelumac Christmas tree farm near Hearne, where people come to cut down their own trees each year.

Many tree farms offer other activities for families on an outing to select the perfect-or perfectly imperfect-tree.

“It’s going to the next holiday, end of Thanksgiving, and now you get to see the lights come on on the tree”.

“We do it every year”, said Governor Sam Brownback, “and, you know, usually we have to push the kids, particularly when they’re teenagers”. He expected they would sell more than 150 trees on Black Friday alone. Out at HalfDay Creek Christmas Tree Farm, however, there are 30 acres full of trees just waiting to be picked.

Now that Thanksgiving is over its time to think about Christmas and putting up the tree.

Some of them even got trees themselves when they were deployed.

Of those who purchase real trees, 85% of them buy a pre-cut tree rather than chopping down their own. Minnesota Grown, a partnership for Minnesota specialty crop and livestock producers, said healthy, handsome trees abound this year, and sales of real Christmas trees have been increasing nationwide over the past few years.

Be sure you know what size tree fits in your home, both height and width, before you leave. The small tree was just under eight feet tall, and the larger tree was so big, Dave and his son Wyatt couldn’t carry it, having to drag it along the road until Karl Rieppel could get it with his tractor and wagon.

Several wet months combined with really dry months have complicated things for some Christmas tree farm owners.

“I’ve never had one before, so we thought, well, why not?”

It didn’t take the Matthew Shephard and his family long to find their tree.

Their trip to Cooper’s Tree Farm at 5577 Winder Highway, Braselton, on Saturday introduced new family members to the sometimes hard, but always fun, venture to find the ideal tree.