There's nothing like the smell of a fresh cut Christmas tree.
I haven’t been able to give up my cut tree, yet. Even though I know that growing Christmas trees is a highly toxic industry, I still want that fresh cut smell in the house, and I’ve not found an artificial tree that looks anything like a real one. So, until I’m able to give up this vice, I try to make sure the tree stays as green and safe as possible.
I went straight to the expert’s site, the National Christmas Tree Association to check and see if there was anything I should know that I didn’t already. Actually I was doing everything right, except I put warm water in the base when I bring it in because I was told it will make the cells in the tree swell more and take up more water, but they say that it doesn’t matter. Second, I didn’t know you shouldn’t burn any part of a Christmas tree. I’ve often burned the piece I cut from the bottom and sometimes a couple of the branches we’ve removed. They don’t say why, but I’ll heed that this year.
Really the most important thing you can do is keep them dry, cool, and watered. Avoid putting worn lights on them, unless you want the possibility of burning your house down, and try to keep pets and small children away from them. I recently read about a woman who was trying to keep her cat from climbing the tree and sleeping in it! Now that’s a unique, but hazardous decoration. The tree had toppled a number of times last Christmas and she’s trying to figure out what she can do this year to keep it up for the season.
So, if you’re like me, and still love to have a cut tree to decorate, just follow the tips in the above link for a safe holiday season. Live trees are another story. I’ll cover them next time.
