With the turkey and stuffing now packed away, families started to turn this weekend to another holiday tradition: finding the perfect Christmas tree.
After a year of plentiful rain, people seeking the perfect pine should have a good selection, said Linda Wilson, the executive director of the Georgia Christmas Tree Association.
"It's been excellent. The extra rain has been wonderful," she said. "We expect a good selling season."
Ms. Wilson said she tells people to make sure they know how big they want their tree to be and to measure the space in their house beforehand.
For some, the bigger, the better.
"I like a bigger tree that's fuller and branches out -- that's nice and green," Heather Hafen said as she shopped at Avery Trees for Christmas on Wheeler Road with her husband, Jared, and their children, 2-year-old Jeorge and 10-week-old Baden.
Her husband, who is stationed at Fort Gordon and will be sent to South Korea at the first of the year, said he was thinking about clean-up. "I want to get a small one so it's easy for her to take down," he said.
The Leyland cypress and Fraser firs are likely to be two popular choices this year, said Matthew Gay, who owns Gay's Christmas Tree Farm on Tobacco Road. The farm has between 4,000 and 5,000 trees in different stages of growth and sells several hundred each year.
"The Leylands people like because they don't shed any needles, and they stay fresh so long," he said. "The Fraser firs have a good aroma to them."
Mr. Gay said he thinks families don't skimp on holiday traditions.
"I think that people are still going to come out and buy a tree," he said.
Grovetown resident Jennifer McCullough said she enjoys shopping for a real tree each year with her children, 10-year-old Macie and 6-year-old Toby Pittman.
"It's just fun to go pick it out with the kids," she said. "It's different every year."
Macie chimed in that she knew exactly what she wanted.
"It has to be a little bit big and a little bit small, and it has to be real," she said.
TREE TIPS
- Measure the space where you plan to put the tree. Trees tend to look smaller outdoors and fill more space inside.
- Don't place your tree near a heat source.
- Check to see if pine needles shed easily before purchasing.
- Put the tree in water as soon as possible after getting home.
- Pick a stand that fits your tree and make sure it can hold enough water for the tree. As a general rule, stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter.
- Pick lights with low heat to avoid drying out the tree too quickly.
Source: National Christmas Tree Association
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With plenty of rain and all the trees for Christmas then why do we have to spend so much on a tree? $40 and up is still to much for a fixed income person...I will have to stick with my artificial...would love to have a real one some day....