Ultimate Christmas Tree Buying Guide: Tips for Price, Freshness, Size

Image: Thinkstock

Gearing up for the annual Christmas tree hunt? You and everyone else. Last year, roughly 33 million evergreens were purchased over the holidays. You may have heard that prices are up a bit this year, but fear not. We spoke to Rick Dungey of the National Christmas Tree Association about how to find a bargain, mistakes to avoid, and everything else you need to know before you purchase your home’s holiday centerpiece this season.

Image: Thinkstock

Shop Around

If you want to find the best value, you gotta do the work. Prices vary greatly and can be influenced by factors such as size, species, distance shipped, market demand and the type of retailer you purchase from, says Dungey. (A sampling of people surveyed last season reported spending an average of about $35 on a real tree.)

To start, use the NCTA’s handy locator tool to find retailers in your area. Then visit a few places and comparison shop. If you’re hoping to haggle, look for places that sell trees without a bar-coded price tag (those are already entered in a computer system and harder to alter). Notice a couple of brown boughs? See if they’ll chop (ha!) the price a bit (or, hey, maybe they’ll throw in a free wreath). Of course, if you can wait it out, the best deals can be had shortly before the holiday, when sellers need to unload stock.

Test for Freshness

The NCTA suggests running a branch through your enclosed hand; the needles shouldn’t fall off easily. The outer branches should bend — if they snap immediately, the tree is too dry. You can also call ahead to retailers and ask when their trees were delivered—the more recently, the better. Read this for more info (including advice for what to expect at a cut-your-own farm.)

Measure, Measure, Measure

A common pitfall: Buying the wrong size. “Measure the space where you want to display the tree for both height and width,” advises Dungey. “Christmas trees are commonly grown with an 80% taper, which means the bottom branches have a diameter 80% of the total height.” To translate: Your 10-foot tall tree will be 8-feet wide at the bottom, so make sure it will fit your room horizontally as well as vertically! If you need a skinnier option, just ask for a tree with a smaller taper.

Image: Thinkstock

Get a Good Stand

Many people overlook the importance of the tree stand, notes Dungey. Most critically, the stand needs to hold at least a gallon of water. (If your tree is over 7 feet, your stand should hold even more water.) After that, choose the style you prefer (there’s four main categories of stand: center pin, four-bolt, clamp and two-piece) or ask your retailer which one is best for your tree. Make sure the stand is big enough; don’t trim the sides of the trunk to force your tree into a stand.

If you buy a tree early and don’t want to put it in the stand and decorate yet, make a thin cut off the bottom and place the tree upright in a bucket of water. That way your fir can stay hydrated in the meantime.

Stick to Tap Water

Will adding aspirin, bleach, fertilizer or Sprite to your tree’s water keep it fresh longer? Nope. Plain tap water is best for your tree. Really. In fact, it’s best to be wary of any weird-sounding advice. “Trust me,” says Dungey. “In my 17 years of doing this, I have heard some truly bizarre things that people say ‘the guy at the tree lot’ told them.”