Does Your Christmas Tree Measure Up?

Don't just head out to the Christmas tree lot and pick any fir tree that you see; you should select your tree carefully. Before even leaving your house take exact measurements of the area where you will be setting up your tree. Then, measure trees that you are considering at the lot. You shouldn't, under any circumstances, estimate the measurements.

What are you going to do with a 9-foot tree if your ceiling is 7 feet tall? The last thing you want is to have branches consuming your living room and a treetop scraping across your nicely painted ceiling. Trees in a lot tend to look much smaller than they are so make a smart decision. And, in addition to measuring the height, measure the width of the trees.

If you end up having to trim down the circumference of the tree, you will significantly reduce the attractiveness of the tree. Consider that Christmas tree farmers shear an average of 66 percent off of the trees initially—much more than that might leave your tree looking like Charlie Brown's.