The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

 

 Happy Holidays to all! 

The season is upon us, and has actually been staying quiet warm.  I made someone promise me that we would go cut down a real Christmas Tree this year, and so did some research on real tree etiquette and impacts of real vs. artificial trees and lived to tell the tale via blog. 

The basic ideas of keeping a tree nice and healthy while in your house is to:
1. Water it.
2. Water it some more.
3. Do not keep it by any major source of heat like a vent or tv.
4. Before putting it into the stand make a fresh cut from the trunk so it is willing and able to drink.
5. Light and decorate.

Here are some of the websites that helped/is helping me with the care of my lovely Balsam fur.

>Handy Watering Tricks. 

>This one was to make a homemade tree stand consisting of a bucket, sand, and water which I was not brave enough to do, but for those are possibly could be, here you go!

>I had also heard that vodka in your stand is a great way to preserve it, and make it live a little bit longer for the holiday season, but after doing some googling, that is actually the opposite of what it does. An e-how about that. 

>Lastly, this was a neat watering system if you were willing to do a little DIY, and hate bending over to fill it with water.  http://www.ehow.com/how_7228542_diy_-christmas-tree-watering-system.html

 Real Vs. Fake

One of the biggest struggles that I had was whether it was good to go cut down a tree every year, or to use the artificial tree we already had. What to do! So I went to the internet again and found out that yes, cutting down a tree is taking away a tree from the environment, but the plastic that artificial trees are made from are not great either. Don't get me wrong, I also have a fake tree, but here was a great article explaining it.  The plastic is basically non-biodegradable and non-recyclable and will therefore sit in a landfill for a VERY long time. 

The Best Way To Spread Christmas Cheer Is To Sing It Loud For All To Hear!