1. Find a good place to get it. We go to our town's Volunteer Fire Department and buy a tree (and a wreath and poinsettias) from their sale, which benefits them directly. Plus, the guys who work there are pretty cute. Not that I'm paying any attention to that fact or anything!
2. When you find a tree that you like, size it up and envision the probability of it fitting well (or not) in your house.
3. Shake the tree to see if a lot of pine needles fall off. If they do, don't get it! (We didn't do this little test last year. It proved to be a big mistake. Our tree died about a week after we got it!) If not a lot of needles fall off, the tree is probably healthy and strong. The tree below passed the test and is the one we ended up choosing.
4. Let your kid "help out" (i.e., crawl in between the trees to hide, run around, and generally have a blast!).
5. Once the tree arrives at your house and is still laying horizontally on the ground, all netted up, let the above-mentioned child get a head start on the decorating.
Next in this continuing miniseries: How to Decorate a Christmas Tree. Stay tuned!
