Christmas quest: Finding the right tree

Tips for buying a tree at a retail lot:

* Know the height and width of the tree you need before heading to the lot.
* Ask when the tree was cut and delivered. Make sure trees are delivered several times during the season.
* Don’t pick a tree that is losing too many needles, has discolored foliage, a musty odor or wrinkled bark.
* Ask the retailer about recycling Christmas trees in your area.

Source: National Christmas Tree Association at http://www.christmastree.org

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Last year, 8-year-old Azlynne Perry learned the lesson that opting for a Christmas tree small enough for the living room might make more sense than picking the cedar that scrapes the sky.

On Saturday afternoon, the eyes of the girl from Bluff City, Tenn., wandered among a maze of trees at Greer’s Tree Farm, opposite Bristol Motor Speedway on the Volunteer Parkway.

Her mom, Kymberly Perry, dad, Landon Perry, and grandfather, Randy Perry, stood nearby, anxiously awaiting the young girl’s pick.

“She picked a 30-foot tree last Christmas,” Kymberly Perry said. “We got to the car and had to cut it down some … and we got it home and we had to cut it some more.”

So, this time around, Azlynne noted a different strategy: “I’m looking for a fluffy one, but it can’t be too tall … or too small.”

The National Christmas Tree Association estimates that Americans will buy roughly 25 million to 30 million real trees before this year’s holiday season comes to a close.

Many of Bristol’s shoppers Saturday said they prefer the smell of a real tree over the not-so-fresh artificial trees that have become so popular in recent years because of their convenience and ease.

“I love the live tree,” said Del Matchett, of Bristol, Va. “Growing up as a kid on a farm it was tradition … we always went out and cut our tree.”
Matchett inspected the pickings at Greer’s Tree Farm with wife, Jill, by his side.

His wife was raised in the city and spent her childhood missing the thrill of waking up on Christmas morning to find a real tree in the living room.
That adventure didn’t come until her first Christmas married to Del, eight years ago.

“It was exciting and it was something I’d never done before,” she said.

Now, she collects ornaments marked with the current year to celebrate each Christmas.

As for how the trees are picked, well, that depends on the buyer, as evidenced by the jumble of tree shoppers strolling the various tree lots on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Standing next to a possible purchase at Greer’s Tree Farm, Jerry Woodard, of Piney Flats, Tenn., stretched out his arms to show how big a tree he wanted.
“I just like a big tree,” he said. “I don’t care if it takes up the whole room. I don’t care if I have to crawl on the floor just to get anywhere.”

Of course, he admitted the final say would likely fall to his wife, Brittany.

She just crossed her arms and smiled.

“There’s no space, and I know where it’s going to go and what we’re going to get,” she said.

Usually, picking the perfect tree is a family affair that results in a compromise, Greer’s lot owner Duane Greer said.

“The kids always want big trees and the parents don’t want something as big,” he said.

From three trees away, a grinning Jerry Woodard remarked: “I guess I’m just a big kid.”

What has changed is how much money families are willing pay for a tree.

“People like a bargain,” Greer said. “They’re not spending big money for a tree like they used to.”

He first noticed the downturn in spending trends last year, and correlates it to the hikes in gas prices.

“I’m not spending $60 to $80 for a tree. Are you?” Greer asked.

Also agreeing that picking a tree is traditionally a family event was Julie Baldwin, owner of Wolverton Mountain Christmas Trees.

A 10-foot inflatable snowman fronts Baldwin’s lot at Volunteer Parkway and Holston Avenue on the Tennessee side of Bristol.

She explained that parents, kids, aunts, uncles, and even grandparents often pick the tree together. Sometimes, the family dog or cat tags along, too.
“People always bring their most important family members and … their pets are important, too,” Baldwin said.

Not all choices are made after careful consideration by the entire brood, though.

Karen Hostetter, of Bluff City, needed only five minutes of perusing the picks at Baldwin’s lot before stopping next to a tree brimming with needles.

“I had a cedar last year and it worked pretty good,” she said while running her hands across the needles.

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