Well, still another calendar page has turned! December – as in “It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas”! There is even a bit of that white stuff coming that promises to put us “in the mood” (for Christmas!). There is definitely a wintery nip in the air as temperatures continue to drop. There are lots of people out there who have already decked their halls with boughs of holly and a whole lot more! Actually many have decked those halls even before Thanksgiving last week!

And now Christmas! Gees, time is really whizzing by and there is still so very much to do before Christmas, especially if you are a procrastinator like me! No, my halls are not yet decked out. And, no, my Christmas tree is not yet up! It’s so depressing – but not hopeless! And I know I am not alone, because there are others out there still looking for their Christmas trees. I know, I know, every time you pass a place that sells Christmas tree, you slow down and give a long wistful look. They all look so nice and full…… Which one to get? Well, if you still have to pick up a Christmas tree, here are some reminders.

There are three main varieties of evergreens that make for really beautiful Christmas trees:

FIR - These have short, flat needles that are ½ to 1 inch long. They are also wonderfully fragrant, and they really hold on to their needles for a long time. Typical firs are Balsam, Douglas, and Fraser.

SPRUCE - These also have short needles (½ to 1¼ " ), but the needles are four-sided, not flat. Spruce needles are stiff and sharp-pointed so they tend to be just a tad too pinchy or prickly when you decorate this kind of tree. The Colorado blue spruce smells pretty good. The White Spruce and the Norway Spruce also smell good, but they tend to drop their needles all too quickly.

PINE - These have really long needles, up to six inches long with 2 - 5 needles attached in clusters to the stems. Pines are also good-smelling Christmas trees and they hold on to their needles very well. Scotch pines have twisted blue-green needles. Austrian pines have stiff pointed dark-green needles. White pines have long, dark-green to blue-green needles that are soft and easy to decorate.

Wow! Lots of different kinds of Christmas trees! The choice is yours! Whichever kind of tree you do choose for this holiday season, just make absolutely sure that it is fresh. Those needles should be resilient, not brittle. When you bounce the base of the trunk on the ground or tap the trunk on the ground a few times, millions of needles should not fall off.

Determine what size tree you'll need before you make that final selection. Do all 4 sides of that tree have to look perfect? Or will that tree stand in a corner? Select a tree that is the proper height. If that majestic Christmas tree from the lot is too tall or too wide for your room, then you will have to subtract a few inches (or maybe even a few feet!) from that tree. And if you do end up cutting large sections off the top, or the sides, or from the bottom, then you'll alter its natural taper and you may end up with an unnatural disaster! So be practical. Take a few measurements (of the room and the tree). Sometimes, the biggest is NOT the best!

And once you do get that beautiful "tree of trees" set up inside, keep it cool and keep it watered. Use those tree preservatives to prolong that tree's indoor life. Otherwise, you'll end up with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree that will drop all of its needles when Santa bumps into it on Christmas Eve. Now that's really depressing!

We'll talk more about Christmas trees next week.

Remember - Eat Smart New York!

Bye - talk to you soon!
D