Christmas is fast approaching and you may be contemplating what presents you’re going to buy this year and whether or not you need to budget for more decorations. You may also be considering switching to a green Christmas as many households are doing this year and buying a real Christmas tree.
If you’re looking to buy your first real Christmas tree or looking to make sure that this year’s real Christmas tree is the best one yet, make sure you follow our top 5 tips below!
Why buy a real Christmas tree?
Before we get to those all-important buying tips, we thought we would give you some of the best reasons to buy a real Christmas tree.
- Real Christmas trees are much better for the environment, cutting down on harmful plastic usage and contributing plenty of oxygen to the atmosphere when they are grown.
- Real Christmas trees are easily recycled into compost, which can be used to grow more real Christmas trees.
- Real Christmas trees look and smell much better than their artificial plastic counterparts.
- Real Christmas trees can be used over multiple years if they are pot-grown which makes them incredible value for money!
Those are our four favourite reasons to go real this Christmas, but if you still need convincing, read our other articles that go into much more depth!
Real Christmas tree buying: what to look for?
Your first consideration is going to be whether you opt for a pot grown tree or a freestanding tree.
Freestanding Christmas trees
These are your single-use, disposable real Christmas tree variety and will need to be recycled once the festive season ends. Don’t worry, recycling a real Christmas tree is easy and is as simple as putting it in your green waste bin if you don’t want to compost it yourself. People opt for freestanding trees because they come in larger sizes and mean families can enjoy a full-grown tree at Christmas and also they don’t require storage making them perfect one time purchases.
Pot grown Christmas trees
Pot grown trees are typically a bit smaller although you can purchase a few varieties up to 5ft in height. People opt for pot grown Christmas trees if they want to keep and grow their tree and use it for successive Christmases or because they prefer a smaller contained Christmas tree.
Stands for your real Christmas tree
Once you have decided on the type of tree you want, make sure that you have the right stand to display it. Freestanding trees require special stands that hold the tree upright whereas pot grown trees are supplied complete with their pot. The pots are suitable for display and will be sufficient space for your pot grown tree for the first twelve months.
Check your Christmas tree space
Make sure that you have the right space for the tree you’re buying. If you think your space isn’t big enough for a tree it is best to opt for a smaller tree. If you’re worried about how wide your Christmas tree is, then this rule of thumb equation should help.
A real Christmas tree is normally half as wide as it is tall. That means a 6ft tall tree is likely 3ft wide.
This isn’t an absolute rule but it is a good indicator and if your tree is still too wide for the space, a real Christmas tree can be trimmed or pruned like a hedge, tree or plant in the garden.
Disposal
Most plastic trees are stored in cupboards, bought out for Christmas and then when they get too decrepit, they are thrown out with the rubbish. Sometimes they are fortunate enough to be placed in the recycling waste by a considerate owner – but, because fake Christmas trees may be made from recycled plastic, it doesn’t automatically qualify them for recycling. Most fake trees end up in landfills because they are constructed of multiple types of plastic that can’t be separated and recycled.
We always advocate making sure you know how you plan on disposing of your real Christmas tree before you buy it. Are you going to compost it yourself? If yes, do you have a saw or axe to chop it down into compostable pieces?
If in doubt UK councils operate green waste collections and will compost it for you!
Ordering and Delivery
Sometimes people opt to go to Christmas tree markets to purchase real Christmas trees. For anyone that has attended one you will know how stressful, crowded and frustrating the experience is. The problem is these pop-up markets are only available for a few days and they experience an influx of people all trying to get the “best” Christmas tree.
This results in trees being prodded, pushed, pulled and thrown around at the expense of those who have misguidedly been told to look for specific things when selecting a Christmas tree. Then once you have bought it, you will need to transport it home which is no mean feat as trees are both bulky and awkwardly shaped.
We advocate purchasing your Christmas tree online from a reputable seller. This means that your tree will not be messed about with or discarded by others in search of a “better” tree and it will also mean that your tree is handpicked by a Christmas tree expert who will find you the best tree that matches your purchase. It will then be carefully packed and delivered to your doorstep.
Purchasing your tree from an online retailer that allows customer reviews is a sure-fire way to get a great Christmas tree as they know if they get it even a tiny bit wrong that this could negatively affect their company score.
Those five tips should keep your Christmas tree search both fruitful and stress-free! Now all you need to worry about is where you stored all those decorations...