Thank you, Home Depot!

[808 Vibes]

We humbly accept the free tree!

[keithvibe]

awwww you got yourself a charlie brown tree... how cute....

[808 Vibes]

Yep. Not perfect, like me, but I'm grateful for the little things. EDIT: and they were ALL free. Last batch. Pay $80+ somewhere else, or take a freebie.

[TONY TAT2]

[03VibeOttawa]

I'm jealous! nice find!

[lovemyraffe]

I'm glad someone is looking out for you.

[808 Vibes]

Yep, I stopped at a few places this morning...one wanted $27 for like a 2' tabletop, were out of the $35 size ones, only had $66+ ones, then I stopped at another that wanted $45 for the tabletop ones. That was all I needed to hear...I'm not paying no $45 for no stinkin' centerpiece! My tree budget was $25 like I spent LAST year, and was just about to give up when I figured try Home Depot. I asked the tree trunk chainsawer guy what was the smallest and the cheapest. He said they were all 6-7', they'd cut them down, and they were free. I thought he was joking. He told me it was the last batch and some might have some browning. The first and only I picked up was this one and saw very little brown (I cut them off when I got home) and this lady also thought my tree was a nice one. She said "run", meaning if I let go, someone else would grab it. LOL. I stand a better chance than the peeps who bought theirs around Thanksgiving-the first batch, and I will take the tree like I did the last year to the "TreeCycle", where they chop up the trees to make mulch out of them...to give back to the earth.

[Whelan]

Each year we go to Jone's Tree Farm located in the hills. They have a pumpkin picking area for the fall, strawberries and blueberries in the season, and a winery.$60, you park, they give you a saw if you don't have one. You go literally around an entire huge farm/hill to find whichever tree you want. No matter how big or small the price is the same. You cut it, bring it to the bailer, they drive it to your car and off you go. They have lots to do for the kids, people come from NJ, NY, MA, PA and picnic there with hot coco and such before venturing. Then as you pull out, you pay, and get a pewter ornament with the year on it. Sure it's $60 but it's totally worth it, especially for kids or if your a couple. Each year we take the walk up and up to the highest hill area called the North Pole, take a picture with the sign and find our tree.http://www.jonesfamilyfarms.com

[Wolfman213]

I'm jealous of all of you that can have a real tree. Thanks to my allergies, I'll never be able to have one. We found out the hard way when I was a kid

[Whelan]

Blue Spruce trees are supposed to help with allergy prone people. I vowed a while back to never have a fake tree, no matter the hassle.

[michaelgt]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »Blue Spruce trees are supposed to help with allergy prone people. I vowed a while back to never have a fake tree, no matter the hassle.We always cut a blue spruce, until we discovered that was why my daughter was always sick from the first week of December to New Years.It affected her.

[Wolfman213]

Guess i'll be sticking to the fake ones then.

[djkeev]

The best was during the many years I spent in the Rogue Valley of Oregon. We'd stop by the US Forest Ranger station, pay our $1 permit fee, drive up in the Siskiyou or Cascades (depending upon the permit, the valley had both, one on each side) and spend a wonderful day treking through the mountains looking for the "perfect" tree. Honestly, they were never perfect in any way, the perfection was found in the ritual of obtaining the tree every year.Good Times, good times.Dave

[lunarcrusader]

wow wish we had a local place to cut our own trees.

[epcIII]

Good find Hawaii!Speaking of live trees--I remember my dad telling me they use to spray some kind of bad smell on pine trees near the road to keep people from cutting them down. Don't know if it's true or not...

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by epcIII »Good find Hawaii!Speaking of live trees--I remember my dad telling me they use to spray some kind of bad smell on pine trees near the road to keep people from cutting them down. Don't know if it's true or not...Totally true. The smell only intensifies once it becomes warm, such as in your home.

[lunarcrusader]

wow, Id be horrid if I brought a tree home and it smelt like shyt

[808 Vibes]

Well it really did turn out to be a blessing...trees are now completely SOLD OUT...

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by HawaiiPontiacLover »Well it really did turn out to be a blessing...trees are now completely SOLD OUT...Have the puppies tried to drink out of the tree stand yet?By the way, I am really liking that tree skirt! The penguin is so cute!

[808 Vibes]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooooo...I have a Superyard XT (baby/pet corral that can be configured in a lot of ways, but I use it as a barrier) around it. Mama is FASCINATED by the tree, so I let her have a sniff, she sits under inhaling it and pushing down the branches with her nose, but when she gets too close to the stand with the preservative water in it, funtime's over. I'm obsessive about making sure when I'm sleeping and when I leave the house that it that X-pen is securely around the tree. I looooooooooooooooooove penguin stuff! Most of my ornaments are penguins, and I have penguin window clings. I go after Xmas when stuff is 50-75% off and buy up all the penguin stuff.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by djkeev »Totally true. The smell only intensifies once it becomes warm, such as in your home.agreed!all along the highways around me that have signs warning about that...

[808 Vibes]

One of my penguins, since Grizz loves them tooMy ONLY non-animal ornament...Superbaby!