Pesto’s Perfect Trees!

Carrie and Big. Bert and Ernie. Cookies and milk. Some things just work better together, and without a tree Christmas just doesn’t work. The festive aroma, the decorating ritual and above all, presents underneath are part of what make Christmas, er, Christmassy!

Now, with there only being one days left till the big day itself, we’d hedge our bets that some of you are still scrambling to find the time to even choose a tree, never mind get it dressed up in time for Christmas morning. This is where we’re on hand to help! Here are Pesto’s top five tips for choosing the perfect tree!

1. Size does matter. If, like most of us, every inch of living space matters the last thing you want is a monster Redwood Christmas tree eating up your lounge. If you’re struggling to squeeze in a Tesco pot-plant, steer clear of lavish big trees, however tempting! Pick the perfect space for your tree and measure it before going shopping to save yourself a world of hassle later in the day.

2. Age also matters. A recent Facebook post from a most unlucky festive relative served as an excellent reminder that choosing where you buy your tree is every bit, if not more important than the tree. The relative in question splashed out a rather decadent £75 at her local farm shop only for the tree to wilt and die within ten days. Finding out whether your local tree stockist buys in their stock weekly or if it’s one big delivery will allow you to gauge how ago the tree was cut and judge whether it’s likely to be a duffer by Christmas morning.

3. Hate hoovering? The Norway Spruce might not be the tree for you…Some trees emit that gorgeous festive aroma, others retain their needles long after they’ve adopted that delightful shade of brown. For best needle retention the Noble Fir might be best for your household, while the Norway Fir really captures that festive scent.

4. Shape matters. As most Christmas trees in commercial shops have already been stuffed into nets, it makes it nigh on impossible to guess whether the tree in question has a classic Christmas tree shape, or is in fact a Side-Show Bob bonsai nightmare. Short of ripping the net off in-store (and possibly being removed from said shop) all you can do is try to find a small platform from which to gaze down the top of the tree to assess how even the branches are. Or you could try grabbing a tree from a local seller, who tend not to net their stock.

5. Fake it. If all of the above just seems too strenuous for arguably the most time-consuming month of the year, pop into John Lewis and buy a fake. Buying a fake does have its upsides; no messy pine needles, no faffing with nets, no watering around hundreds of potential fire hazards and best of all you can shove it in the attic and drag it out next year saving you time and money in the long run. All that aside, fake trees are rather naff, and it might just take you all year to find one that looks anywhere near as pretty as a genuine festive fir.

Struggling for a last minute stocking filler? Pop into Pesto today and pick up a gift voucher!

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Bradshaw

http://goo.gl/xu0Cp

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Spruce

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_and_Ernie

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai