We have all been smitten with the idea that we want to go into the woods and chop down our Christmas tree. All of those movies and television specials showing a merry band making their expedition to find the perfect evergreen make us want to do the same. These hardy happy people spot their tree in moments and hew it to the ground. Grabbing it by the trunk, they tote it from the forest while singing their favorite holiday tunes. It seems so easy.
To begin your adventure, you first have to locate a place to harvest a tree. Not everyone wants you to stomp into their yard or onto their property and cut down one of their trees. This kind of thing can cause you to go to jail without passing go or collecting a payday.
If you have a friend with acreage, you might find a suitable tree on their land. Of course, you are entitled in most locations to cut one of your own trees. You may want to check with local officials to make sure that you do not violate any "green" laws by removing a tree. By far the best option is to find a Christmas tree farm where they cultivate trees to be harvested just for this purpose. You will have to buy the tree, but you will not get into trouble for cutting it down.
Most people who cut their tree without going to a tree farm find the adventure to yield a cedar rather than the more traditional pine tree. Without the grooming and shaping done by on a tree farm, it can be almost impossible to find a tree that does not have some type of serious blemish needing to be somehow concealed.
When you head out for your search, you will need to take an ax or hatchet. An ax is better if you have any skill at swinging one. For the inexperienced person, the shorter stroke needed for a hatchet will be safer and a little easier to master. Regardless of which implement of destruction that you choose, make sure it is very sharp. If you take a dull tool, you better be mighty and have great stamina. Even cutting a small tree trunk of 3 or 4 inches can be a big job with a dull ax or hatchet.
Use your head. Since you will probably be taking young children to give them the experience of harvesting their own tree, be extremely cautious when you use the cutting tool. If you choose to let one of them swing the ax or hatchet, teach him or her the proper use and safety before putting such a dangerous implement into young hands.
When searching for the best tree, walk all of the way around the tree several times. Look for bends in the trunk that may give you problems if you do not cut it at the correct place. You can forget that you will be leaving the stump behind that may have made corrections to the growth of the tree. You will not be able to completely correct this type of defect with a tree stand. Make sure the tree trunk is straight for the first 2 or 3 feet from the ground.
Check for gaps in the branches. There are some gaps that are easy to hide by spinning the tree with the gap toward the wall. Multiple gaps can be a different story. Everyone's taste is different regarding shape and fullness of a tree. So, be sure to get one that meets most of the family's expectations. Once the tree is cut, you cannot put it back together.
You need to find a tree that stands about a foot taller than what you want in your house. You will be cutting it down about 6 to 10 inches from the ground unless you use a chain saw. Where is the fun in using a chain saw to cut a Christmas tree? You can always remove a little height, but you will be unable to easily make the tree taller if it is too short.
Try to cut the tree mostly from one side of the trunk. When you get about three fourths of the way through the trunk, move to the other side to complete the job. The tree should fall away from where you are standing. I am assuming that you are not cutting a tree that is 30 feet tall. If you are, I recommend getting a professional to do this for you. For a 6 to 10 foot tall tree, you normally will not have any danger of being seriously hurt when it falls. Have small children stand at a safe distance from the tree until it falls. They need to be farther from the base of the tree than the tree is tall.
If you are at a tree farm, drag the tree to where they encase it in netting to make it easier to transport. Out in the woods, you will just have to do the best that you can. If you are planning to carry the tree inside of your vehicle, cover the area ahead of time with plastic. Every tree will shed needles and debris. So, protect your vehicle interior to make the clean up quicker.
If you have enough energy and a robust family, do not forget to sing those holiday tunes while tugging at that tree. Make certain to dress appropriately for the weather. It may get warm while you are doing the manual labor. After it is over, you will appreciate the warmth.
You may want to consider checking ahead of time with the local branch of the forestry department about getting a small tree seeding in the spring to plant to replace the one that you harvested. This will give you another great activity for a family outing around Easter. A tree farm will do this automatically because they want to stay in business.
