opinions needed: when to put up our x-mas tree?

[Not so Dumbo]

We can't decide when we should put up our Christmas tree this year.

Usually our tradition has been that we go to a Christmas tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. However, this year we are going to WDW the following week. We'll have a dog sitter staying here but we feel kinda weird asking them to water our tree everyday and if they forget I'm sure it'll be dead before we get back. It would be nice though if it was up when we got back home, since I'm sure we'll be in the Christmas mood. We'll have 1.5 weeks before Christmas after we come back. This is also our DD4months first Christmas so we want to forsure have a real tree for her.

So should we put it up before we leave or wait until we get back home?

 

[Hannathy]

I would wait until after you got back, that is a long time for a real tree to stay fresh. I'd also worry about the dog (s) left alone with a tree.... oh what fun they could have. I would also worry about fire.

PS at 4 months she won't know the difference! She would like the lights strung on the kitchen chair just as well., sorry couldn't resist.

 

[DisneyGerry]

I like to be one of the first to have mine up on the block. We are in WDW Nov 16-23rd so I guess i will put it up weekend after Thanksgiving.

Keep Christ in Christmas

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I would wait until after you got back, that is a long time for a real tree to stay fresh. I'd also worry about the dog (s) left alone with a tree.... oh what fun they could have. I would also worry about fire.

PS at 4 months she won't know the difference! She would like the lights strung on the kitchen chair just as well., sorry couldn't resist.

surprisingly, the dog is the only one in the family who hasn't had any fun with the Christmas tree

 

[mrsbug]

We're going the same week as you! But, we've got an artificial tree. We're putting it up Thanksgiving weekend, it'll just be unplugged while we're gone. If I were you, I'd wait and put it up once you get home. I wouldn't want to risk coming home to a dead tree!

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Keep Christ in Christmas

This is exactly the reason we wait until the week before Christmas to put up our tree. We enjoy the anticipation of the season of Advent -- my teeth begin to grate when I see the Christmas trees already going up in the Home Depot and other big box stores.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

This is exactly the reason we wait until the week before Christmas to put up our tree. We enjoy the anticipation of the season of Advent -- my teeth begin to grate when I see the Christmas trees already going up in the Home Depot and other big box stores.

I totally agree that Christ is the most important thing about Christmas, and I don't want to hijack my original thread and start to However, Christmas is not just a season, it's also a state of mind that we need to be grateful for, whether it's July, October, or December. The tree is just an added fun part.

 

[alloyd1170]

We have a fake tree (easier, no allergens, etc). My family tradition is to put it up after Thanksgiving and it stays up until after New Years Day (my birthday).

If I were you, if you want a real tree Id wait until you come home. Id be worried about a fire, it dying, etc the whole trip! Bonus-you might get a cheaper price buying so close to Christmas too! Personally, Id go with a fake if you want to avoid the hassle of watering, needles dropping, bugs, etc. It will last a lot longer, and the lights are already on the tree. Plus, thing Id want to do after a trip to WDW is to come home, unpack, do laundry, and deal with setting up a tree.

alison

 

[NotUrsula]

MAJOR fire hazard to have a wired tree in an unattended home. Don't put it up until you return home.

My ethnic tradition is to have the tree up only for the 12 days of Christmas. We put it up on Christmas Eve and take it down on Epiphany.

 

[Daydreamer64]

To the OP- We had a WDW vacation at the same time as you a few years ago- we used an artificial tree- you can still get wreaths with real pine for decoration after you return from WDW if you want that "Christmas" smell in your house. Our kids are highly asthmatic and have many allergies- I grew up with a real tree and I really miss the feeling- it's not the same as an artificial tree at all- but I bet your little one won't know the difference yet- and you won't have to worry about watering the tree or fires, bugs, ect.... I vote for putting up a fake one before you go so you can just return home and relax after vacation! No worries about fires because I'm sure that you would not leave the decorations plugged in while you are away artificial tree or real.

Our family tradition is to have all of our Christmas decorations up and ready ( BUT not lite yet- the lights get checked out before going on the house and tree ) BY Thanksgiving day. After we all have our tummys full of turkey and dressing we gather around the livingroom, start a fire in the fireplace, put on some Christmas music and exchange adult family names for gifts.

Then when the kids just can't wait any more,-the excitment happens- as a child I could not wait until after dinner to get to the tree- we let one of the kids plug the lights in and the whole house lights up- we always wait until after dark-we go outside and ooohhh and awwwe about it and enjoy the start of the season for us. It's such a nice way to start our holidays.

After we all come inside warm up, the kids get to set up the many Nativity Scenes that we own any way that they want too- we have gotten some pretty interesting scenes over the years- FP little people, Elmo and Barney have all joined in the celebration. While they do this, the adults go over the black Friday ads- then the next day, we ( kids too! ) all go out together and buy from the angel trees for the local kids who won't have much of a Christmas without help. At the end of the day we get back together to eat left overs and we enjoy getting the gifts ready for the Angel tree kids.

Christmas is not a "date/season" for us, we enjoy our faith all year long- for us, Christmas is the time that we have the most fun with our faith- we enjoy our decorations for a full months time- it all comes down on New Year's Eve- we start our new year fresh and clean.

I too hate to see Christmas decorations up before halloween- it kind of makes the fun go away if you have the decorations up all year round- we have several older neighbors who leave their light strands up on their houses all year long- just not plugged in - that seems so sad to me. Our fun is in decorating and planning.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

Daydreamer64- that sounds like a wonderful tradition you have in your family. We might try to incorporate some of them. I really like that your family has a lighting ceremony. That sounds so cool. I have started a tradition w/ my kids when we set up our nativity set I read to them Luke 2:1-20 and also Matthew 2:1-15 and when we get to each part with each of the different characters they take turns putting them in their places.

 

[sskem96]

In your case, I would wait til after you get home since it's a real tree and there could be a fire risk.

I use an artificial tree,and I always put my Christmas tree up on November 1! We always order pizza while we're decorating. I love the look on the pizza guy's face when he see's what we're doing!

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I never thought of a fire risk. Eventhough my DH is a fireman, I'm completely paranoid of fires( or maybe that's why I married him ) I always leave the tree unplugged while we are gone, sleeping, and most of the time during the day because it drys it out. I guess, it would be possible that our dog sitter might turn it on and it could start on fire.

 

[Luv'sTink]

We are having this same problem. We leave T-day and return 12/2 so I am going to say it going to go up 12/3.

 

[jennifer293]

You could just let the dog "water" it while you are gone then the sitter wouldn't even need to come over... Sorry I had to say it!!!

I agree to wait until after for a real one or a fake one before you leave!!!

We do fake!! DH is a firefighter as well and refuses to have a real tree..He hates the holidays because about 90% of the fires he goes to is because of christmas trees and lights!!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

IMHO, you can ignore 'Fire Hazard' as you try to make your decision. I would think that any concern over a Christmas Tree being a fire hazard can be nullified if you leave all Christmas lights unplugged as well as any other lights or electrical devices near by that could be a source of ignition while you are gone. If there's no source of ignition, then the only danger I see a dried out tree posing is the speed at which the fire could spread. But if everyone is away from home, what do you care (should a fire break out) if the house burns in 3 hours or 3 minutes?

If you don't mind the trouble, time, and expense, you could have two Christmas trees. Put one up like you normally do and plan on it dying. Then do it all over again when you get home. You might even be able to find BOTH trees at the farm at the same time, pre-pay for both, but get the 2nd one marked as 'SOLD' and wait until you return to cut it down. Just take some of that orange surveyor's tape (in case the farmer doesn't have any) that you can wrap around the 2nd tree to make it relatively obvious to shoppers that "this tree is taken" (including getting "SOLD" written on the price tag).

There's a few tricks you can use to make the tree easier to water via a siphon while you are gone. Get any large container and set it near the tree. Then purchase some tubing that you can use to siphon the water from the container to the tree. Basically, the ends of the tube must stay below water. Then all you have to do is determine what is the highest point you can fill the container such that it's impossible for the tree to over flow. If you have a large enough reservoir (like a bath tube and lots of tubing) the tree can be self watering while you are gone. HOWEVER A BIG WORD OF WARNING!!! You've got to make sure that it's impossible for the tubing to fall out (i.e. don't hold it in place with a one piece of Scotch tape). If the tubing ever falls out of the tree, your reservoir is going to empty all over the floor (and vise-versa if the tubing falls out of the reservoir). The other issue is that if you have someone filling the reservoir daily, if the reservoir goes dry or something else go wrong (blockage), the siphon will be lost and the system would have to be setup all over again. Something you wouldn't want to show the house sitter because of the danger of water all over the floor.

Oh, you mentioned a dog sitter. If it's possible that a dog could be wandering the house while you're gone, I'd advise against the siphon idea as there's too much uncertainty in what the dog might do (even accidentally) to mess it up.

 

[lovesdumbo]

How about a fake tree to put up when you normally do and then get a small live tree when you get home?

My DH's a nurseryman. He says you need to cut the bottom off the tree and keep it in water. If it drys out at all the tree cannot absorb water. So if you're gone for a week all your sitter has to do is forget to water for 1 day and the tree won't be able to drink the water the next day. I wouldn't worry about fire when you're gone but if the tree is dryed out when you get home it could be a hazard when you put the lights on.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

My DH's a nurseryman. He says you need to cut the bottom off the tree and keep it in water. If it drys out at all the tree cannot absorb water. So if you're gone for a week all your sitter has to do is forget to water for 1 day and the tree won't be able to drink the water the next day.

Ditto, learned this the hard way. And when lovesdumbo means "drys out", she's not talking about the tree. She's talking about the water pan under the tree. If the tree doesn't get a constant supply of water, it will effectively seal the tree off such that when water is added later, the tree will not absorb any of it. The only fix then is to make a freash cut.

I like getting BIG trees (we're talking 10 - 13 foot trees). It's not unusual for one of these trees to soak up GALLONS of water in less than half a day, especially when they are first brought inside (I guess the warm air of the house causes it to initially gulp the water). And becuase you can't just pickup a decorated 13' tree, it's pretty much impossible to recut once I've put up one of these big boys. [Note to self, got to get that hoist I've been planning on installed by Thanksgiving].

 

[Kellyscrapbooks]

What about having all your decorations ready to go and then stopping to cut down your tree on the way home? Would that be too much for one day? I think it would help with the PDB (post disney blues!) to have something so fun to come home and do!

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I think we'll probably wait until after we get back, that way there won't be any mishaps and we'll have something fun to do after we get back. Although, I don't look forward to putting the lights on it. I hate how a tree looks when the lights are just wrapped around it. So, I spend at least 3 hours and many needle pokes wrapping lights in and out and up and down each branch. At least when it's done, I'm done. It's DH's job to take the tree down and haul it out of the house.

My DS's have an artifical tree we set up for them downstairs, I think we'll put that one up before we leave.