Trees are natural organic living things. They aren’t built by robots on an assembly line in Taiwan so each will have its own quirks and asymmetries, embrace these as unique rather than seeing them as flaws.

Here at Glenealy Christmas Tree Farm you can go out among the trees, find your own or you can choose from our selection of pre-cut trees.

• Before you leave the house make sure you measure the dimensions of the area you want to place the tree.
• Bring your tape measure along.
• Dress for the outdoors – boots or wellies, old clothes, gloves. There is a reason you don’t see many lumberjacks in high heels.
• Visualise how the tree will look at home. If it’s in a corner, which side is best facing out? It’s possible to do a little pruning to the tree but it’s a bit of a last resort.
• If you are choosing a pre-cut tree the easiest way to make the final decision is to do a line up of the possibles and the best one will jump out at you. (Not literally.)
• No bickering, this is supposed to be fun.