Christmas Tree Hunting - early December

[Bethany] The first few years we lived in Silver City, we "collected" a Christmas tree by using dead stalks of yucca plants and/or century plants - both make a lovely southwestern tree. The next year(s) we paid $5 for a permit from the Forest Service & went to cut one from the Gila National Forest. This, too, provided a nice tree - but the hike & hunt after a short drive makes for a day-long affair. Unfortunately, this year we had such busy weekends in late November & Early December that we realized we had two options.

1. Wait till the week before Christmas to go cut a tree from the National Forest, or
   
2. Get one earlier in the month so we can enjoy it longer by buying it at Wal-Mart.

I'm a little embarrassed to say we went with option #2. But I have to say that so far this is the nicest tree - soft needles, yummy tree smell, and perfect size/shape for our living room. We still made sure Simon got to help pick it out, and he tested out the tree stand to make sure it would work too. He's a very good helper. Next year we'll do a real Christmas tree hunt...more on that later.