Ga Families Head to Christmas Tree Farms

Friday kicked off a yearly ritual for thousands of Georgia families as they hunted for a Christmas trees.

Americans will buy anywhere from 25 to 30 million Christmas trees this year.

At Thompson's Christmas tree farm in Lawrenceville, it's all about the "cut-it-yourself" experience.

"We were out her for about 30 minutes, walking around, awesome day for it," said tree shopper Matt Fagioli.

For Fagioli's family, the perfect tree was an eight foot tall Leyland cypress.

"It's the first time we've every cut down a tree, so we had to decide which one we could agree on," said Fagioli.

Denise and Tommy Thompson have planted five acres of trees in their Gwinnett County backyard.

Each tree takes about four years to grow to full size. Shoppers get to pick the tree they like, do the work and cart it off.

The Thompson's advised tree shoppers to first measure how tall and wide they want the tree to be and then take a look around.

For those that prefer the fresh cut version, the American Christmas Tree Association recommends that if a tree doesn't feel fresh or seem fresh for any reason, that the buyer move on to another one.

When choosing a tree, look for one that is not loosing a lot of needles and ask the workers to make a fresh cut in the base of the tree before taking it home.

Tree growers say that plain water is all a tree needs, but it should be watered frequently.