With me working on the weekends we had a small window of opportunity to get a tree this year. One Saturday morning before work we piled in the car and drove to the tree farm. We drove down the muddy trail, got out and looked literlly 5 minutes, cut down our tree and took it home. We put it in its stand and there that poor tree sat in the corner all green and bare for another week. I finally couldn't handle it so I put lights on it and then the next day the kids decorated it. It was a good tree and it even brought us some friendly spiders with it. All part of the real tree experience ;0)