Extend the Life of your Christmas Tree with LED Lights

I'm one of those people who always insist on having a real Christmas tree. I want the whole experience - going out to pick the tree in the sunny yet chilly Colorado weather, getting it home on top of the car, listening to my husband grumble while he gets it in the stand, then enjoying the heartening scent while decorating it and for weeks afterward.

We usually get our tree the first weekend in December, and we buy it from a local nursery called, O'Tooles. It's true you can get less expensive trees, but O'Tooles keeps them in water. (Yes - the water is often frozen, and I don't know if that does them any good, but it's something, right?) Right from the beginning I have it top of mind that I want the tree to look great through Christmas day, and a few days after if possible.

But I put on a lot of lights. A lot. My husband keeps tabs, to make sure I'm following the limits on the box for how many can be strung together.

We set the tree up away from heat vents, or close the vent if one is nearby. And I'm VERY careful to keep it watered, checking the level every day.

Still ... every year the tree was not staying fresh long enough.  One year, it was so visibly brown by Christmas day that I took it down the next morning for safety's sake.

My husband always says we buy the tree too soon. But I'm not willing to put it off!

Then last year we switched to LED lights. The idea was that we would save money on the electric bill, and I'm sure that's true. But the really important thing is ...

The tree stayed so much fresher! Greener! More scent!

I'm very happy about this wonderful side-effect of switching to lower-wattage lights. Keep it in mind if you're buying lights for your real Christmas tree!

And Merry Christmas!

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I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those *communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the 'flavor' of our community, in case they're new or moving to the Denver area.

I am a residential real estate agent, happily helping folks buy a house or sell a house in the beautiful and friendly *suburbs northwest of Denver.

*Arvada, Broomfield, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Westminster; also Thornton, Golden, Wheat Ridge, Northglen, Lakewood

Read more about Arvada Colorado, a historic small town between Denver and Boulder.

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Copyright © 2011 Joetta Fort