LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With Thanksgiving behind us, we can now officially start celebrating and decorating for Christmas without any guilt. For a lot of people, the first item to go up is the Christmas tree.

“One thing we do at the garden center is we name all of our Christmas trees. All of our team members come up with names. Whether it’s funny names or family names, coming here is more of something special to do with your family,” said Jeff Wallitsch, of Wallitsch Gardens.

Tall, short, skinny, large, whatever size of the Frasier Fur you want, you’ll likely find it.

“It's like a little forest here,” Wallitsch said.

Make sure you know what size tree fits your living space. And when it’s time to bring your tree home, there’s one thing that’s a must.

“Make sure, and we do this here, make sure they cut the bottom off to give it a really good fresh cut. That’s very important,” said Wallitsch.

Then clean it up before taking it inside.

“You take your blower and you just blow the tree out and that way it gets rid of any dried needles or any debris or anything that may be in there," Wallitsch said.

And water, water, water, checking the tree every few hours at first.

“The trees will drink up a lot of the water the first couple days so it's important to keep rehydrating your tree. And then usually about the third or fourth day, its not necessarily going to suck as much water up. But you do need to check it frequently so it doesn't dry out,” he said.

Finally, Wallitsch notes – do not place the tree under a vent or close the vent if you need to, so it doesn't dry out the tree.

If a full size Christmas tree isn't your thing, but you still want the fresh tree smell, a small table top Christmas tree is an option or a fresh wreath.

To keep the wreath from drying out, Wallitsch suggests you spray it with a product like Wilt Pruf.

“Usually just a good drench. And then you can maybe do it once a week or so, but once you give it that really good drench, it sets it and you should be good for the season,” he said.

And when the time comes, Wallitsch reminds you to donate and recycle your tree so it doesn’t end up in a landfill.

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