SAN DIEGO (KGTV) —It's the start of the Christmas tree season. Families all over San Diego County are searching for the perfect tree for their home.
"It's fun for our two-year-old. Our two-month-old doesn't really know the difference," said Vince Cheung, describing his family's Christmas tree selection process.
Vince and Virginia are picking out a tree for their family. While their kids may not fully realize it now, the tree they take home will be part of a collection of memories that they will be able to look back on for years to come.
"We've been collecting the disk that they cut off at the end, and I lacquer it, and I put the year and our names on it, and so that's our newest little tradition," said Virginia.
The Cheungs are among the handfuls of people looking through the tree selections at Moon Valley Nurseries as they start their Christmas tree season.
"The energy is always way higher the first day we open this up for everyone to come in here," said Hayden Slaught, the assistant manager of sales at Moon Valley. "Everybody's got a big smile on their face. We do hot cocoa, we've got reeds and other things too, so it's always a kind of cheerful couple weeks for us before Christmas for sure."
The trees come from Oregon. They're cut, then wrapped up and put into temperature-controlled trucks. The older trees are typically 7 to 9 years old, while the starter trees are 2 to 3 years old.
There are two types of trees the tree farm is selling. The Douglas fir has a sweet and earthy smell, and the Noble fir has a classic pine scent.
The smells of the season, along with the look of the tree, are what Julie and David Thayer want to incorporate into their home.
"Just feels more of a modern look than the dark, dark green," said Julie. "And we just remodeled our house. This is our first Christmas officially in the house, so we want to have a very modern look to the aesthetic."
When buying a tree, management recommends taking a lap around the plant to see every side to make sure it fits your home both physically and aesthetically.
Also, after buying it, keep it three feet away from any heat sources, and if it's a real tree, make sure you water it.
