Like Christmas shopping for some, picking out a tree to decorate can be a last-minute affair.

Jan Smith of Burnettsville said final exams the last two weeks prevented her from getting a tree so she’d have a place to put presents for her five grandchildren.

“Friday is coming really quick,” Smith said Saturday afternoon as a salesman from Springcreek Landscaping and Nursery loaded one into the trunk of her car. “I’ve got most of the gifts, but I didn’t have a tree to put them under.”

Smith planned on decorating the tree Saturday night, as did the Ricci family.

With six days to spare, Mark, Amy and Samantha Ricci of Logansport found themselves at the same tree lot. Daughter Samantha got the honor of picking the family’s first live tree since before she was born.

When Samantha spotted a tall Fraser fir that she wanted, she expressed concern about the tree’s height. Her dad assured her the tree would fit, even if he had to use his chainsaw.

“You’re going to cut the top off?” she asked.

Mark explained he would cut from the bottom.

“Oh,” she said, as her family and Christmas tree salesman Bill Sonafrank shared a laugh.

Sonafrank’s seasonal job at Springcreek Landscaping and Nursery’s Christmas tree lot is nearing its conclusion for the year. A “close out” sign indicated the lot would soon be out of trees and wreaths.

Not everyone waits until less than week remains before Christmas, Sonafrank said. Trees get delivered at Thanksgiving and the “early birds” begin calling two weeks before the November holiday.

“When the lot opens, they’re already lined up to get them right off the truck,” he said.

Some families combine Thanksgiving and Christmas so they can share the holidays with grandparents heading for warmer weather. Those families need trees as soon as possible, Sonafrank said.

For other people, the holiday spirit stirs them into setting the atmosphere early. The two weekends after Thanksgiving are the busiest, Sonafrank said.

As Smith and the Ricci family demonstrated, some wait until closer to Christmas. On Monday, Springcreek started with about 80 trees. By Saturday, nearly all had been sold.

This year has been typical in terms of sales, Sonafrank said. They normally sell out the week leading up to Christmas.

The tough economy did not seem to factor into whether people bought a Christmas tree. Sonafrank reasoned that spending time with family remained a top priority.

With so many choosing live trees, safety is something that should be considered, Sonafrank said.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, natural trees adorn the inside of more than 33 million American homes and account for 200 fires annually, resulting in six deaths, 25 injuries and more than $6 million in property damage.

“Typically shorts in electrical lights or open flames from candles, lighters or matches start tree fires,” stated a U.S. Fire Administration report. “Well-watered trees are not a problem. Dry and neglected trees can be.”

A video on the U.S. Fire Administration Web site demonstrates how quickly a dry tree can become engulfed in flames. Within three seconds of ignition, the tree is completely ablaze. The fire spreads throughout the room in 40 seconds.

Sonafrank and the fire safety agency recommend watering live Christmas trees on a regular basis to prevent them from catching fire.

• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.