How to tie a Christmas tree to your car: Protect your car and other drivers!

It's important to know how to tie a Christmas tree to your car before you set out to find the perfect pine or fir. Whether you're venturing to a tree farm to chop one down yourself or are simply picking one up that's ready to go, you need to know how to secure it to your car safely. Follow these tips and you'll have your tree ready to decorate in no time.

Protect your car

Before you even try to figure out how to tie a Christmas tree to your car, you'll need to protect it from damage. Live trees have sticky sap that's hard to remove from your car's roof, and branches can scratch your paint and leave you with costly repairs.

Find an old blanket that you don't mind ruining, and cover the roof of your car before you load up the tree. Keep in mind that sap won't always come out of fabric, so it's best to use a blanket that's older and can be tucked away afterwards for next year.

Bring supplies to secure your tree

Make sure you bring plenty of rope, bungee cords or tie-down straps to secure your tree. It's best to bring more than you think you'll need in case the tree is bigger than you anticipated when it's on your roof.

Secure your tree

It's important to secure your tree to ensure it gets home in one piece and that you, your car and the other drivers around you do, as well. Here's how:

Some tree farms have a machine that puts a handy net around your tree to make it compact. If the tree merchant doesn't have this tool, wrap the tree with rope to keep the branches tight against the trunk.

Once you have the roof protected and your tree ready, load it onto the roof so the stump is facing the front of the car. This keeps the wind from damaging the tree, which is especially important if you're driving on the highway.

Make sure you tie it down securely using more than one strap or multiple loops of rope. You want to keep it from sliding to the left, right, front or back, especially if you come to a sudden stop.

If you have a longer journey home, plan to stop and double-check it to make sure nothing has come loose.

Once you know how to tie a Christmas tree to your car, buying a fresh tree each year will become a fun and festive tradition for the whole family to enjoy.

Trust Protech Auto Service with all of your routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on holiday safety tips, please contact one of the knowledgeable technicians or service writers at Protech Auto Service. They can be reached at (661) 822-1100 and are located at 401 West J St., Ste. G, Tehachapi.