LOOK: Oklahoma’s Top 11 Best Christmas Tree Farms

Christmas time is just about here in Oklahoma! Holiday season is usually all about traditions and one of the most classic ones is still alive and well here in the sooner state. This year, even with a recent drought and abnormal severe weather coming through, the Christmas tree farms are still ready to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

Has Severe Weather Affected Oklahoma's Christmas Trees?

Oklahoma has been seeing more rain in November than in the entire month of October, which has historically been the more active severe weather month in the fall. However, Oklahoma nearly went the entire month of October without seeing a drop of rain, causing a severe drought.

The same drought may have had an affect on how the Christmas trees have grown - or did it?

According to the owners of Leafer Lodge Christmas Tree Farm, they may have "lost about 30 seedlings that were less than 2 years old but our established trees of 3+ years survived." Thanks to this year's spring rainfall, they still had plenty of trees to work with. "The recent rain has been wonderful," they said. "They’ve really greened up!"

Another popular farm in Bixby, Oklahoma didn't face too much hardship, luckily, during the drought. Owner Adam D. Crisp from Crisp Tree Farm said:

"We had to water our trees longer this season due to the warm weather and lack of rainfall. The recent rainfall was greatly appreciated."

So it seems that the drought didn't hurt these trees growing in Oklahoma, especially after the recent weather has had some relief. There were a few close calls, with some farms like Cross Timbers, who narrowly missed a damaging EF3 tornado.

Oklahoma Christmas Trees Not All Grown From Home

But even if the drought had a harder effect on the growth, or a tornado might have taken out some crop, there would've still been a silver lining. Since Oklahoma soil isn't ideal for some species of Christmas trees to grow here, many of the farms would've still been able to import trees from up north like they do normally.

Species like Douglas Firs, Fraiser Firs, and Canaan Firs don't grow well in Oklahoma, so they're usually only offered as pre-cut trees from many farms. But native species like Virginia Pines, Leyland Cypress and White Pine trees grow well and are usually the ones you'll find that you can cut on your own.

Luckily, everything has turned out for the best and all of the farms below will have both imported trees and home grown options that you can cut down with the family and continue the tradition.

Tips For Bringing Home A Real Christmas Tree

The long lived tradition of finding a real tree, cutting it yourself, and bringing it home for the family to decorate is usually something that families have been doing for years. But, if this is your first year having a real tree, you should definitely know a few things beforehand:

• Measure the space the tree will sit before you go to the farm
• Choose a spot away from heat
• Buy a real trunk stand that will allow you to water it
• Expect more cleanup - the needles do fall off as it stays in your home
• Keep the cleanup bag on!

Overall, the tradition really isn't a difficult one. And there's absolutely nothing like the smell of a real Christmas tree on Christmas morning. And here's exactly where you'll find the best in the state.