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There are many scents associated with Christmas, but perhaps the most potent is the smell of a live tree. Fully decorated and placed in your home next to a crackling fire with gifts underneath, the Christmas tree is am indelible sign of the holiday season.

While the scene of a tree in your den or living room is serene, transporting that tree from the lot to your home can be a headache.

“Nothing will make you say, ‘bah humbug’ faster than losing the tree you just bought on the drive home,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman for AAA—The Auto Club Group. “If not properly secured, a tree can damage your vehicle or worse, fly off and become a danger to other drivers. Before you purchase your tree, please make sure to research the proper way to transport it or ask a professional to secure it for you.”

In a previous AAA study, nearly 1 in 5 real Christmas tree buyers reported having a tree fall off or out of their vehicle when trying to get it home. While it is best to transport the tree on top of a vehicle equipped with a roof rack, a pickup truck, SUV, van or minivan can work just as well.

Here are tips from AAA on how to safely transport your Christmas tree from the lot to your home:

• Come prepared: Bring strong rope or nylon ratchet straps, an old blanket and gloves.

• Wrap and cover it: Once you have found the perfect tree, have the lot wrap it in netting before loading it. Loose branches can also be secured with rope or twine to help protect the tree from damage.

• Protect your vehicle: Before loading the tree, cover the roof with an old blanket to prevent scratches to the paint and protect the car from any damage.

• Trunk first: Place the tree on the roof rack or in the bed of the truck with the tree trunk facing the front of the car. If the vehicle does not have a roof rack and is large enough — place the tree inside.

• Secure it: Tie down the tree at its bottom, center and top using strong rope or nylon ratchet straps. Avoid using the nylon offered by many tree lots. Use fixed vehicle tie-down points and loop the rope or strap around the tree trunk above a branch to prevent any side-to-side or front-to-rear movement

• Tug test: Once tied down, give the tree several strong tugs from various angles to make sure it is secured in place and will not come loose.

• Nice and easy: Drive slowly and take back roads if possible. Higher speeds can create significant airflow that can damage your tree or challenge even the best tie-down methods.