I've heard that there are certain Christmas trees that shouldn't be used because they give off a 'chemical' or something when in the water...any truth to that.

If not, I'm planning on hitting up the Boy Scout tree sale lot this winter and buying up their leftovers for a nice donation and sinking them...

Also, what about this thought - getting smaller sized trees, trimming off the bottom branches, putting them in a bucket with concrete, and dropping them in so they stand upright....too much work, or good idea???