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GREENSBORO — Sherline McLean and Meoshi Malone became instant friends while browsing the rows of fir trees behind Grace Community Church on Sunday afternoon. More than 500 conifers lay bound and ready to go home with a family — at no cost.

The women were giddy about their good fortune. Malone has never had a real Christmas tree before.

“You always hear how good it makes your house smell,” Malone said.

McLean’s family of five hasn’t gotten around to dressing up their house yet. Her husband is out of work and a tree is a major expense.

She steadied a 9-foot tree. “He’s not gonna believe when I come home with this tree. It’s so big,” McLean said.

In four-door sedans and flatbeds, with children in tow or solo, hundreds of local families picked their Christmas trees from among those donated by a Pennsylvania farm.

Bill Goebel, president of the local business MPACT Solutions got the idea from Pastor Jimmie Rivera, who organized a similar event that gave away 1,200 trees in Allentown, Pa.

Grace, Westover Church and other local organizations helped find the families, who might not have otherwise been able to have a tree. They included families with foster children or kids with special needs.

Folks were already lined up for the firs when the organizers arrived Sunday afternoon, Goebel said.

“This is great,” he said, peering out as a mom with two little girls snapped photos of their tree. “This is beyond my expectations.”

He manned the chain saw, trimming tops and bottom of the firs before families carted them off.

Lydia Narvaez and her granddaughters Nicole, 9, and Lauren, 5, were having a tough time deciding.

“They smell so good. It gets you in the Christmas spirit,” Narvaez said.

With some prompting, the girls stretched head to toe on the grass next to one tree to test its height. Seven feet tall, easy.

“Do not touch the Christmas trees,” Lauren warned, “because they are spiky.”

The Tarangos were having a problem with prickles as well.

They found a towering, slender one that would fit perfect with their tall ceilings. But Adriana and her children, Diego, 9, and Julia, 4, hunted for another tree that didn’t have such pointy ends.

Dad Hector wasn’t convinced. Their artificial tree was destroyed last year by the kids during some Christmas party roughhousing.

“The kids were complaining about the spikes. I say it is better because it will keep the kids away from it,” he said.

But when they found a fluffier version, he went with it. It is Christmas, after all.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com