Gabriel Engel and Sam Campbell pushed, pulled and used all their strength when positioning a Christmas tree on a customer’s car roof and then tying it securely up there so the woman could drive home safely.

It took a few minutes, but they got it done. And then they laughed about it afterward.

“It’s definitely useful to know knots,” Engel, 12, joked while standing near the Bothell Boy Scout Troop 420 lot at the new Safeway on Bothell-Everett Highway and 240th Street Southeast last night.

“You do get fitness work here when you’re lifting the heavy trees,” Engel added. “You have to be able to catch the trees, because occasionally they will fall over, especially when you’re first setting them up.”

As of last night at about 5 p.m., the scouts had 22 trees remaining in their lot, which housed 360 when they started selling them Nov. 26. Troop 420 has sold trees for more than 20 years and formerly set up shop at the recently closed downtown Safeway.

Desiree Engel, Gabriel’s mom, said they’ve done well, “better than last year, so they’ve made enough money to send quite a few of the boys to camp.”

Gabriel says the scouts brave the cold to sell the trees, but they get the job done.

“It’s really fun, especially this time of year,” said Campbell, 11, who sets up the Christmas music and throws mini footballs with others to pass the time and keep his body moving to offset the chilly weather.