Holiday

[ValuSkr]

Enjoy your real tree.  For some of us it's an economic issue.  As much as real trees cost, it just doesn't make sense to buy one every year.  An artificial tree pays for itself many times over.

[mousiegirl]

---

@this is my nic wrote:

OK, I know that the faux trees are easy to set up and take down and the ones that are pre-lit make adding the lights a non-issue.

Having said that, I'd still rather have a real tree grown right here in NC than a hunk of plastic from China.   Obviously, there are people who just can't have a natural tree for all sorts of reasons, but, as long as I am able to do a real tree, I'm going to.

Some of my favorite Christmas memories are of my dad and I going to get the tree from a local seller or driving out to a farm to cut our own.   The scent of those trees was wonderful and filled the house with Christmas.  I grew up in PA and we had tree farms there as well.

Anyone else feel the same about real trees?

---

Our main tree is real, but the others are faux.  I find the real trees do not have as strong a scent as the trees of my childhood, wonder why.

[Meezerpleezer]

mousiegirl--I wonder if it is the variety of fir tree or where they are grown.  My parents always bought Canadian balsams which have short needles and they were very fragrant.  Frasers are desirable because of their nice shape and that they don't easily drop their needles.  However, I don't think that they smell nearly as fragrant as the Canadian balsam.  Maybe someone else knows more.

[lucymo]

When our children were younger we always had a live tree.  But, these days some of the family are only here for Thanksgiving so we need to have Christmas with them then and other socials early in December makes a live tree impractical.  So, while I do love the the live trees, I do several faux ones instead.  I like to buy live garlands and branches to scatter around for the fragrance and just having a little bit to remind us of past times.  Those of you who can use the live trees, enjoy.

[corita]

Growing up, we always had a real tree, and several large evergreen garlands around the living room/dinning room.  I will always remember how  "wonderfully" the house smelled that first morning after the greens had been up all night!  Later when my kids were little, I always had a live tree. But it just got to be so difficult - the lights, the mess from the needles, the issue of keeping it alive until after Christmas.  I do miss that great Christmas scent!!

[Allegheny]

While I love live trees and had them for many years, it just got too much for us. Stringing the lights finally got to be too much for us since we usually have an 7-8 footer, so we converted to an artificial pre-lit tree. I purchase live wreaths for outdoors. This year I may put out a basket inside with live branches.

[Azcowgirl]

I agree there's nothing like a real tree and I miss how wonderful they make the house smell, but ever since we experienced a tree that was infested with spiders that did their own decorating (strung webs from the branches to the walls and ceiling ) and I didn't discover it till the sun came through the window at a certain angle and hit it just right so that all the webs glistened ,  upon close inspection, revealing little spiders  all over the tree ): we promptly set it outside , de webbed the room and went out and bought an artificial one, and have not had a real one since ):

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I've sold "live" trees for a living.  I got tired of playing that game and being out in the cold for hours and hours.  And standing there while the "fambly" argued over which one was best.  Yanking it off of the stand and getting it loaded.  People calling to complain that their tree was dropping needles (what did you expect?).  Gushing over how wonderful their selection was (it's a darn cut tree).  And please, cut the end off right before you put it in hot water!

I've also sold artificial trees, for a living.  Many "philosophical" debates over the whys and hows of which is better, cut or fake.  Again, gushing over traditions and empathizing about how "difficult" it is to change as life progresses.

I use a "poly" tree and enjoy it fully.  I also have a houseplant called a Norfolk Island Pine that is just gorgeous, and I use that as a holiday tree.

I'm cynical on this issue.  We had an aluminum tree as a child.  I love to refer back to Charlie Brown and be reminded of why we do what we do.

[Spurt]

I swore that I would never get an artificial tree....However in south Texas the prices of the real trees went up, even though the trees seemed to get smaller, and no matter what stringent regement I followed (sawing off the bottom and used the special treatment to "keep it fresh", keep it watered etc) it became a Christmas MIRACLE if the tree lasted until Christmas!!!!  So I went the artificial tree route and never looked back---love the pre-lit trees (removes a lot of the hastle) and now I can put up my tree in mid November and enjoy it longer!  I love those sticks that smell like pine that you can hang on tree to help provide that Balsam smell (along with BBW candles)---that is what I miss from a real tree......

[Spurt]

---

@dulwich wrote:

We always have a real tree but I did check out the artificial ones this year and could not believe how expensive some of them are.  Will stay with our real tree and all the decorations from all previous years.  We do buy some new items each year though.  Enjoy your trees.

---

@dulwich  Yes the prices are high, but I get mine at Home Depot which I found had the best prices in my area---about 1/2 the price of what some of the places were selling their trees for and I get a 7.5 ft one.....I got a new tree last year for $150 (now I did buy it early---October ) after seeing prices at $299 and up at other places.......And this year a friend told me the price had increased to $199---YIKES!