CHRISTMAS tree: real or artificial

[warhawk]

Hello fellow chrome domes:  I hope all is well with U and your families.  With Christmas nearing... I was wondering what kind of Christmas tree will be in your home.

I will start.  We will be having an artificial Christmas tree in our home.  Maybe one day we will purchase a real tree but for now it will be artificial.  So... how 'bout you?  real?  or artificial?  What's your story?

WARHAWK

[Laser Man]

We always have a real tree, usually a Fraser for or balsam.

[Mikekoz13]

Real for us. We put it up last weekend.

Every year my wife sends me off to get the tree with these words..... "Remember, get a FAT tree! Don't bring any skinny tree into this house!".
So every year I get a big fat tree. BUT... when I went to buy the tree last week I said to my wife "I know... get a FAT tree". Her reply? "Well I decided that this year I want a skinny tree".

Really?? No wonder my toes are dangling at the edge of sanity....

[schro]

REAL TREE for us.
However for some reason, Team Schro always ends up with a "Charlie Brown Tree". Not necessarily one that is 2' tall with just a couple of pine needles, but one that leans one way, has big openings in one side, or has a trunk with a spinal condition.

We have ornaments from The Lovely Mrs. Schro's great grandmother. They are minature clowns, mimes, and dolls (very classy) from her days in the theater. They take up a lot of space on the tree, so any challenging openings in the tree are easily covered. Between those, the lights, and other hanging crystal, balls, and misc. stuff, the tree always looks great.

This weekend is a soccer tourney, but early next week we plan on getting ours.

[Switchy]

Real tree here to.  Love the smell .  They are somewhat of a pain to water and loose needles if you have them around a long time.

[Slynito]

Got a pretty live Red Cedar in a pot so I can plant it outside near last years. 

[NESTYdPOGI]

Artificial Christmas Tree here in my home... Though i can say the spirit of Christmas is very TRUE in our hearts

[leighmundo40]

I had real trees for years after rebelling against the hideous tinsel monstrosities of my 70's childhood! Love the smell and look, but then I'd get really stressed trying to keep it watered and perky till Christmas!

Fake one now, which can be loaded with as much sparkly glittery crap without the fear of it turning into a dessicated twig overnight!

[D.A.L.U.I.]

We have a real tree--for the last 12 years, with the exception of the year of Katrina, we've gotten our tree from the same guy.  He goes to Western NC the Saturday before Thanksgiving and cuts his trees, mostly ordered from folks like us who are long time customers, and delivers them the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  The trees are incredibly fresh and since he knows what style of tree fits our house, it is pretty much the same tree every year.  He keeps threatening to stop this business, but I think that's just a mantra.  We have a hodge podge of decorations ranging from handme downs from our parents, gifts from friends and relations and those made by our kids as well as many purchased on vacations.  We take our tree down on 12th Night, the beginning of the Carnival Season. 

[mrzed]

When we lived in Alaska we always had a real tree. Just tromp out in the woods, find one, and bring it home.  They were plentiful, but always scroungy. Out in the woods the trees looked great, but get up close and they look horrible. Some people would cut two or three and 'graft' them together by drilling holes in the main trunk and gluing/wiring in additional branches to help out.

Then in Southeast Alaska (cold rain forest), the trees were wonderful, but they grow 18-24 inches each year, so they look great in the woods, but look 'vacant' in the house.  What we think of as christmas trees have branches every few inches. You get the drift.

Since we returned to the lower 48 and the price of trees has moved up (the ugliest live tree starts at $30), I can't afford to buy a tree. Wife got a nice artificial tree a few years back and we use it.

Oh, another issue at our house.  The Christmas tree often goes up mid-December, but we like it so much that we don't take it down until about Easter!  You could never do that with a live tree!

Yes, we enjoy Christmas.

[Andrei]

Definitely a real tree.
They are being cut any way, it would be a pity not to buy

[Sir Harry]

Artificial here.

[stasiu]

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree !

[Natedawg]

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree !

You know we have to see some pics...... if you aren't just joking.


As for me, I used to be a HUGE real tree advocate when I was a kid. I would tell my dad: "Fake tree, fake Christmas." He never let me down. 

Anywho, now being older, I can see the benefits of going artificial: Pay for it once; use it for years; no chance of hitchhiker bugs/spiders; can be left up for a while (if one so desires, like zed and myself); incredibly low maintenance; etc.
I'm not sold on artificial forever. I do want real trees as part of our holidays when my son gets a bit older, but for the reasons I listed above, artificial currently works best for us. 

[TheSlyBear]

We use an artificial tree. That way, it's the exact size and shape that we want. We spent a fair amount on one that's really nice and should last for many years.