real. cause the boys like it. and that is why i put one up. for them. the mess is just part of it. no big deal when my boys smile and enjoy the real tree.
Green artifical ... I have had it for years. This year I put two up; a smal one in the sitting room and a large one in the front hall. I remember my great-grandmather (bigmama) had a silver artificial tree!!
I buy a small 3 foot seeding every year and do it up, technically not allowed to have real xmas trees in apartments so I get around their little rule. And I take care of it after and plant it in the spring.
We have an artificial tree with an O gauge Lionel Polar Express Train set around the tree skirt. It is pre-lite and not too bad to put up. It looks fairly realistic. I think the makers of it loaded it with so many lights so you can't stare at it long enough to realize that it is fake. It is bright!! We usually go out of town for/around Christmas so not having to worry about watering is a plus. We may opt for a real tree next year.
Growing up I always had a real tree. The house we lived in had 12 ft. ceilings, so our trees were always massive. It was also a chore to get those things to stand up properly. I have "fond" memories of my father swearing and ranting

whilst putting up the tree. It was similar to the scene in The Christmas Story when Ralphie's father was attempting to fix the furnace. Ahh....memories!
We have a real tree. When I was a kid we had real trees until my youngest sister came along and she was alergic to pine or somethin like that so for the last few years at home we had a fake tree. Since we live on alot of land we went into the woods and cut down alittle spruce tree, its only about 5' tall. The wife and I decided that we are going to get some seedlings from one of the catalogs and plant a few trees a year so we will have the 'fancy' Christmas trees. The wife also has her FFA and horticulture kids make wreaths to sell and all the extras come home so we always have a few around the house.
Another thing we do for Christmas when we have a party is we boil cinnamon sticks and some pine cuttings, it fills the house with the 'holiday scent'.
We have a real tree. When I was a kid we had real trees until my youngest sister came along and she was alergic to pine or somethin like that so for the last few years at home we had a fake tree. Since we live on alot of land we went into the woods and cut down alittle spruce tree, its only about 5' tall. The wife and I decided that we are going to get some seedlings from one of the catalogs and plant a few trees a year so we will have the 'fancy' Christmas trees. The wife also has her FFA and horticulture kids make wreaths to sell and all the extras come home so we always have a few around the house.
Another thing we do for Christmas when we have a party is we boil cinnamon sticks and some pine cuttings, it fills the house with the 'holiday scent'.
Pine needle tea is high in vitamin C eh