Christmas Tree-real or artificial?

I was thinking of posting to see if people preferred real or artificial trees for Christmas decorating. Somehow I thought that question had been asked before. LOL Well, I did find this. http://davesgarden.com/t/142508/artificial+tree Are there any other posts? What opinions do you guys have now, two years later??

I always had real Christmas trees, until one year... That year I had a new home with a fireplace. And so, I thought, for Twelfth Night, I would start a fire, and slowly push the tree into the fireplace as it burned, like a Yule Log. I stuck the tip into the fire, and the entire tree went up in flames, like a flashbulb. Brilliant, eh? Fortunately, nothing happened... but I learned that trees are so inflammable, and decided not to have them around again. Now, I am in a new house, and as there was also a new puppy that year, I just planted a blue spruce outside the living room window, and have my real tree, covered in lights, outside.

Amazes me when I think how our grandparents had live trees with candles burning on them!

Real. We cut one at a local tree farm sometime after 12/15. Usually it comes down shortly after the First of the year and I put it outside with stuff for the birds.

When I was about five years old, my parents got shag carpeting. Because of the needles that a live tree sheds, they decided that they would get an artificial tree. I wasn't too keen on that, but my dad told me that this way, we wouldn't have to kill a real tree. That satisfied me, and to this day, I haven't had a desire to have a live tree. I even feel bad for the trees laying around in the sales lot that never get sold.

I grew up in Pennsylvania and now live in California. Live trees are much more popular in California. I don't know why. Maybe it is because going to the tree lot does not involve going out in bad weather. Pine trees do live here and are common in landscaping, so it's not like a pine tree is something exotic.

Has to be artificial here. Have daughter and grandson who can't be around a live Christmas tree.

I used to be the Christmas tree police around here - insisting on real trees, even buying and setting the things up for my parents and my sister. And taking them down afterwards.

I'm over it.

I haven't even had a tree for the past few years ... my friends and family call me Ebenezer. I have to have one this year, since I have a new grandson. Artificial is sounding good to me.

Cheri'

John, that is hysterical! I think it is mostly the way you told it and I am sure it was NOT funny at the time.

Oh CoCo, I do remember reading your daughter has an allergy. That could be really bad.

My hubby has this idea that we should get a balled and burlapped one and plant it in the yard afterwards. I am a bit concerned about water and electricity mixing. We have an artificial one, have had it about 9 years. Unfortunately it is starting to shed it's needles. I am wondering, how long can I leave a live one indoors? Normally we put ours up on Thanksgiving day, but I can say right now, there is no way (after 200 brugs and assorted tropicals!!!) will I drag it in and out! LOL Would I have to wait til say mid December if I were going to bring a live one in?

Thanks for everyone's thoughts. :)

We have a real tree simply because we have a family friend who has a tree farm. Last year we tried digging up a tree to replant after Christmas. Nope...didn't work and I wouldn't try it again either. I'm quite certain we didn't do it correctly but it is alot of extra work. Of all the things we did wrong the worse was probably digging it up too early and having it inside for too long. (almost 4 weeks) I've read that you shouldn't have them inside for more than a week because the tree thinks it should start growing for springtime.

We have always had a real one (although we haven't had any for the last couple of years). I hate the mess after it starts to die and I always get itchy taking off the ornaments. So, this year we are going to get an artificial one. I have been looking at them and some of the trees look so real now. I was thinking of getting the kind that already has the lights on them.

artificial. I want it up Thanksgiving night and if I put up a real one, I can't sleep after a few days worrying (tried it last year:)

I always have a live cedar tree decorated with old fashioned and sentimental ornaments as that is what we had in the country all during my growing up years. We have always had a huge one that went to the top of our tall garden room ceiling until last year and now we are deciding that it can be shorter and still be ok. Climbing up a laddar to decorate it is seeming a little foolish at our ages. We now have one that we are growing in a nice large plastic pot and we will bring it inside in a year or so for about a week and then take it back outside. No more going out in the woods to get one any longer. I also have small artificial ones decorated in different manners that I put up on the first of December. I am wanting to start getting stuff out now just answering this thread. Ho, ho, ho!

A real one of course. We have plenty of them here in Finland ;)

Those that do get a live tree;here a few tips.
First, when looking for a tree and you see one you like, thump it on the ground to see how many needles fall off. If quite a few fall, then pass it, and look for a fresher one.

Once you find one and before you bring it in the house, drill a hole up the center, bottom of the trunk and then insert cotton balls and let stand in a bucket of water to soak several hours for it to soak up as much moisture as possible

Now you can bring it into the house and put it in your tree stand; leaving the cotton balls up in the ttunk to soak up the moisture. Add water in your tree stand and making sure it doesn't go dry.

Artificial tree on the front porch. If I have one inside, the cats sprawled on the branches look like Christmas squirrels.

Artificial tree for us here. In the years past I would find myself spending anywhere from 30-70.00 for a live tree and now having 3 boys to buy for I feel like I could use that money to buy for them.
I finally broke down and bought a artificial tree a couple of years ago so now we have a 7-8' tree that has been just as pretty as any live tree we have ever had.
I admit the smell of a real tree does set the mood, but hey nowadays you can buy that same smell in a can or even candles that have the same scent.
Just wish I had all that money back for all those real trees we have bought in the past! Boy now we really could have a great Christmas!!

Odd man out again. Your stories are very telling as to why you put up what. For the past two years we didn't put up a tree cause I like to be away for the holidays. Two years ago New Orleans and last year the DR. We don't have much family around at the holidays (actually none)so we try to travel during that period.
This year is a dilemna cause we are not travelling and I don't know whether to put a tree up this season or not? If we do it will be a real one, but still contemplating the idea.
Bravo to those with digging them and planting, too much for us here and we already have too many trees blocking the sunshine for the gardens as in past years we have done that and they have gotten huge.
I see many artificial ones that are beautiful, but where do you store those for the rest of the year?

We keep our tree in a closet that is hard to get at. Since it is hard to get at, we weren't using it, so might as well keep something in there that you only have to get at once a year. My parents kept their tree in this weird crawlspace under the entry foyer. That was another place that was hard to get to.

I see, now thinking about my cubbyholes and what I should store in them or have stored in them. I did start a crawlspace 10 years ago under the dormer, I put a whole bunch of stuff in there that I was gonna sell at a yard sale! Guess it will be a surprise for future owners to find all those artifacts that I have yet to retrieve from that space LOL!

I've never had an artificial tree and doubt that I ever will. I love the scent of pine that fills the house especially after the tree is first brought in the door. Plus, it has become a personal Christmas tradition between me and my DH that I get to annoy him and ask him to lift and turn every tree in the lot until I find the one I like. What even makes it a bit more fun is that other wives see Adam do that and start asking their DH's to do the same thing - one guy came up to him last year and said "See what you started." LOL

I prefer a real tree, and even though I know cut trees are a farm product (esp. the Fraser Firs here in western NC) not much different than tomatoes or corn, I still have a problem with a cut tree that's just thrown away later.

Last year, due to space limitations with so many large plants indoors in the winter, I bought a potted dwarf Weeping Norway Spruce and put it on a tabletop, complete with lights and decorations. We keep a pot of water on the wood stove so our house isn't too dry inside, but you have to do a careful check on water. It was wonderful, and looks great outside in my garden. It will come in about Dec. 15 to Ney Year's Day and be decorated again.

One year, I strung lights and ornaments in my large Ficus Benjaminus (to save space) but I'll not do that again! Many of the leaves were scorched from the miniature lights even though I tried to stay away from the leaves.

Somebody here mentioned our grandparents and lit candles on the tree. I can remember as a child, My Baba(Ukrainian grandma).....standing in the room, near the tree with an aluminum bucket of water........just waiting..in case of......then, Ukrainian Christmas eve, again the candles were lit! another story......I reminsce a time in the state of Tennessee, at a Nashville craft fair(the largest one ever), spotting a most unusual dark green twiggy-spindly looking tree(artificial), over across the floor.....talk about unique. I could have purchased one there..didn't! But vowed one day if I should see another like it...that would be our tree for the sitting room off our kitchen! Sure enough, found one at a wholesale craft outlet and to this day, it goes up on the 1st of December, and always brings me back to a wonderful craft fair in the U.S. Elaine

Several years we have pruned a large branch from a deciduous tree, put it in our Christmas tree stand, and decorated it. I got more complements on those trees than I have ever gotten from any real tree.

Four years ago when we got out home we bought a blue spruce in memory of my father. We brought it in the house for about 6 days and then planted it outside where it is doing great. Last year we bought another tree and planted it after it was in the house for 7 days. It is doing great.

This year we will again buy another spruce or pine and plant it after Christmas. We are planting a wind break about 150 feet long so there will be lots of room for trees in the future.

Well, I have always been a live tree person. We always had a live tree growing up but since I've moved to Arizona that has had to go to the bottom of the priority list. The first year we were here I bought a gorgeous 8' tree. We got it just one and a half weeks before Christmas. Come Christmas eve the poor tree was so dry I couldn't even turn on the lights. Too dangerous. I did all the important stuff that you are suppose to do to keep it green and well watered. It still dried up like a bone.
So It's artificial for me now and I buy lots of great pine sented candles and I always have apples and cinnamon in a kettle on my stove. It fills the house with such wonderful fragrance and everytime someone comes over they comment on how wonderful my house smells. It's a warm and cozy feeling to know that people feel warm and cozy in your home.

This message was edited Nov 12, 2003 8:47 AM

Started out with live trees (when I was younger and didn't mind picking up the dead stuff left behind), but have had an artificial one for manyyyyy years now. First used one because we were heating with wood and sometimes the temperature would soar. I just felt safer. Still using the artiicial one, but only use the wood stove to take the chill off on cold days. This old tree is getting mighty bare tho!

For how long do you keep the spruces inside? In Finland they are kept maybe a week or a few days before Christmas until early January, but most often January 6th, which is Loppiainen, the day when celebrating Christmas is said to be over.

Evert, I keep my potted spruce inside for 10-14 days at the most.... just a few days before Christmas it comes inside. I paid too much money for it to risk losing it to dry heat.

My family used to observe Jan. 6th when we lived in south Florida amongst so many Latin people. They call Jan. 6th "Day of the Three Kings".

I guess a real tree will not be an option for us. Since we have nothing to do and nowhere to go for holidays, we started our own traditions so our children could have some nice memories. That is why we put up our tree on Thanksgiving Day (and take it down on New Year's). It gives us something to do, on a day we are all home, while we are being tortured by the smell of the roasting turkey and all the fixings! Those are also the two days, I know the living room gets a very thorough cleaning! LOL We also decorate the entertainment center and mantle shelf with pine roping, bows and lights (so they get dusted too!). So, I guess we will be sticking with the artificial tree since it looks like I cannot keep a live or cut one in the house for over a month.

Jan, your stove top potpourri reminds me of something my mother used to do. She would fill a pot with water and put in orange slices, cloves, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, whatever holiday scent she craved, and left it simmering. Talk about a nice scent!

'Chele... your comments to Jan remind me that now that I keep a pot of water atop my wood stove in the living room, I could put stuff in it to flavor the air over the holidays. Thanks.

Artifical tree here! Shh I have 4 of them in different sizes. Now I think about buy a pre-lights tree ( 7.5 feet tall) at walmart. Today I went and look at that tree. I am going to buy one soon! I am going to put two tree up this year. I like to have a real tree but they are so expensive that I dont want to pay for it and waste my $$ when they die! We put our up on Thanksgiving evening.

You are welcome Darius. It is easy to do, lasts a long time and is cheaper in the long run than dry potpouri and air fresheners. :)

Artificial by the fireplace. When the kids were home in NY, we always went out and cut a real tree but no more. Since we're in FL at Christmas we decorate extensively outdoors including some live junipers.

Used to nothing would do but a real tree........until my allergies got so bad, after a couple of days I couldn't even breathe. Went out and bought a really nice artificial....and it was like a breath of pure air.
DH said that was the first year in his life he ever put up a tree twice!!

"eyes"

When I was a child, we always bought real trees. Back then we had tinsel and bubble lights. Granny would bake rock hard cookies and frost them, and hang them on the tree.

After I was married, we bought live trees for many years. And then we got cats.....

Two of my cats eat plants - live ones, silk ones, plastic ones. Nothing keeps them out of the plants. Not to mention batting at decorations on the tree. So I now have an artificial tree with a flat back that hangs on the wall - high on the wall - where kitties can't reach. It is much smaller than any tree I've ever had. I hang ornaments on it that my sons made in elementary school. So, small though it is, it is very special.

I usually have a large real tree in the living room, a 7 foot artificial one in the family room, 4 foot artificial in the dining room and another 4 foot artifical one in my bedroom, which I think I will light up tonight because the famuly across the street has theirs lit up already!

Thousands of Christmas trees(Fraser Fir) grown in this part of NC. They are sprayed with lots of yuck. Don't want them in my house. They have been cutting and hauling them out by truck loads the past 2 weeks.
Will use my artificial one again. It has the perfect shape.LOL

Real trees for us, although I do feel bad about all those trees leftover in the lots...there are several tree farms close by, and we usually go to the closest one, a Blue Spruce farm about 2 miles from here. We all dress up warm and cozy, grab the saw and go. The folks who own the farm drive people out to the trees on a hay wagon pulled by an old tractor...then we tromp around til we find "it". We usually get ours the first or second week in December and leave it up til mid-January.
To make up for cutting a tree, we always buy three or four (a couple of years we've bought dozens!) from the local Conservation District and plant them on our land or give them to friends. There is just something about the look, smell and feel of a real tree. One year, before we had kids I used old fashioned candle holders with real candles. Of course, we only lit them a few times, but it was so beautiful!

Another vote for artificial here. I have allergies and asthma, and I like the tree to be up a good long time. Therefore, in the past few years, I have switched to artificial. It's just cleaner and safer around here. And it saves me money.

Vickey

Waiting until Thanksgiving to put up the trees just dosen't give me enough time to enjoy them. Thats what I use to do until a few years ago when stores started selling Christmas decoration so early.


Christmas is my favorite holiday.....I love the decorations and all the stuff that goes with it.....I put up a tree in every room even a small one in the bathroom. I try and have diffrent thems for each tree, like a western tree, a japaness tree, a victorian tree and so on. Will start decorating this weekend.....Inside and out.....and I am running a little late on the decorating this year.
I put up artificial trees and decorations and use candles, potpourri and any spray I like.....

After I finish decorating then its on to plan the menu and what all we are having for desserts and snacks, yummy another good part of Christmas....Will make the fruit cakes this weekend to so the rum will have time to soak.......I have a wonderful no bake recipe.....

Christmas is just not long enough and goes so quickly.... :o)
Dee

WillowWasp: Fruit cake with rum! Yummmm. Can I come to your place for Christmas. LOL
Bill

Would you share your no bake recipe for fruitcake?