Real or Artificial? The Christmas tree debate.

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Replies

  • johnmurphymfp
    johnmurphymfp Posts: 2,590 Member
    Growing up we always had an artificial tree, but when I got married we went real. We for the first time in 29 years... may get an artificial one. I have mixed emotions about it though.
  • jasonmh630
    jasonmh630 Posts: 2,850 Member
    Fake with white lights for me, with a whole bunch of crimson and white ornaments and a houndstooth topper of some sort. If you cant tell, I'm an Alabama fan. lol.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    i grew up with real. we'd hike out in the woods, after obtaining a permit naturally, and chop one down ourselves. it was always a ginormous hassle though. lol. it resulted in family fighting, us kids inevitably crying and pouting in the snow. lol. i can't even remember any more why it was always so dramatic. my parents still get a real tree, but as for me i'm not big into the holidays. i never actually get anything myself, in the past various family members have shipped me a mini xmas tree that like unfolds? and plugs in, pre-lit. lol. that was kinda great in its ease. i definitely see the appeal of fake. my boyfriend has a fake palm tree one with lights and all that jazz, and i love it :smile:
  • brcossette
    brcossette Posts: 89 Member
    much like boobs real is better
  • PMA150
    PMA150 Posts: 43 Member
    Real tree, every year.
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
    I'm from northern Wisconsin. I grew up with real trees, but they're just such a hassle. Sure they smell good but they make me sneeze, you find pine needles all over your house, you have to cut the bottom off (and I don't own a saw). You have to remember to water them. However, fake trees are outrageously priced. Now that I'm an adult I'm all about the fake tree. If I had kids though I'd definitely be taking them to one of those tree farms where you get to ride the horse drawn sleigh and cut your own tree.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    brcossette wrote: »
    much like boobs real is better
    Subjective since there are lots of females who would love to replace their current "girls" with fake ones.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • liekewheeless
    liekewheeless Posts: 416 Member
    Real only if it can have the roots still on and I can plant it outside after. We have an artificial one because I can't find a real one with roots where I live.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    brcossette wrote: »
    much like boobs real is better
    Subjective since there are lots of females who would love to replace their current "girls" with fake ones.

    LOL. After all of the weight that I have lost, mine look kind of like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree!
  • Soggynode
    Soggynode Posts: 1,179 Member
    We've always had an artificial tree. The one time we brought home a fresh cut tree it was full of ants (obviously unknown to us at the time). My wife's sister was visiting and woke up in the middle of the night screaming covered in ants... 20 years later we still hear about it at family get together's.
  • the_arghbowl
    the_arghbowl Posts: 63 Member
    Real. Artificial trees cause cancer and a generalized lack of holiday cheer.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    Real.
    Fraser fir.
    Family tradition to cut it down ourselves the day after Thanksgiving.
    That is just the way it is...............some things will never change.
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
    I grew up with real... and bought them until my daughter turned 10... NOW with a house full of pets... I have an artificial tree it's less messy when I have to pick it up after the cats have knocked it down... and far more cost efficient and environmentally sound... although around here our sanitation dept. picks up the real ones and turns them into mulch for parks
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    Real. Artificial trees cause cancer and a generalized lack of holiday cheer.
    Lol, a lot of the time I believe that "Holiday Cheer" from most is artificial if you compare them to the attitude the rest of the year.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    hollyk57 wrote: »
    I love the smell of real trees, but I refuse to buy a real tree because I disagree with the unnecessary death of a live tree... such a waste of something that could have lived a long, beautiful life. Not a fan of watching a tree slowly die and drop it's needles until it's tossed aside like rubbish. My artificial tree is gorgeous and looks real.

    Alrighty.

  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    I have an artificial tree only because I spend a few days at my parents house and I don't like the idea of leaving the real tree in my apartment unattended with my cat... the tree would be down for the count by the time I got back.
  • Gawanne79
    Gawanne79 Posts: 11 Member
    Joannah700 hi, I'm such a dinosaur at this that I'm not sure exactly what I've done! BUT if I did it right, which I doubt, the image is how my kissing bough looks. It's taken me over 1 hour to get this far. LOL5w1luklj9nv9.jpg
  • Gawanne79
    Gawanne79 Posts: 11 Member
    Wow, it worked. Goes exhausted to make cup of tea!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,227 Member
    Fake, and always have. Real Australian Christmas trees tend to suck, the fronds are too long and bendy, so the decorations sag and unless you spend a FORTUNE, it just looks like you went and hacked down someones straggly fence tree.
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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Real...

    We get ours most every year from Roybal's Trees...a family that has been in the X-mas tree business for over 40 years now. They are great trees we usually get ours the weekend after Thanksgiving unless we're traveling..as was the case this year so we will pick one up this coming Saturday.

    We bought one from Costco a few years ago and boy was that a mistake...it was drying out within a week and pretty much bone dry by Christmas. I usually take my tree down the weekend after New Years, but I took that tree down immediately after Christmas as it seemed such a fire hazard. We've never had such an issue with a fresh cut Roybal tree...very little mess except for a bit of needles dropping when we remove it after New Years. We spend around $70 or so for our tree.

    The city runs a service for a couple of weeks after Christmas where they will pick up your old tree for composting for free.
  • Joannah700
    Joannah700 Posts: 2,665 Member
    Gawanne79 wrote: »
    Wow, it worked. Goes exhausted to make cup of tea!
    Good job! It looks awesome!

    And you can always 'quote' someone and replace a link if need be. You can also upload a photo directly if you took one yourself.

    Be proud. You just gained a skill today!
  • SassyClassyandALittleBadAssy
    SassyClassyandALittleBadAssy Posts: 165 Member
    edited December 2014
    Always a real tree in my house...which is inevitably a battle with hubby who owns a tree service company and spends his days with chainsaw in hand cutting them down. Something about not wanting to come home to a tree in his house after spending all day fighting with them 60 feet in the air- but he's a good husband who loves his wife and lets me have my tree!

    It's also always been a tradition for my family to cut our our trees and haul them out of the woods or tree farm on our own... i got a little help a couple years ago!

    remtree.jpg

  • wildrose53
    wildrose53 Posts: 1,342 Member
    I prefer the term "everlasting"! I always had a real tree growing up and even when my kids were little but now I like to be able to put the tree up early and enjoy it for more than a week.
  • prettigirl01
    prettigirl01 Posts: 548 Member
    neither
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    I prefer real, but artificial is definitely easier.
  • Lalalindaloo
    Lalalindaloo Posts: 204 Member
    thank you :)

    Love the red wall!!

    I go for artificial. I barely keep my regular houseplants alive and watered and they're all cacti. Plus, I go to my folks at Christmas for almost 2 weeks. My tree is 3 feet tall that I shove in/pull out of a big storage [read: trash] bag every Christmas.
  • EddieHaskell97
    EddieHaskell97 Posts: 2,227 Member
    I prefer fake for the house and to plant the real deal instead.
  • bennettinfinity
    bennettinfinity Posts: 865 Member
    I can post a completed pic when I'm finished if ya like....I'm kind of a Christmas nut. Lol would totally Grizwald it if I had the room.

    By definition, 'Griswalding' fails to take into space limitations into account. Of course, you MUST include a....

    SQUIRREL!

    ;)
  • OhMaryMack
    OhMaryMack Posts: 11 Member
    I love the smell of real trees but we always have artificial because I feel bad about killing a tree for my amusement. We also save a lot of money that way.