Real or Fake?

mikajoanow
mikajoanow Posts: 584 Member
edited October 5 in Social Groups
Trees of course. What did you think I was talking about?

For those with a Christmas/Yule/Jul/Holiday tree. :D
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Replies

  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    Growing up we always had real. Hubby and I have a scrawny fake one for now.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    I have to admit I LOVE a fake tree, I grew up with it and when I got older I decided to try a real one...............not for me though lol. Needles everywhere, hard to hang ornaments on, you have to remember to water it, didn't shape very well and you have to throw it away. I can appreciate people wanting a real tree but it's just not for me.
  • mommared53
    mommared53 Posts: 9,543 Member
    I prefer a real tree but I have a fake one so I put it up every year.
  • mikajoanow
    mikajoanow Posts: 584 Member
    I have to admit I LOVE a fake tree, I grew up with it and when I got older I decided to try a real one...............not for me though lol. Needles everywhere, hard to hang ornaments on, you have to remember to water it, didn't shape very well and you have to throw it away. I can appreciate people wanting a real tree but it's just not for me.

    I have found a happy med. I put up real garland but have a fake tree. I have a fake one because not only is it a mess, I simply don't want to afford a new huge tree every year that will fit in my living room with really high vaulted ceilings. The windows in there are huge and it looks silly to have a smaller tree in there.
  • macpatti
    macpatti Posts: 4,280 Member
    I love the smell of real trees! We also make it a fun tradition of all going to pick one out together.
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    fake. Saves having to get a new one each year, and saves having to dispose of it after
  • Thank you for including Yule!! My Yule tree is fake. Less mess!!! Although this year since Dexter is deployed, I've opted not to put anything up.
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    Real.

    When I didn't have room, I had those little rosemary trees (then dried the rosemary for use during the year). This year we managed to make room for a little 4 foot tree, but couldn't find a live one, so we're going to buy one this spring and keep it in a pot in the yard (I live the PacNW so fir trees are commonly planted around here and easy to keep alive from Yule to Yule).
  • sexforjaffacakes
    sexforjaffacakes Posts: 1,001 Member
    I love our fake one, my mum and dad bought it together when they first got married and it's been out family tree ever since. I love my christmas tree, it's more special when you get to keep it and use it year after year (:
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    every time ive got a real tree, its been with the intention of keeping it alive for next year, but somehow they always die. Im normally good with plants but i cant keep a xmas tree alive for love nor money
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    every time ive got a real tree, its been with the intention of keeping it alive for next year, but somehow they always die. Im normally good with plants but i cant keep a xmas tree alive for love nor money

    do you mean a living tree in a pot?
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    every time ive got a real tree, its been with the intention of keeping it alive for next year, but somehow they always die. Im normally good with plants but i cant keep a xmas tree alive for love nor money

    I'm confused. Do you get the tree with the roots still on it? If you're getting a cut tree, there's no way to keep it alive for a year.
  • killerqueen17
    killerqueen17 Posts: 536 Member
    REAL!! They smell good, and they're cheaper!! :bigsmile:
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    REAL!! They smell good, and they're cheaper!! :bigsmile:

    Cheaper? We got real trees every year until last year, and always spent $50-75 for a decent tree.

    My fake tree was cheapie cheap at $30.

    Even if the real one is cheaper at the time than a fake one, you don't keep buying a fake one year after year.
  • killerqueen17
    killerqueen17 Posts: 536 Member
    REAL!! They smell good, and they're cheaper!! :bigsmile:

    Cheaper? We got real trees every year until last year, and always spent $50-75 for a decent tree.

    My fake tree was cheapie cheap at $30.

    Even if the real one is cheaper at the time than a fake one, you don't keep buying a fake one year after year.

    Really?? My real tree last year was $20, and the fake ones I saw were $50+... But yes, in the long run it is cheaper, since you don't replace them yearly! But the smell... AND you don't have to assemble the things, or store the tree during off-season... the list goes on :wink:

    ...I also like the experience of picking out a tree... call me silly, but I feel like I'm giving the tree a "home" or something... I tend to anthromorphize things a LOT. :laugh:
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,788 Member
    We live in Oregon. We can pick up a tree on any corner for $30 or less.
  • chocolateandvodka
    chocolateandvodka Posts: 1,850 Member
    I want one of those coloured ones from Big Lots. they're like $50-100 i think.

    i can't decide if i want purple or pink though...
  • _beachgirl_
    _beachgirl_ Posts: 3,865 Member
    Real.
  • sassylilmama
    sassylilmama Posts: 1,493 Member
    Real. We tried fake for a couple years and it was not the same for us. Just not Christmas w/o that real tree smell.
  • sassylilmama
    sassylilmama Posts: 1,493 Member
    I want one of those coloured ones from Big Lots. they're like $50-100 i think.

    i can't decide if i want purple or pink though...

    They have the 4ft ones for like $15 :)
  • BuffyEat2Live
    BuffyEat2Live Posts: 327 Member
    My brother had terrible allergies to trees, so I grew up with fake trees. So that's what I have as an adult, too!

    I would love to try a real tree some day, just to see if I can do it. It seems so complicated!
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    REAL!! They smell good, and they're cheaper!! :bigsmile:

    Cheaper? We got real trees every year until last year, and always spent $50-75 for a decent tree.

    My fake tree was cheapie cheap at $30.

    Even if the real one is cheaper at the time than a fake one, you don't keep buying a fake one year after year.

    Really?? My real tree last year was $20, and the fake ones I saw were $50+... But yes, in the long run it is cheaper, since you don't replace them yearly! But the smell... AND you don't have to assemble the things, or store the tree during off-season... the list goes on :wink:

    ...I also like the experience of picking out a tree... call me silly, but I feel like I'm giving the tree a "home" or something... I tend to anthromorphize things a LOT. :laugh:

    Oh I totally hear ya. i really don't like our fake tree, but for this year anyway it'll have to do. My mom caved this year and finally bought a decent fake tree since her and my dad are alone in their new house now and don't feel the need to pick out a real tree anymore. She always said she had to have the real pine smell too and REFUSED to get anything but a real tree until this year.
  • southofmadness
    southofmadness Posts: 316 Member
    REAL 100%
  • juliecat1
    juliecat1 Posts: 3,450 Member
    Fake but I have a kid allergic to pine so I have to!
  • dragonbait0126
    dragonbait0126 Posts: 568 Member
    Growing up my parents had a fake tree and my grandparents always had a real one. I used to have a fake tree but living in an apartment I just don't have the space to store it. I'd love to get a real tree though. Disposal is easy for me. Our best friends live in the country and have a new year's party where everyone who has a real tree brings it and we do an anual burning of the trees. It does show you how scary they are if you let them get to dry though and something happens. Those things go up quick!
  • BigDanTX
    BigDanTX Posts: 92 Member
    I like the fake ones because no matter what you do to them they always bounce right back. With real ones you just have to invest so much time and care into them. Even when you do everything right (keep it properly moisturized, don't jiggle it too much, not too much sun, nothing too heavy hanging from it) in the end it winds up sagging and drooping because that just what happens.

    With fake ones the stuff I buy to decorate and make it look good this year, will still make it look good next year. Yet with real ones the size is always changing year to year. Bigger, smaller, thinner, wider. Heck even the decorations you just bought today might not fit right and now you'll have to go back and get different ones. Ugh its always weird walking in those stores alone.

    Well I've got my sliver chains, glitter, lace decorations and Christmas music all ready. Now it's time for me to go to work on a nice pair of fake ones. What? I have two trees this year...
  • Bahet
    Bahet Posts: 1,254 Member
    REAL!! They smell good, and they're cheaper!! :bigsmile:

    Cheaper? We got real trees every year until last year, and always spent $50-75 for a decent tree.

    My fake tree was cheapie cheap at $30.

    Even if the real one is cheaper at the time than a fake one, you don't keep buying a fake one year after year.

    Really?? My real tree last year was $20, and the fake ones I saw were $50+... But yes, in the long run it is cheaper, since you don't replace them yearly! But the smell... AND you don't have to assemble the things, or store the tree during off-season... the list goes on :wink:

    ...I also like the experience of picking out a tree... call me silly, but I feel like I'm giving the tree a "home" or something... I tend to anthromorphize things a LOT. :laugh:

    Oh I totally hear ya. i really don't like our fake tree, but for this year anyway it'll have to do. My mom caved this year and finally bought a decent fake tree since her and my dad are alone in their new house now and don't feel the need to pick out a real tree anymore. She always said she had to have the real pine smell too and REFUSED to get anything but a real tree until this year.
    I bought a very nice fake tree on an after Christmas sale for $50 back in 1991. I spray it with that "real tree" scent and put a pine scented thingy in the box every year. It took about 3 years but it smells real (without bothering my allergies) to the point that friends thought we had a real tree and just got lucky in finding a really nice one. Storage isn't an issue. I just put it in the garage or when we had a basement in our first 2 houses I'd put it in there. Even when we were in an apt I'd put it on the floor of the closet and just set other stuff on top of it. It didn't take up much more room than the ornaments, lights, garland, misc decorations.

    Figuring a real tree will cost about $50 each year and I paid $50 for this one 30 years ago, I figure I've saved about $1500 by buying that fake tree. Really, it's probably a lot more. If we got a real tree I'd want something nice and those are even more expensive.
  • I have a fake tree now, but for years we had the real thing, even cut our own when we lived in Alaska. I love the neatness and economically sound idea of a fake, but I do miss the smell. I have a candle warmer (so no worry about open flames) and get a Christmas candle from yankee candle co and enjoy the christmas smell!
  • KimmyEB
    KimmyEB Posts: 1,208 Member
    I've never once had a real tree. Up until I was 12 years old, my family lived in apartments, so we weren't allowed to have real trees. When my parents got a house when I was 12, we continued to do fake trees. My mom said real trees are too messy. :tongue: Judging the homes of my friends who had real trees, I can say, she's right! All those needles...blah.

    Also, I don't MIND the smell of the real trees, but I would grow to hate it really quickly. A grocery store here in town that I go to a lot has them set up all outside the perimeter of the store, and walking from the parking lot to the entrance you smell them...at first, it isn't so bad...then it's REALLY bad. :laugh: I couldn't live with that smell in my house.

    We just got a new fake tree last month. I love this one! It's honestly the nicest one that I've ever personally owned. :smile: It's black, which yeah, that's kinda weird, but when it's lit up, it looks like a dark forest green. This is also the first year I've ever had the traditional lights on a tree, vs. the rainbow lights, which I used to love, but now can't stand. And it was only $40.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    Real - the smell is divine, and an essential part of Christmas for me. As for the mess some people have mentioned, it's a small price to pay, and that's what vacuum cleaners are for! And/or detachable tree 'skirts' that can be lifted up with all the shed needles in for disposal if it really bothers you.
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