Real vs. Artificial Christmas Trees

[akastormi 617]

For many families, the holidays wouldn't be the same without a Christmas tree. But not everyone goes out and cuts down a real tree. Many people prefer artificial trees for various reasons.

 

Every Christmas tree is unique. Some are big, some are small. Some have colored lights, others have white lights. But the biggest difference you’ll find, is that some are real and some will never die, it's all a matter of preference.

 

I understand to some families, the tradition of picking out their perfect Christmas tree is something they look forward to every year. Cutting down their tree and hauling it home is all worth it, when the tree’s aroma fills their home..... Wonderful.

 

But other families like the simplicity of an artificial tree. It's cost efficient, doesn't make a mess and it’s easy to put up and take down. Many people say while they miss the smell of a real tree, the other problems, they don't miss at all.

 

I use to love going out and fiding that tree that just fit, stuffing it in the corner, making a project out of it for the family. LOL But now, I've moved on to an artificial one. The needles were the reason. Sitting in the same room as my wood stove the tree as much as I cared for it would die off long before I wanted it to. I like to have my tree up for 6-8 weeks.

 

So do you get your Christmas tree from a farm or from a box? I believe it's the traditions and time together that make getting and decorating a Christmas tree, not the tree itself.

[Squishy 1,149]

For me one of the biggest benefits to a "real" tree is the smell. And there's nothing to store, the artificial trees I've had tend to get beat up over time and end up looking kinda shabby. Just my opinion.

[chevyman097 2,579]

Nothing says Christmas like a real tree. I just dont get the desire for the fake thing.

[YOT 3,743]

With the acreage I have that are wooded, I like the artificial tree in the house. It has alot to do with allergens.

[Fallschirmjager667 729]

actually stormi, artificial trees can die. when i go to pull it out of the basement and it's covered in dead bugs and cat piss, i consider it dead

[bigj480 203]

Real, especially if you have kids.

[richUK 90]

Usually have an artificial tree, but not bothering at all this year........we're going to Goa,India for Christmas!

[horatio 515]

i went with artificial. until recently, i did enjoy real trees but i bought a higher end artificial at the end of season sales 3 years ago and it was worth every penny. i've had the crappy fake ones and they suck. this one has metal branches with individually attached needle sections, and the wires seem to have a slightly thicker coat of insulation to resist pulls, and whoever wired it did it well enough that none of the wires are stressed in either full open or close. basically, i take it out of storage ( 12" concrete form tubes are great for this, BTW) and each section falls into place. i just fluff up the branches a bit and i am GTG. it cost me 325 after being half off but it was totally worth it. as far as the smell i buy though scentsicles from home depot that come pretty close. nothing says merry christmas like chemically scented trees

 

as far as memories, out of the memories i have of setting up the tree as a kid, most of them were that it was a pain in the ass. my wife and i buy one nice ornanment a year, and my daughter hangs them up while we talk about where we got them from. i think she gets some good memories out of that

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

A simple small Cedar cut down for free back along the creek. Smells good, not too hard to deal with... and makes a hell of a cool flash fire outside after putting away all the X Mas lights and starting a new year.

[akastormi 617]

Chemically scented tree..... Hell yes.

I'm all for that. Between the scented candles, scented oil on the wood stove and Nailbomb's idea of the "little pine tree" air fresheners as ornaments, I got the smell of pine going on. Yeah, the air fresheners are cheesy, but it was a good idea, beer was involved, and I'm supporting a local business. The " little tree" plant is less than an hour north of me. LOL

[Ronin38 2,117]

Yeah, my 10-yr. old artificial tree is just about "dead". A few too many times of being crammed back in to the box it came in. I need to shop for new outdoor lights anyway, so I'm probably going to look at trees, too. My artificial tree was not lighted, either, so that might be a nice upgrade.

 

You know, it never occurred to me to hang a pine-tree on the pine tree!

[horatio 515]

It wasn't real clear in my last post but instead of the airfresheners, they now sell something called scentsicles. they come in a little tube and they come a little closer to the smell of a real tree, in my opinion. air fresheners try to choke you, this just sorta... compliments the smell of your house. of course, i've spent the last decade too close to they smells of acetone, lacquer thinner, and burning tar, so i might not be the person who's opinion you want to take on this matter

[Voltia 375]

Real here. We used to haul them out back behind the shed, let them dry out, then weight them and drop them 25 yards off the dock.

 

Awesome fish nests.

[Zombiehunter762 376]

Can't afford a real tree due to The Grinch in the WH. Wife with a Bachlor Degree in business management & accounting without a job. Before numb nuts she was making over $60,000. It's been just me working 10-12hrs a day. But, I prefer a real tree like my Dad used to get every year.

[bulldog_shotgun 47]

never had a cut real tree, had a couple balled 4 or 5 footers.

my dad was a firefighter and went on several christmas tree fires.

worst one was in the late 70's kids came down cristmas morning and plugged in the tree.

and it went up like a roman candle. cristmas morning in a blizzard, family lost the father and baby.

needless to say he was a bit tree shy.

[S12KS-K 40]

actually stormi, artificial trees can die. when i go to pull it out of the basement and it's covered in dead bugs and cat piss, i consider it dead

 

iLOL'd

[RED333 1,025]

Our first "tree" was a cardboard cutout of a tree, I poked holes in it, stuck lights into the holes.

We colored it, some paint also, taped some tin foil and that was it, we kept that "tree" for a few years.

That was the BEST tree we ever had. Moved into our house, I went to the woods and cut a Ceader

every year for many years, then came the fake trees. I WANT THAT CARDBOARD TREE BACK!!!

Did I say I like the cardboard tree.

Edited December 3, 2012 by RED333

[TonyRumore 1,332]

I don't put one up anymore, but I would still vote for a real tree, since my parents owned a cut-your-own tree farm from 1972 - 1986. We started off in '72 selling them for $5 any tree. They were up to $15 any tree in '86. The farm had about 3,500 trees in it, in various stages of growth. The tree farm is gone now and been replaced by a huge ass horse arena for my mom to drive her horse/buggy stuff around.

 

Tony

 

P.S. There are some serious clown asses out there, when it comes to choosing and cutting down a tree.

[Deadeye 325]

For me its family tradition to go cut down a real tree with a sledding and shooting day. I thought about cutting one down with the s12 for a cool video.

[DrThunder88 912]

You know, it never occurred to me to hang a pine-tree on the pine tree!

Pineception!

 

We have an artificial tree. I remember having real trees as a kid and don't miss or pine for them. The important tradition in my family has always been in the decoration rather than the tree itself.

[mostholycerebus 415]

We go to Home Depot and pick out a nice pine for $10. Doubt I could get a fake one that cheap, and we like doing it with the grandparents. Half the time grandma buys, so its even cheaper. The kids and cats live the real ones.

[pyzik 597]

Real tree all the way!

 

Just isn't the same without the smell.

[Fallschirmjager667 729]

cheap artificial trees cost as much as real ones here, and last about as long. a real tree costs me $20 for any one i want

[RobRez 1,895]

Here in Montana a permit to cut down a Christmas tree is $5 if you want to get it from public land. I just cut one from our land for free. I love the Real tree and try to get a different type every year. Sometimes short and squat sometines 10' tall!

The stand for your tree is a Bowl for putting in sugar-water to keep it fresh and green....in case you were unaware of that helpfull hint.

[HB of CJ 1,263]

We always buy a small LIVE tree in about a 5 gallon pot and use tiny decorations and the tree sits on the dining room table. After X-mas we keep the live tree inside until spring...then we plant it outside. About half of them survive...some planted 35 years ago are now 35 feet high and a foot across the butt. HB of CJ

[Ronin38 2,117]

HB- that's pretty cool. I wish I had enough yard to plant trees in every year.

[elvis christ 451]

Cool story, my main gripe with the real tree is that you chunk them after the holidays, that kinda aleviates the problem.

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

Growing up as a military brat we had it all, real tree, fake tree, a planted ficus tree, and we even had a cactus one year. It always depended on where we were when it was Christmas.

Edited December 4, 2012 by liberty -r- death

[TonyRumore 1,332]

We always buy a small LIVE tree in about a 5 gallon pot and use tiny decorations and the tree sits on the dining room table. After X-mas we keep the live tree inside until spring...then we plant it outside. About half of them survive...some planted 35 years ago are now 35 feet high and a foot across the butt. HB of CJ

 

Just an FYI, it takes a different license/permit to sell live trees, versus cut trees, at least in California anyway. There is also a "Timber Tax" on cut trees, kinda like the FET on guns. That timber tax is rolled into the price of the tree, so you never realize you are paying it. I'm not sure if there is a tax on live trees or not. Anyway, we were not allowed to let people dig up our trees and take them live. They had to be cut.

 

Tony

[Agent Lemon 157]

If you can, then buy a real tree. The smell, the look, the essence. It all beats the living hell out of a fake one. Once Christmas is over, you can burn it.