Live or Artificial Tree?

[dnickels]

Real. 20+ years growing up on a tree farm so even the most 'realistic' looking fake tree still looks fake to me from a hundred feet away. I pick it out and cut it down when I'm home for Thanksgiving and bale it and ship it down via UPS so it arrives a few days after I get back.

[Disney Doll]

Fake. I love real trees, but it just seems like such a waste and I'm not up for the hassle. I don't want to water, vacuum needles, or worry about fire danger. I also don't want to bother lugging one home every year and then figuring out how to dispose of it after Christmas. I have small children and 3 cats so there's just too much temptation with a real tree and I always worry about securing them properly. The base of my fake tree is perfectly level and easy to secure in the stand. I too use pine scented plug ins around the house as a substitute for the real tree smell.

[barnaby]

Artificial
We like real trees better, but we had them fall over 3 years in row and that was the end of that.

[Mousefever]

Pre-lit. We had a section go out since the last time we used our tree, so I pulled all the lights off and replaced them with LED lights. They'll stay on the tree when I put it away so it's still pre-lit and I won't have to string lights every year.

We had the same situation with the same result! We live in a townhome, so we opted for a pencil-slim artificial tree. I grew up with real trees and I enjoyed them, but with our space considerations, artificial and slim made more sense. Missing the wonderful scent of pine, however, I always burn the "Christmas Wreath" Yankee candle.

Amy

[princessgirls]

I'm a huge fan of the artificial pre-lit!!!

I'm on my 2nd one. I love lots of lights, and mine has 800 on it. LOVE IT, and it only takes us 15 minutes to assemble it every year.

It looks pretty!!!

Julie

[AgentC]

I love real trees. I grew up with real trees almost every year but to be honest find the trees I can get in FL don't quite match up to my memories of the trees in MA.

We bought an artificial tree (not pre lit) about 5 years ago simply because it was easier with young kids and dogs and less expensive over the long haul.

I think we are going to rotate in a live tree every few years.

[minnie04]

I'm a HUGE Disney Decorator for Christmas (EVERY room in the house has something Disney), that being said for years we have always had a real tree. Last year was the first time we had an artificial one. I have to tell you I LOVE IT!!! It has lights on it, but I add my LED lights to make it feel more Disney..lol. I have these Disney characters that you hang on the tree and you plug them into your lights and the heads move they are about 8inches and pretty heavy. Every year I would struggle with them because the real tree would start to sag and they would look droopy… lol. Now everything stays in place and looks so good. I have Mickey hands that stick out of the sides and they stay in place as well. The tree looks go good all stuffed with Disney ... If I want the real tree smell I will buy cut pieces and place them around the back of the tree.

[hoop de do]

We've always had real trees. The smell is awesome. Usually cut our own or get a same day cut tree. There is some needle droppage but again the smell is worth it. We like blue spruce, around a 7 ft.-er. You do have to water them every day. Our county has been recognized as the Christmas tree capital of the world.

[joonyer]

When I was a kid in the early 60's my Mom decided to get one of the then-popular silver aluminum trees with the revolving color wheel light. It was the coolest thing ever! I wish she had kept it, I have no idea when it got thrown out, but now I wish I still had one, just for the retro-coolness of it all.

When my kids were little we had a live tree every year for a while until we started traveling to Grandma's house out-of state on Christmas Eve and staying for week. Didn't feel safe leaving a drying-out tree in the house for a week and I sure as heck wasn't going to the trouble of taking it down on Christmas Eve, so we switched to the real-looking artificial pre-lit ones. But Grandma has passed on now and the kids are almost grown so maybe we'll switch back to a live tree this year.

Or maybe I'll get us a brand new shiny aluminum one, with a color wheel. We'll be the envy of our neighborhood!

[Carol]

Artificial
We like real trees better, but we had them fall over 3 years in row and that was the end of that.

You need to find a tree farm that has the Pin Style Stand Strait Tree Stand. They drill the hole right there and you cannot tip the tree over and, best of all, no adjusting the tree for straightening.

Trust me. We have 5 cats and last year was the first year we didn't have to wire the tree to the wall.

Easy - Peasy.

http://www.sheerlundforests.com/stands.html

[buzznwoodysmom]

I grew up with real trees for Christmas. It was a big deal, and my parents (mostly my mom) made a big production out of picking out just the right one, yada, yada, yada.

Once I got married DH couldn't tolerate a real tree. Allergies....he'll sneeze his head off all day every day with a real tree in the house. So we have an artificial pre lit tree. We are probably on our 2nd or 3rd one in the 13 years we've been married.

Part of me is sad that my kids will never get the experience of picking out a real tree like I did growing up. But, I have to admit a fake tree is much easier to deal with.

DH says if we ever go on vacation for Christmas to a place we can stay in a cabin in the snow we can try to do a real tree there. He'll deal with his allergies for a week on vacation, just not the entire holiday season at home.

[Mickey'sGirl]

When I was a kid in the early 60's my Mom decided to get one of the then-popular silver aluminum trees with the revolving color wheel light. It was the coolest thing ever! I wish she had kept it, I have no idea when it got thrown out, but now I wish I still had one, just for the retro-coolness of it all.

Or maybe I'll get us a brand new shiny aluminum one, with a color wheel. We'll be the envy of our neighborhood!

My Nana had one of those! My sister and I were just reminiscing about it! My other Grandma had a white one that made us think of a toilet brush!

[barnaby]

You need to find a tree farm that has the Pin Style Stand Strait Tree Stand. They drill the hole right there and you cannot tip the tree over and, best of all, no adjusting the tree for straightening.

Trust me. We have 5 cats and last year was the first year we didn't have to wire the tree to the wall.

Easy - Peasy.

http://www.sheerlundforests.com/stands.html

I will check that out, thanks.

One of the trees fell on us while we were sleeping on a pull out bed in our living room.

[kakn7294]

We have an artificial tree - pre-lit and weighing a ton! I can't have a real tree due to my allergies but I like the look and ease of care of an artificial tree anyway. Ours needs replaced though as some of the bulbs have burned out, branches are looking scraggly, and it's dusty and covered in cat hair on the lower branches so not good for the allergies either. On the down side to an artificial tree, it has to be stored somewhere and I hate reshaping it every year, but on the plus side, it's always the same size, no bugs, no need to water, and the lights are already attached. I'd really like an LED one - lower energy cost and the lights are supposed to last longer.

[princessgirls]

I do hang a fresh pine wreath on my front door, that I buy faithfully every year from the Boy Scouts... every time I open the door, I get a whiff of the pine!!!


Works for me, with my beloved pre-lit fake tree!!!!

Julie

[MizMissy]

Live! A 12 foot Frasier Fir sits outside my house right now waiting for the limbs to drop a little before trying to wrestle it inside the door!

My DH insists on it. I love it also, even though my allergies do not. However, my allergies do not love my pups and they still sleep inside my house, too. My mom and in-laws have pre-lit trees and my kids comment how depressing it would be if we couldn't have a real tree ... yes, their daddy have brainwashed them. DH puts on the lights and I decorate it with help from DS (who LOVES all aspects of Christmas) while DD watches.

[MelissaW]

My Nana had one of those! My sister and I were just reminiscing about it! My other Grandma had a white one that made us think of a toilet brush!

So I just discovered this thread. I always insisted on a live tree for the early years of our marriage, but finally after 4 consecutive years of the tree falling over due to dogs, crooked trunk, just plan hugeness and wires and bolts not staying in our This Old House plaster walls any longer, we opted for an artificial. Plus when my DH was deployed to Iraq that final year, I decided I wouldn't be able to handle hauling in the tree and setting it up all by myself. So for me its artificial and pre-lit (although after 7 years, this year the last of the lights did not light, so now we have a 7 foot pre-lit tree with 10 strands of lights on it in addition to all of the bulbs that are unlit! But, long story short...too late... I remember the color wheel aluminum trees. My grandma had one that was only 3 feet tall. She always put it on the coffee table of their super tiny living room. So whenever we were over there over the holidays, this tree blocked the view of each other from every vantage point. So we basically spent Christmas Eve trying to rubber neck around the Christmas tree in the middle of the room! Oh and it also spun around to Christmas tunes. It is truly a great (albeit goofy) memory!!!

[Dsnygirl]

Real, real, definitely real! And we go the Frasier Fir route, as well... besides being allergic to pine needles (but not fir needles... weird, no??) we love how the Frasiers last and are so easy to decorate... we have a favorite place that has awesomely wonderful trees, and although it's a bit of a drive, the kids love it and look forward to it every year.

I grew up with an artificial tree - and I'll admit, it was beautiful... my mom did a great job, and it was before the days of pre-lit trees, so she did the lights it a really cool way - all the way into the tree, so the whole thing was lit up.

But - she was also VERY particular in how the tree was done, because it WAS artificial and had been expensive - and we never forgot it... and as kids, were never allowed to touch it (or help decorate it? Not even close!!) Even as adults, she gets aggravated if we touch ornaments.

So, when we had kids, I decided to go a completely different route... my DH had grown up with real trees, and we started the tradition again... and I have to say I love it. (and Natalie, the place we go "shakes out" the tree, so no critters, etc... ) The girls help pick it, help put it up, help decorate... very fun.

All that being said? We also have an artificial one in our back "play room", aka 2nd family room... different colored lights on that one... and two tall vases full of "curly branch" vines that stand 5 feet tall, and also get lights... so I guess maybe we're a bit of everything??

(and I feel for you guys that have allergies... I had to bring 25 wreaths in to work yesterday that my DD11's dance team sold to raise money... just about put one of the girls out of commission with her sneezing, and we had to close the doors 'til she left for the day. Can totally see why the whole "live" thing would NOT be fun!! )

[Kenny1113]

I love live trees, but every year we do our artificial tree (Pre-lit).

I bought it several years ago after being sick and tired of paying $50+ for a Charlie Brown looking Tree. No, the artificial tree is not ideal. But like others have said it is a little easier. Best of all when I forget an ornament (I always forget to remove at least one ) I get it back next year, instead of sending it to the dump.

[MNNHFLTX]

I used to love getting a real tree (the scent is divine!) But after moving back to Florida from New Hampshire many years ago, my husband and I got sticker shock from the price of buying a real tree in Florida, even for a mediocre one (let alone a Frasier). So we invested big bucks in a really nice artificial tree and it's served us well for 18 years. We talked about getting a new pre-lit one this year, but I'm feeling nostalgic about the old tree, so we'll use it again.

I can honestly say that the pros of an artificial tree outweigh the cons, at least for us. All the Christmases that we traveled up to see my family in Minnesota we never had to worry about a tree drying out. And I do not miss the needles dropping! I also use wall outlet scents and/or candles to get that evergreen aroma.