Real or Fake Tree?

[Tuckins1]

Fake. We put up our tree on Black Friday, and it stays up until new years day, so it would be hard to keep a real tree going for that long.

 

[pinkjewel]

I love real trees and always had one until about 5 years ago. We bought our tree at our favorite place just like usual the weekend after Thanksgiving and it looked beautiful. 5 days before Christmas, all these weird spidery creatures starting crawling all over the tree, the ornaments and the packages

We had to take all the ornaments off the tree, rewrap all the packages, burn the tree, etc. I did manage to bag some of the critters and go back to the farmer's market. Conveniently, the tree farmer we used had already closed up shop and left (gee,wonder why). But one of the farmers still there looked at them and told me they were some sort of pine beetle or something that burrows into the trees. The warmth from the house had caused them to hatch and spread EVERYWHERE!!!!! YUCK!!!!!!! Many of the farmers spray the trees twice to make sure this doesn't happen. He figured this Christmas tree farmer had either not sprayed or only sprayed once.

We ran out to Lowes and bought a fake pre lit tree and I've always been afraid to buy another real tree since!!

ACK! Pinkjewel! This made my skin crawl! I can't believe they would sell you something like this! ugh, it's still freaking me out that they hatched and were climbing all over your family's gifts and treasured ornaments!

Oh, and BTW, thank you so much for that pumpkin cheesecake recipe! It's THE BEST pumpkin cheesecake! My whole family loved it!

Edited for spelling

Oh- it still makes my skin crawl every time I think of it,too! Those beetles were really disgusting.

YayTacori- you're so welcome for the cheesecake recipe- glad your family loved it. It's a huge favorite at my house!

 

[vc10um]

We have fake right now (going up tonight!) but starting next year it will be joined by a real tree cut from our own yard! (The previous owners planted a royal crapton of pines as sort of a barrier between our house and the neighbor's, but they're awful. We hate them. So we decided that at least for a few years, that will supply our Christmas trees!) Once we start doing that, we'll have two trees. I'll keep all my important ornaments on the fake one, since I know that I won't end up with sap all over my heirloom ornaments, and then I'll probably decorate the real tree every year with a different theme or color scheme. I'm excited!

 

[Chewbacca]

NZ has weird trees too (justginger), I always wondered why our one at home didn't look like the beautiful Douglas Firs on TV!

I love real trees the most. However this year will be my second year with a fake. I have no interest in a 'real' fake tree - last year it was a vintage teal green tinsel one, and this year I will be buying white.

 

[Octavia]

Ever since the day I was helping my mom take down our real tree and she walked away to answer the phone while I was undoing the third screw in the base, I've been a big advocate of fake trees. I looked like a porcupine when I finally got out from under that thing. Plus, the sap kind of bothers me (allergies) and I don't like constantly cleaning pine needles. I haven't actually had a tree of my own since moving out of my parents' house -- due to tiny apartments with no storage and not being around much during the holidays -- so I need to finally go pick one out this year!

 

[Skippy123]

I bought a fake one at Target for the boys so it will be there very own to decorate each year; we have a big fake one but I worry they will break the glass ornaments so I want them to get use to having their own little Christmas tree.

 

[zoebartlett]

LV, No, I haven't gone shopping yet. Maybe tomorrow. I didn't feel like dealing with crowds so I've stayed in this weekend so far. About the tree, yes, Martha Stewart trees (and wreaths!) are at Home Depot. I wish they were bit fatter but I do like the overall look once it's decorated. I love the berries and pine cones on the tree we got last year. They don't look fake and they help spruce (no pun intended!) up the tree. I'll try to remember to take pics and post them when we get everything set up.

 

[rainydaze]

Real... though this year for the first time I considered a fake tree. We might get one from Balsam Hill next year. For some reason I am becoming more fearful of a fire with the real trees. We put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving and leave it up 'til January so fake is probably safer.

 

[junebug17]

We switched to fake a few years ago. The pine needles all over the place were starting to get to me, and the last year we had a real one this brown gunky water spilled out all over the carpet while we were taking it down and it was just a mess. We got ours from Frontgate and I think it looks pretty!

 

[kefira]

I ordered our tree from Balsam Hill this year. It's my first fake, and I'm happy with it. I still need to arrange it some more, but it's getting there, fullness-wise. I opted for no lights, since I actually like to put them on myself. Taking them off, not so fun, but I'll deal. I'll be using candles or melts to make up for the lack of Christmas smell.

 

[HollyS]

While I love the smell of a real tree, I hate the mess and the hassle.

We found a really great fake at Target two Christmases ago. It looks 'Sprucey' with pinecones. It's a slim 7.5' that fits perfectly next to our fireplace, and it is pre-lit. It is way too easy to set up and take down - something a real tree is not.

It is kinda like this one they currently have:

http://www.target.com/p/7-5-pre-lit-slim-virginia-pine-tree-clear-lights/-/A-14056707#prodSlot=medium_1_12


Bed, Bath & Beyond had some balsam/fir ornaments from Yankee Candle that are supposed to make my tree smell like the real deal. We'll see if they work.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

While I love the smell of a real tree, I hate the mess and the hassle.

We found a really great fake at Target two Christmases ago. It looks 'Sprucey' with pinecones. It's a slim 7.5' that fits perfectly next to our fireplace, and it is pre-lit. It is way too easy to set up and take down - something a real tree is not.

It is kinda like this one they currently have:

http://www.target.com/p/7-5-pre-lit-slim-virginia-pine-tree-clear-lights/-/A-14056707#prodSlot=medium_1_12


Bed, Bath & Beyond had some balsam/fir ornaments from Yankee Candle that are supposed to make my tree smell like the real deal. We'll see if they work.

I saw those ornaments and went to get one. Did you get them yet? When I saw them in the ad, they looked better. When I saw them in person, they just looked like crayons that had just been stripped of the paper. And the smell wasn't all that great. So, I decided to wait it out for a better product.

 

[Mayk]

Fake.... My DH has allergies... tolerating the cat is where he draws the line.. but we have a really pretty one.. from Frontgate

 

[Enerchi]

I'm excited! It looks like yes indeed, my interior designer buddy DID get me a tall skinny white prelit tree for this year!!! I'm so excited to get it and then decorate!!! My plan was to set up the tree next weekend - Dec 1, but not sure when the new tree will arrive, so it may be when they visit us on Dec 22... much to far away to be able to contain my excitement till then!! AH - a new super tall tree - woo hoo!

(my kids are going to hate the new look - they are much too traditional for change )

 

[Fly Girl]

We had a real tree until DS was diagnosed with allergies to many things, including trees. Now it's fake, and I'm sure we are never going back to real.

 

[zoebartlett]

Pretty tree, MayK!

 

[marcy]

We always had a real one growing up and then for the first 15 years we were married. I always got bronchitis starting in December. A doctor finally noticed I come in every year around Christmas and asked me if we have live Christmas trees. He suggested I get a fake tree which we did and I haven't gotten bronchitis since. So my answer will always be fake.

 

[Mayk]

Pretty tree, MayK!

Thank you Zoe!

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

I found my other box of ornaments!

I have been trying to find a beautiful star that will go with my ornaments for my tree. My tree is 9' so I need a star that doesn't get dwarfed by the tree. It's been a 6 year long search. Every year I search for a star and I still haven't found one. Does anyone have any recommendations? And if anyone has any advice for a super long ribbon with high quality, that would be awesome too.

 

[Gypsy]

This is our last year with a real tree. I love a real tree, because I adore shopping for one every year, going lot to lot looking for the right one. It's one of my favorite things. But we keep the tree up far longer than is safe, and that's not going to change so... fake tree next year if we can afford it. I want a really realistic tree, and the one I want is really pricey, and more than I want to spend this year: http://www.christmastreeforme.com/Christmas-Tree-Seven-Foot-Pre-Lit-Asheville-Fraser-Clear-Full-Stay-Lit?sc=7&category=187206 So I fully intend to enjoy the tree shopping this year.

 

[Hera]

REAL!!! We buy them at Costco where they are inexpensive yet lush and green

 

[Supers]

I hope everyone posts photos of their trees this year. Someone on here has AMAZING trees, I remember being stunned. Mine is all silver/gold/bronze with white lights. We get a new ornament every year, related to something we've done as a couple during the year. Not sure what this year's will be - perhaps Turkish.

Can you find us a photo of a typical tree in Australia? I'm curious!

I like a real tree and am getting one from Oxfam, so proceeds go to charity.
Here's a pic from their website of volunteers getting ready to deliver the trees.

 

[woofmama]

Fake. About seven yrs ago DH got extremely frustrated trying to get the real tree we had purchased the night before to stand up straight so we could decorate it we I got home from work. It kept falling to the side and I got a call from him at work telling me the tree was now out in front in a snowbank, We went to buy a fake tree that night

 

[woofmama]

Fake. About seven yrs ago DH got extremely frustrated trying to get the real tree we had purchased the night before to stand up straight so we could decorate it when I got home from work. It kept falling to the side and I got a call from him at work telling me the tree was now out in front in a snowbank, We went to buy a fake tree that night

edited for spelling

 

[OneFifty]

Fake. We got a great deal on a prelit tree after Christmas last year. I think it was 70% off.

 

[LoveLikeCrazy]

fake I live in mill apartments (yay high ceilings!) and they "outlawed" real trees last year. I do like our tree though. it is pre-lit.

 

[partgypsy]

When I was growing up it was a big deal to get our Christmas tree. We actually drove to a monastary? where we hiked up hill and dale, till we picked out a tree and my Dad sawed it down. I remember feeling so happy driving home with the tree strapped to the top of the car, probably reminiscent of how a hunter feels with their buck.
We have 2 kids in our family and it is a big deal to them, and asking, when are we going to go pick out the tree? Up until last year we got our tree at a local church where we could walk with a wagon, and strap it to the wagon and walk home. It was staffed by really old volunteers from the church who were so friendly and would let us take extra boughs for the mantle. But, they stopped doing the tree sale (they didn't make enough money to warrant it : (). We went to a different place last year, that is also a fundraiser, and it even started to snow fall when we arrived. The kids loved running around the rows of the trees pretending it was a forest.

Other than the smell of the fresh tree, I'm pretty much over having a real tree (I'm the one in charge of stringing of the lights, placing the difficult ornaments including the star, and the vacumning). But it is a tradition the kids still enjoy so we will continue to do so until they don't care anymore (10 years?)

 

[justginger]

I hope everyone posts photos of their trees this year. Someone on here has AMAZING trees, I remember being stunned. Mine is all silver/gold/bronze with white lights. We get a new ornament every year, related to something we've done as a couple during the year. Not sure what this year's will be - perhaps Turkish.

Can you find us a photo of a typical tree in Australia? I'm curious!

I like a real tree and am getting one from Oxfam, so proceeds go to charity.
Here's a pic from their website of volunteers getting ready to deliver the trees.

Awesome idea!! Trees still look funny though. Shame they only do this program in Melbs.

 

[Tuckins1]

I hope everyone posts photos of their trees this year. Someone on here has AMAZING trees, I remember being stunned. Mine is all silver/gold/bronze with white lights. We get a new ornament every year, related to something we've done as a couple during the year. Not sure what this year's will be - perhaps Turkish.

Can you find us a photo of a typical tree in Australia? I'm curious!

I like a real tree and am getting one from Oxfam, so proceeds go to charity.
Here's a pic from their website of volunteers getting ready to deliver the trees.

They do look a bit different than the ones over here in the states, but I like them! They look like they would feel incredibly soft and silky!

 

[partgypsy]

I brought up the idea of getting a fake tree (something that is prelit) and he said, ask me after the holidays are over. So who knows, maybe we there is a possibility we will get an artificial tree sooner than I think?

The problem with a real tree, is the timing. The other day we brought down the decorations including the ornaments, and the kids are clamoring for us to get a tree. But if we get one now or this weekend, it will be shedding needles by the time Christmas comes around. We may still get one this weekend, but it doesn't quite last the 3-4 weeks we want to keep it up (I'm also in charge of watering the tree too).