Real or Artificial Tree?
 

Who still gets a real tree??

we did, buy it from a local tree farm.

I do, the boys and I cut them ourselves. It's tradition that my Dad started when I was a kid. Passing it on to my kids. Makes for a great day.

Mike

We go the fake route. I dont feel like putting up with the mess from the real one. Just bought a new one this year

Stopped having a tree when the kids moved out. The dog and cat kept knocking it over.

I JUST became a grandpa so I guess in a couple years I'll have to start having a tree again.

Its a family thing since we own a thirty acre Christmas Tree plantation called Frankies Forest. Fake trees are NOT an option around here!

7th year for the fake tree.

I've got both but the fake one is my mothers old tree and we made a family tradition to drive out to the tree farm tag our tree in November and pick it up in late December. I got the real one up.

We always had fake trees growing up. Now for the better part of 20 years, my dad would buy a real tree, roots and all and would plant it on his land afterwards. I planted one for him back in early 1994, it was maybe 4 feet tall then, I bet it's 30 feet now. I'll try to get my dad to e-mail me a pic of it.

When I moved to rural Nevada five years ago I started going out and cutting my own tree from the forest (with a forestry permit). Before that I tree farmed it in So. Cal. No fake trees here!

My fiance' showed up at the wedding rehearsal with a fake Christmas tree. Sept 8th, 1989. We still use that same tree.

I was brought up with real trees that Dad cut out anywhere he could find them. Most years he'd cut 2 or 3 trees down and after a little trimming and pruning he'd wire them together to make one NICE one.

My parents always had a real tree when we were kids. My father would go hunting Thanksgiving weekend, and chop one down and bring it home. My wife and I still put up a real tree...except I buy it at the same local "Tree Lot" every year. I put it up and "do the lights"...then the wife puts all the ornaments on. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Eric

It's funny in a way but here I am living in a town that claims to be the "logging capital of the world" and I had to vote fake tree. It's just too difficult for an old guy with a bum leg to go out to the bush and find a good one. I always used to have real trees in the past and, man do I miss having them!

Fake Tree here. About 25 years ago a friend asked if I had ever witnessed what happens to a Christmas tree when it catches fire? I told him no. He dragged out his old real tree after Christmas, sat it way out on his front yard and put his lighter to it. Within seconds it was engulfed in flames and the heat from it was unbearable. We all stepped way back. The flames also were well up into the power lines. After that little demo it was fake trees for me.

Always real ones during my life. About a decade ago I started planting a wind break on my property, it became a ritual every year to replant the ones that didn't survive and add others here and there, now some are the right size for cutting. Pretty cool to be able to walk my kids out in the yard and pick one out to cut. Did this at my old house too.

Keep them watered and also watch the condition of the needles and the risck isn't nearly as bad. Like an old car, maintenance is the key

Never had a fake.
Look for semi-charley browns and decorate little diff every year.

Real tree, cut down by us. I've got some planted so in a few years we'll be cutting our own.

Forgot.
So many farms round here they only charge about $2-$4 a ft(depending on type) if you cut down.
If they do it, costs another $2.
Optional $1 ea to shake-n-bale.

Got ours 1st weekend of December.
Just stopped suck'n water 2 days ago. Needles still soft.

Real one. Parents have REAL candles on it that we light a couple of times (tonight being one) during the season. We read a Christmas Carol passages and other readings around it with various friends and neighbors all reading. My mom started doing this back in 1972 when they had the first oil embargo and they wanted us all to conserve energy. This was her solution. It stuck and we have been doing it ever since. We have a real one here too, but use LED lights. We cut it at a place run by an 80 yr. old gentleman, who I love giving my $25 to each year.

Here are pics from one we did last year or year before:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n.../xmastree1.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n.../xmastree2.jpg

Real one always. I like the Frasier Fur, it stays soft and wont stick you like a porcipine when you taking the lights off.

Real trees that I usually cut myself at a tree farm, usually Scotch pine or Austrian pine, I really prefer long needle trees. This year the perfect one was already cut so I bought that one.

FYI, I never hold a lighter to my trees while they're inside so I have no problems, as Mike Nixon said, maintenance is the key. Also if you cut it fresh the fire hazard is lowered significantly. Fake trees will never have the pine scent a real tree has either.

I quit buying real trees when my wife died. I went without a tree for several years, and then I bought an artificial one.

Way cool!

We had real ones and fake ones when I was a kid. Since I got married, nine years ago and had kids, I insisted on real trees. We had a few whoppers. One year, this tree was so sick that when you walked across the floor, you'd hear needles falling off. Christmas day, after the festivities were over, my wife had me remove that fire trap from the house. There was a green needle trail where I walked this abortion out the door. After that, I discovered the Scotch Pine. We really liked the look of it and it kept its needles quite well.

This year, her parents gave us their old fake tree. I haven't really been into Christmas this year so I told her it'd be fine if we put up this faker. I'm not really hating it. I don't miss filling the stand with water and falling needles. I do, however, miss the pine smell.

Dont buy a pre-cut tree.
Cut your own. Cut another 1" or 2 off the bottom and put up as soon as you get home.
Sap bleeds out the bottom and seals up preventing it from get'n water.
One step better is drill a hole in center of bottom and shove a tampon in. No, seriously!

We have one of each...a large artificial in the living-room and a smaller real tree in the family-room, along with a 36-inch wreath over the fireplace...fresh from Wisconsin!!

I think where you livs plays a big part on wat kind of tree you have. In the condensed city area, real trees arent as popular becuase they arent as easy to come by as the opne areas. Just my observation. We used to have a fresh tree stand on many streets years ago. Today, there arent that many around.

Plus to those guys who cut thier own trees, we dont have anywhere to do that and a fresh cut tree at the local nursery costs about $125.00

Home Depot and BLowes has trees here too, they do have those in Chicago don't they?

I wantg a real tree, but unfortunately 2 of our cats are idiots and would either eat it or knock it over climbing it. Or both. There's nothing like the smell of a Christmas tree

If you have cats... you need a fake tree.....

We've had a fake tree for about 5 years. Cause 6 years ago we got our tree at the Christmas tree farm like we did for ten years.We would pick it and cut it down, but that one had a spider's nest and we ended up with a thousand baby spiders in our house a week before Christmas.My wife HATES spiders so out went that tradition.
George

We used to get them in a pot, then plant in spring. Kids are long gone and I cant lift.. The ones we planted are 30-40 ft now and we just had two cut ,and topped them, and gave to some folks who cant afford a tree.

We cut fresh ones every year. Takes about an hour or two to find the right one.(kids choice) Nice tree farm; they have tractors with wagons bringing everyone to the harvest area and back again. Fun day, hot chocolate, bonfire, christmas carolers, Santa for the kids....... Quite enjoyable!!

If you have ever seen a real tree catch fire you wouldnt want one. In 60 seconds you couldnt find your way out of the room

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...061207_ssv.jpg

:D

Every year I vote to not have a tree at all. Every year we have a tree. This year she had to drag it from down stairs on her own.
It's a good looking tree, but I'm not interested. The Charlie Brown tree from Walgreens is good enough for me.

Yea they do. But they look like crap. They are cheap at $25 though. Same with Wally Wolrd.

i miss the crazy aluminum tree we had when i was a kid. that was my earliest christmas memorie.
the old aluminum tree, with the big lights, the frosted blown glass christmas balls, and the
lionel train going around it; my family hated that tree, but i'd set it up before they got the good tree out.

i get real trees but i get rid of em right after the holiday.

Fake tree here. It stays up year 'round, yep.

How do you dust it?

Not sure why but dad always bought a flocked tree and we would get two years out of it. Later I always had a real tree until one time one of the cats launched himself from the kitchen counter at it......

So in 2001 we went looking and found a very nice fiber optic tree. Guess the light makers did not like that one because they kind of went away. I absolutely love it and everyone else does as well since we always a couple of knocks on the door the last couple of years from people wanting to know if we will sell it or where we bought it.

So we now try and take good care of the bundles. I hope to get another 6-10 years out of it. :)

I purchased our current tree in December of 1967, an artificial Scotch Pine, made in the USA from Sears. If I remember correctly, I paid about $25.00. Not counting the 2 years Uncle Sam bought us a tree (1968, and 1969), we have decorated that tree 43 years. I would say it has probably paid for itself.

Jon.

It's a bit different Down Under. We have tree farms but you normally trundle around in a t-shirt and shorts and sweat like a pig if your cutting your own down.
Too much hard work so we go for a fake and doesn't get much simpler than this.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...8/P1100695.jpg

We always had real trees growing up.

After I got married, we got an artificial, because we would always go to our parents houses for the holiday, and didn't want to worry about the fire hazard of a real tree while we were gone.

Once we had kids, I was usually working over the Christmas holiday, and my wife and kids would be at our folks, so we continued using the artificial until I was senior enough to hold the holidays off, and we started celebrating at home.

For the last 5 years or so, we've had real trees, and they've gotten progressively more expensive (Around $100 for an 8-9 footer, which usually shrink to 6-7' when you get home) and a really lousy quality/selection. Naples must get the trees from last year or something, because they always suck. I'd come to dread shopping for trees, so this year, when my wife started bugging me about it, I suggested we use our old artificial. She balked at first, but my son and I set it up and it was such a nice change to have a full, even tree again, after 5 years of $100 trees that were one step above Charlie Brown's. I definitely miss the smell, but I don't miss the mess, hassle and expense.

We have a potted Nobel that we have used for 3 years now. I keep it on the deck and drag it in the house during the holidays. Paid 30$. When it gets too big I will plant it on my property!

Shawn

I grew up with real trees and now my family enjoys having a real tree every year.
We also have a small artificial in the basement home theater/game room.

Okay you need one more answer as I can't vote.
I have one real one, two fake and one part fake/part real. I threw another one away that was a stick "Charley Brown" tree.

Any help here?