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I am decidedly pro-real tree, even though I sometimes have guilt about cutting down a live tree for decoration. This year I went to my family's house in New Hampshire and we cut the top off a tree in our woods out back. It's lovely, but it doesn't smell at all. I'm thinking of buying a pine scented candle to create some faux-scent for my real tree.

i like fake trees in theory, but it just doesn't feel like christmas to me without a real one. i get a pretty petite tree however - i'd feel too wasteful getting a big one like the ones i had growing up...

At least Christmas trees are grown as a crop, though a slow maturing one! My mom has also opted for a fake tree. Another thing to consider in the real/fake dilemma is that artificial trees take up an enormous amount of room in storage--like half the upstairs walk-in closet!

Don't feel guilty about buying a real tree, they have farms devoted to growing them, so it's not like you're tearing apart the forest for Christmas. Just try not to think about the fact that it took 10 or 12 years for your tree to get six feet tall. All that growing for one month of lights! Heh.

while real is always a delight, fake does have its convenience factors. my step mom burns christmas wreath, a scent by yankee candle and it fills the house with that pine scent. you wouldn't even know the trees were fake!

I miss having a real tree, but find they're too much of a hassle in a walk-up apt. Fake trees are okay, except I hate the pain of putting them together ... it takes so long and I just want to get down to decorating it! ;-)

When I was growing up, we lived in the country and the year we moved in to our house, my dad planted a row of 75 pines around our front and side yard ... once they got tall enough, he started down at the far end and chopped one down each year and planted a new one in its place. It was a nice, convenient way to have them, although you had a weird dip in the heights down at the end ... ;-)

With all the time it takes to grow them to begin with, I think we only got through 5 trees before they sold the house. I've often wondered if the new owners carried on this tradition or not.

And V, I'm not sure, but I think it depends on the type of tree it is as to whether or not it smells (or at least how much it smells)

Didn't we just have this conversation?

IMO, real trees are the only way to go. That smell transports me to childhood. Plus, environmentalists claim that real trees are better in teh end, sicne they are biodegradable and can be used for mulch. Unlike fake trees that take like 100 years to degrade.

Maybe I had a bizarro childhood, but we only ever had a fake tree. My dad still puts it up every year, with many of the same ornaments. It'd be weird if he started putting up a real one, like we were only doing a Christmas rehearsal this year.

I guess I'm the only non-old person here going for the fake option. 1. I can set up the tree the day after Thanksgiving, and take it down after the New Year without having to buy a tree each year that is going to be trashed. 2. NO WATERING no water damage no watering cans no dried out trees. 3. Pets and babies. We have both and there are no needles on the floor to be injested or to have to clean up daily. 4. Prelit baby. That reason alone makes it a great option. 5. Cost. We have a big tree (9 feet tall) and if we were to buy one that size each year, well.. you get the picture. We save money in the long run. 6. Speed of set up. Our tree comes in 4 pieces. Pop each piece to the next piece plug it in (one plug too) and you are done. Took about 10 minutes this year to set it up. No fooling.
There are cons: The scent (candles can do the trick, but it will never be the same), storage (not a problem for us as we have a huge area to store one, but could be a problem for others.) The variation of trees..ours will always look the same, but we love that fact because it's a super realistic tree that looks amazing.
Enough of my blather. I love my fake tree.

Fake,

I am so allergic to pine, and even more allergic to fake pine smell.

My building had a massive, almost 2 story, real tree and it was lovely walking past it everyday.

But not in my apartment, I'd spend the whole holidays grumpy and sinusy, sneezy and with swollen eyes.

I am totally with you, Bud Fox! I grew up with a super fake-looking tree, with coat-hanger style branches that slotted into what was essentially a broomstick painted green. So the idea of a real tree is completely foreign to me. (There were plenty of those outside anyway, which we hung lights on every year.)

The first tree I ever got on my own was a shiny aluminum vintage one from eBay which was perfect for my midcentury decor. Unfortunately the shape was all wrong for the apartment I moved into this year, so I got a tall skinny prelit number from Target - just $99, and disassembled it fits easily into the closet!

I'm particularly glad I went fake, because for some reason my cats are constantly chewing on the fake needles. However, they just "pass on through," which I doubt would be the case with a real tree. Strangely enough, the cats never chewed on the aluminum ones.

Yes, it depends on what tree you buy whether you'll have the "Christmas tree" smell or not. Some don't smell at all, some stink up the house with it. If I remember correctly, it was the Fraser firs that smelled the best.

I have to put my five years of garden center knowledge to good use somewhere...

I feel the need to add a * to my 'Real' choice which is to say that I prefer real, but I buy smaller trees that are potted, so that after the holiday season I can plant them.

Fake trees are tacky, just like fake flowers.

End of converstaion.

Not only real, but for the first time in many years, I went to a favorite tree farm in CT and picked my own (...I'd say I cut it, but the truth is they are nice folks and they cut if for you!)

Trees from small farms are so natural, not shaved to look "perfect" like so many trees you get on the street here in NYC. Imperfect trees have lots of nooks for hanging ornaments, and lots of individual character. They last longer, too, because you get them into water so much quicker. And I like supporting small farms on the outskirts of the city.

real, and only real. i will NEVER buy a fake tree or even allow one in my home, ever.

there were 4 kids in my family, always a baby, and yet no problems ever with babies eating pine needles.

it's probably a lot safer for your cats to eat real organic pine needles than fake plastic ones. in fact, it most certainly is -- cats' intestines can be ruptured or blocked by long skinny bits of plastic. the worst pine needles could do is make your cat puke, if they even went near them.

fake trees are cheaper if you hang onto them for many years, but at least one person upthread has admitted to buying 2 within the last decade or so (ebay started in '98, no?). i spent $25 for my five foot real tree. if you buy a new one every 4 years, we're even.

christmas tree farms clean CO2 out of the air, as well as being a product that's relatively easy to grow small-time (consistent demand, large per-piece price, and low maintenance to grow and harvest), which means they help smaller farms stay afloat. they're also biodegradable, and some areas have programs where the trees can be composted, mulched, or used to combat coastal erosion. when you toss your plastic tree after 4-5 years, it will sit in a landfill for centuries.

you're not supposed to put up the tree the day after thanksgiving. if you wait till the first or second week of december, your tree should stay reasonably fresh until twelfth night, which is when you're supposed to take it down. i water mine with a watering can, and there's never been a mess. this will also keep dropping needles to a minimum.

i see the point for those who are allergic or disabled or have 6th floor walkup apartments, but otherwise, please, get a real tree.

"you're not supposed to put up the tree the day after thanksgiving. ... your tree should stay reasonably fresh until twelfth night, which is when you're supposed to take it down."

--Says who, exactly?? My family and all my family's family has always put ours up the day after Thanksgiving, as all my friends' families did. And we never ever take it down until after the Epiphany on January 6th. Everyone has their own tradition. Frankly, I find it a waste the people who put a tree up for Christmas week only.

january 6 is twelfth night.

you're not "supposed" to put up the tree till december because thanksgiving isn't actually part of the christmas/advent season, in terms of the christian religious calendar. it's like having a passover seder the first week of march because you're a CPA and tax season gets tight, or moving ramadan to august because who wants to eat in all that heat, anyway. i guess if you're not christian you can do whatever the hell you want, but it's still silly to get a fake tree merely because a real tree wouldn't last the absurdly long time you want to put it up. it's like telling people not to get real flowers for their wedding because they won't stay fresh if you decide to decorate the hall a week early. just put the tree up a bit later and you won't have that problem.

I'm not one of the ones who said we got a fake tree because it didn't last. We always had real trees and always had them up the day after Thanksgiving, as that's when Christmas started in our community. (Actually, it's creeped up earlier now, but one holiday at a time, I say, so we still do the day after Thanksgiving.)

And don't get me started on the Christian "advent" calendar timeline ... you know logistically, the dates of Christmas, Christ's birth, etc. aren't exactly correct or whatever. Christmas season starts when it starts in your heart ... and even in our churches growing up, the trees and pointsettias went up the weekend of Thanksgiving. (Therefore, yes, clarifying my family is Christian and not just doing "whatever the hell we want". In fact, there are several ministers in my family and my parents are missionaries. No matter what country they live in work in every year, they still always have a tree up from American Thanksgiving on through the Epiphany...)

Fake.
I used to be adamantly real tree, but over the last couple of years I've become really uncomfortable with using such a big living thing for a couple of weeks and throwing it away. I know, I know, they come from farms, they might actually end up being better for the environment . . . I know that rationally, but I can't shake the bad feeling. Plus, I always had to take it down before I went away for Christmas, because leaving a tree alone in an apartment for a week or so with 2 cats unsupervised is insane. And taking down the tree on December 22 is way too much of a downer. So, fake it up, I say!

But I will say that when I say fake, I mean super-fake. Don't try to pretend it's a real green tree -- silver or white is awesome. And I get a big real wreath for the door, which satisfies my desire for the smell.

Ha! That was my opinion, too, and my friends didn't agree until the first year I got one. I couldn't bear having the fake green plastic tree, so I got a sexy white one and all funky orange and pink ornaments, etc. It sounds tacky, but has always been a big hit at my Christmas parties. ;-)

I still have my more traditional ornaments for the days when I can hopefully get back to having real trees again.

Funny thing is, I was surprised to find in NYC that they were allowed ... back where I used to live ages ago in the Midwest, real trees were outlawed in buildings with more than 3 units due to fire hazard (which was one thing that initially started me on fake trees.)

for me, it just wouldn't be christmas without a real tree! besides, real ones are better for the environment and can be "treecycled" as explained here:
http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=misc&a=misc/xmas/holiday.html

I'm just curious as to why people are getting new fake trees every couple of years? I had the same one for 13 years and when I wanted to get rid of it this year, I found someone who happily took it for their home. What are you doing to them that they need to be replaced so frequently???

This is our first year with a real tree (my husband always had a real one growing up, I always had fakes). I LOVE my real tree. We got a "concolor fir". It has a feathery appearance and it smells like oranges -- not kidding.

Note to ridge, fake trees get dusty and smelly, despite best efforts to keep them otherwise. Also, a fake tree can only take so much packing and unpacking before it becomes really beat up looking.

Thanks to Amber -- we will be recycling our tree after the holidays.

If it's going to be fake, it needs to be REALLY fake. I mean silver and shiny, or something. There is nothing (Okay, maybe a few things.) more tacky than a fake evergreen. They look terrible. I'd rather skip it altogether.
This year I used a vine maple sapling, by the way. Much easier than the whole big evergreen thing, and fits nicely in the approx. 3 square feet of extra floor space I have in my studio. Looks pretty good, too.
I'm liking the birch trunks I've been seeing around for the last couple years, too.

Well..the fake tree lovers took a beating here I see. Which is fine, because I really don't care what you put up in your house. My fake tree looks insanely real. Sorry, but it does, and I used to have real trees for years and years. They have come out with really lifelike trees that have long needles and thick branches etc, which doesn't really matter to you or won't convince you if you only put up real trees. As for needles, our cats and dogs constantly were into the needles that fell from our real trees. They couldn't keep away, and it led to many nights of xmas puke. They have no interest whatsoever in the fake tree, and there are no needles ever on the floor. Maybe a couple when we put it up, which we picked up right away. I'm also concerned about fire hazard with real trees now, sorry but I am. Anyway, it doesn't matter to me about advent or 12th night or any of that stuff. Tree is up, tree comes down when we want, with no watering needed. Simple 4 pieces to pack in a box, and it doesn't look beat up at all. If we ever go back to real trees, this one will find another home without a problem.

opponax--
Normally fairly tolerant of your rules and regulations (although you are typically anti-establishment, so your rules here made me chuckle), but not when the topic is Christmas trees. Sheez."Supposed to" and "Christmas tree" soooo do not belong in the same sentence.

Some people want to "go long" with their decorations regardless of calendar because decorating takes a long time, and it's nice to have the fruits of the labor be on display more than a nano-second.

And for those who object to real because it seems like bad eco-karma, um, do you eat lettuce? Corn? Wear cotton? Buy fresh flowers?

Real always

Fake is indeed tacky like fake flowers - they only exception is if it doesn't pretend to be a real tree - therefore something like a bright pink fake tree is fine

Is there a post somewhere of people sharing their tree pics? 'Cause I'd love to see everyone's. I'm always fascinated with how people decorate their homes for the holidays ... it can be so vastly different and cool.

I love the real thing but it's just easier and cleaner with a fake tree. I live in a apt. building which houses 64 families and after Christmas the halls are carpeted with pine needles from each door (which has a real tree) to the elevator. People don't clean up the mess they simply wait for the porter to do it. Anyway, for me the tree isn't what actually makes my holiday it's my friends and family in good health and great spirits surrounded by good music and great food.

Real for sure!!

This year we actually decided to do the most eco-friendly thing that we could think of, and we just decorated our six foot ficus tree. It looks great, and no harm done!

I'll probably go back to confiers eventually, but I prefer the living real kind that you can plant afterward. This can be done even if you don't have a yard; you can give it away or plant in out in the woods.

Link in my name to Cure Graduation pics, taken right after I put up all the decorations.

Yes, the tree is fake. I prefer real trees, but it's just been too much to deal with for awhile, and the tree was a gift anyway (no cost!). Been using it for 3 years now, with no plans to replace.

I hate my fake tree, but I use it, and here's why:
2 years ago, I said "I'm going to get a real tree. I love real trees" I went to tree lots and the petite trees were all $50+ (was in a place where people have too much money for their own good at the time). so, I went the home depot $35 full size tree route. This took up half my living room, but I was happy. Ah, fresh piney-ness. After Christmas, however, I ran into the "what to do with it" dilemna. I found out when the collection was, but technically, i wasn't supposed to use city trash collection (the condo paid for their collection separately). Soooo....I had to surreptitiously pull it out to the curb at night. However, trees when they dry out, loose needles...so I had a Hansel and Gretel style path behind me from my 3rd floor apartment to the curb. I then had to get a broom to clean up the hallway and elevator. As I was on the floor sweeping up dry needles, I ran into not 1, not 2, but 3 single attractive men. May it be known I'd never seen anyone within 20 years of my age (28 at the time) in my building. And there I was all disheveled from pulling the tree out to the curb and looking like a cleaning lady with piles of needles in my hands. May this be a lesson to us all.

Now, I'm in a walk-up, and considered getting a real tree this year...but quickly fell to using my fake one. I did get a real garland--not the same, but easier to manage needle-loss during disposal!

if you're a christian who celebrates christmas with a christmas tree, as a religious person who really believes in jesus and christianity and such, yes, there are "rules" and "supposed tos" in this situation wrt when to decorate and such. if you're an actual adherent to a faith, you kind of do need to be mindful of your religion's positions on, say, when to celebrate holidays. in fact, this is something that annoys me to no end about all this "war on christmas" brouhaha -- the people bringing it up are the same ones who violate their own religion's beliefs on when certain holidays are celebrated by setting up christmas trees in mid november, when It's Totally Not Christmas Yet, Yall.

if you are a christian, christmas doesn't start "whenever you feel it in your heart", it starts on the first sunday of advent, which usually falls the first or second weekend in december. period, end of story.

now if you're not an observant christian and just get a tree because you think it's pretty, sure, yeah, do whatever you want. but if you celebrate christmas as a part of your faith, no, i'm sorry, but religious calendars very much do apply, and it's not christmas yet the day after thanksgiving, no more than it's diwali on halloween or mardi gras the second week of lent.

Opo, I don't seem to recall a Christmas tree being at the manger birth, so one point you're getting your uptight panties in a wad over is not even relevant to your militant adherance of calendar days. It's Christmas, chick! Quit being so freakin' preachy about how people like to celebrate! For crying out loud, your post actually makes me feel sad for you, because you clearly need a visit from Linus to understand what it's all about.

Also a) the day after thanksgiving isn't "mid november" - quit the exaggeration. and b) if this is such an abomination, then tell it to the tons of churches I've been to in my life that decorate on this same schedule I was raised in.

And if someone loves Diwali so much that they want to celebrate in MAY... why do you care?? It's this shoving-of-beliefs down everyone else's throats is what makes this world a sad place sometimes. Take it easy! Put your tree up mid-December, and Patrick and I will enjoy ours early.

Ironically, I don't even have mine this year, as I loaned it to a friend with kids who couldn't afford one this year. Does that make me a hethen because I'm not adhering to your militant rules of all Christians must have a tree up starting on day 1 of Advent??

Incidentally, I'll make not to invite you to my much-beloved annual Christmas in July party.

We ordered a real tree from Vermont online this year. Came in a 7 foot slender box right to our door for $65. I tell you, *THAT'S* the way to go. We live in Washington Heights and there ain't noooo tree lot near our apartment. Would totally do it again. I have nothing against fake trees -- I just have nowhere to store one!

Hey, Stephen ... where did you get yours? I was thinking of doing that next year as we also don't have a tree lot nearby.

Funny, I don't remember the word "garland" in the Bible.

You sure you're not getting your Advent wreaths mixed up with your tannenbaums? While one IS indeed an actual religious thing that manifests itself in churches and is made of evergreen four Sundays before Christmas, the Christmas tree is a very (originallY) pagan thing that has been appropriated into the season but not by Papal Decree... unless I missed a very special Martha episode.

And I think you are totally mixing up "celebrating/decorating" and "honoring/marking" the season, which indeed does stick to a tighter schedule, church-wise.


Regardless, you totally need to make like the weather and chill.

i grew up with real ones and love the process of picking one out, setting it up, smelling the piney goodness. but i got an used fake one from a friend (which looks perfectly fine to me) and have been using it for the past few years. it is a lot more convenient to put up and take down. not sure why people have to buy new fakes ones...even though my hand-me-down is a little beat up, it looks just fine with the lights and ornaments on it. it's prob 20 years old and works just fine.

Hey Ridge -- we bought ours at:

http://www.christmastrees.net/trees.htm

The sucker came in two days. It was a real pleasure.

Good luck!

You can keep the disposal mess down to a minimum by wrapping the tree in an old sheet. Every year, we drag our dead tree down 4 flights of stairs with basically no needle trail at all. Plus it's easier to carry than an uncovered dry scratchy tree. It also really helps the mess from getting out of hand inside the apt too: the sheet gets spread out and the tree goes from the stand straight onto the sheet, so no huge pile of leftover needles from taking down the tree.

Patrick, are you talking to me or Opo? If you're talking to me about the church stuff then, yes we did absolutely have Christmas trees (and wreaths and garland) right after Thanksgiving. The first time we would see it all was the first Sunday after. As for the calendar schedule, not all (Christian) religions are the same or stick to the same schedule. "Advent" wasn't even a word I heard until high school when my boyfriend - who has a different religion - celebrated it in his house. In fact, the protestant religion I was raised in, didn't have strict dates at all for Christmas (other than the 25th). We picked up the tradition of the Epiphany from my grandparents who were from Eastern Europe.

My problem with opo's posts is not that they're just opinion ... we all have opinions here and that's what makes this site fun ... but that she practically states that if you don't follow some antiquated timeline (that not everyone even knows about!) that you're being distrespectful to your own personal religion. If all she gets out of the Christmas season is a big long list of rules, I actually feel very sad for her. If you love the feeling of Christmas so much that you want to bring it into your house early ... or if your family can't get together and exchange gifts, etc. until Janurary 2nd, then so be it. Have a great time!

As for mixing it all up, that's something I meant to clarify in my first post ... there are two Christmases ... the religious day (which isn't even Christ's actual birthday, technically) and the secular season. To celebrate (yes, celebrate) with early decorations, parties at the beginning of December, etc. can be your whole holiday season or it can be just the beginning to which you later turn the focus towards the religous meaning. The Christmas holidays started as a long pagan festival, so who cares how people interpret it now or for how long?

In the meantime, my Chinese coworker here piped in that Christmas isn't the only season like this ... Chinese New Year every year gets longer and longer as people continually start early and celebrate longer to the point that many people take a whole month off work.

Now can we please just get back to sharing how we decorate our trees??? ;-)


(and PS ... I agreed with Patrick earlier that usually I'm on opo's side of things, but this just seems too militantly strict for her usual self)

Was talking to opo.

I thought so, but wasn't sure.

What a weird thread this ended up being. I expected a lot of argument about how ugly fake trees are, but not about when to put them up! ;-)

Stephen, thanks for the recommendation ... I'm gonna try that place next year!

I am slightly late to this discussion...luckily, Ptoo beat me to saying what I wanted to: the tree, and the bringing in of the green, is pagan, not Christian. It was incorporated into early Christian ritual, to aide (or abet?) the church in converting those with pagan beliefs. Many of the Christmas "traditions" originated this way.

I don't think it matters when you put your tree up, honestly. In modern times, it's a custom, not a rite. Besides, my mom always said the tree wasn't allowed to go up till after my birthday, which is December 2nd!

Any by the way, HAPPY SOLSTICE everyone!

My tree is real, and also 8 inches tall. I am taking a page from Mat's book - I'll plant it somewhere outside in the spring!

Apartment-Sized Solstice Tree:
http://tinyurl.com/yxx6sy

Um, sorry...I should have written that SOLSTICE was incorporated into early Christian ritual...and the tree is part of pagan solstice/yule/etc. festivities.

Not that anyone cares at this point, I imagine.