Real or artificial Xmas trees?

[+ Pensant]

I’ve never owned an artificial tree. I prefer a nice small (6’) fir or spruce Christmas tree. There’s something fake about a plastic one; however, I often head to my other place early on the 26th so I have to take the tree down and dispose of it on Christmas Day afternoon. This year I may forget about the tree altogether. Has the quality of artificial trees improved? Which do you prefer?

[+ poolboy48220]

I have three or four boxes of Hallmark ornaments, mostly Star Trek and superhero oriented, but it's been four or five years since I've actually put up a tree.  When I did put up a tree it was always a real tree. 

[spider]

Real or nothing. When I reach the point where I can't handle it some Holiday 🪴 will be fine.

Edited November 17, 2022 by spider

[+ Lucky]

Artificial tree prices have skyrocketed!

[Rudynate]

2 hours ago, Pensant said:

I’ve never owned an artificial tree. I prefer a nice small (6’) fir or spruce Christmas tree. There’s something fake about a plastic one; however, I often head to my other place early on the 26th so I have to take the tree down and dispose of it on Christmas Day afternoon. This year I may forget about the tree altogether. Has the quality of artificial trees improved? Which do you prefer?

Nothing but a real one. We get a Christmas tree now and again.  Usually, we just get a really great wreath and hang it over the fireplace and a few poinsettias.  Then we set a really nice table for Christmas dinner.

Now that we're learning to live with COVID, we will probably socialize more at Christmas, and, maybe, get a tree.

[samhexum]

7 hours ago, Pensant said:

I’ve never owned an artificial tree. I prefer a nice small (6’) fir or spruce Christmas tree. There’s something fake about a plastic one.

And there's something real about a natural one.  Now we've both made obvious statements. 

 :<{ )

7 hours ago, poolboy48220 said:

I have three or four boxes of Hallmark ornaments, mostly Star Trek and superhero oriented, but it's been four or five years since I've actually put up a tree.  When I did put up a tree it was always a real tree. 

I see Ebay in your future.

6 hours ago, spider said:

Real or nothing. When I reach the point where I can't handle it some Holiday plans will be fine.

Some holiday plants might also be nice   :<{ ) 

4 hours ago, Lucky said:

Artificial tree prices have skyrocketed!

What prices haven't?  :<{ ( 

Edited November 16, 2022 by samhexum
just for the hell of it

[keefer]

We get a 12-footer from Scotland each year...  but we've not been allowed to keep the Scottish guys who deliver it...

[+ bashful]

Switched to artificial years ago.  Put it up when you want, take it down when you want.  No more being dependent on how long it will be before needles start falling.  

Have dropped down in size of the artificial over the years.  Have two 3-foot, and one 4-foot tree.  Can do a single, or space them out.

[craigville beach]

the artificial trees have improved in appearance over the years.  

[Stormy]

I have a white artificial tree.  Very pretty and all I need 

[samhexum]

28 minutes ago, Stormy said:

I have a white artificial tree.  Very pretty and all I need 

  

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I grew up with only artificial Christmas trees.  I bought my house when I was 25.  I told myself that when I get a Christmas tree, it would be live for a change.  I'm less concerned about needles dropping because my living rooms have tiled floors.  Well, this will be my 15th Christmas in that house and I have yet to get a Christmas tree.

I think that in 5 years when I retire and move to a warmer climate (Las Vegas is too cold in the winter), I'll probably go with an artificial white or silver aluminum tree.  I want it to look super fake and abstract and mid-century.  Or, if I live in a cold climate at Christmas (which I doubt), I'll go with a 5ft real tree.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Vegas_nw1982

[spider]

4 hours ago, craigville beach said:

the artificial trees have improved in appearance over the years.  

Right. But they’re still fake. 

[jeezifonly]

Christmas itself is fake, so a fake tree hardly spoils it for me.

Real Gays can make Christmas all year long out of two rolls of tinfoil, a string of lights and some paper doilies. 😂

[handiacefailure]

I never put up a tree, but have a lot of hand blown glass ornaments (there's a glassblower in my hometown that makes a different design every year and my parents always buy my sister and me one every year) and I just have some oranament stands I use.   Artificial trees are crazy expensive and every year I swear I'm going to buy one on Dec 26 when they go on clearance and I never do.   Mainly because I don't want it taking up the room in my storage locker.
 

I love a real tree but they need a lot of care and I travel a lot in December usually, plus I live in a condo and our association allows a live tree but we aren't allowed to throw it in the dumpster, so it would be a real pain to dispose of.

[pubic_assistance]

Always a real tree. The SMELL is important to me. I love the scent of fresh pine in the house.

Each year we buy two new ornaments to remember the season. Little by little the  colored balls we started with when we first married are being replaced by little decorative happy memories. Sometimes we pick up a few in our travels. As we decorate the tree we discuss when and where they were bought. Keeps the fond memories fresh. ( Although I would like to forget 2020 ! ) 😆

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by pubic_assistance

[samhexum]

3 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

( Although I would like to forget 2020 ! ) 😆

 

Yeah, that Dodger world title in the abbreviated season was a real buzzkill for me, too.

[dbar123]

We have a large round concrete pillar in our living room about 2 feet in diameter that runs through every floor. We put lights and ornaments on it and call it a day

[BuffaloKyle]

On 11/18/2022 at 10:42 PM, pubic_assistance said:

Always a real tree. The SMELL is important to me. I love the scent of fresh pine in the house.

We have a fake tree but will spray this around it to make it smell like a real tree! It does smell exactly like it then.

[pubic_assistance]

2 hours ago, BuffaloKyle said:

It does smell exactly like it then.

Except, now you're breathing in methylisothiazolinone, PEGs, and VOCs with your pine scent.

No thanks.

There's enough stuff out there that causes cancer. I'm not spraying toxic chemicals around my house.

[RadioRob]

I actually have two artificial trees...  one on the main floor, and one upstairs in my office.  (It can be seen front the street upstairs.)

It's actually a pre-lit tree that looks nice.  It's literally covered head to foot in decorations.  You most likely only see about an inch of green once finished.  haha

[samhexum]

21 minutes ago, RadioRob said:

I actually have two artificial trees...  one on the main floor, and one upstairs in my office.  (It can be seen front the street upstairs.)

It's actually a pre-lit tree that looks nice.  It's literally covered head to foot in decorations.  You most likely only see about an inch of green once finished.  haha

so you're satisfied with one inch?  Interesting.

[RadioRob]

1 minute ago, samhexum said:

so you're satisfied with one inch?  Interesting.

I got ALL of the inches except one. (I’m not greedy.)

[pubic_assistance]

20 hours ago, RadioRob said:

You most likely only see about an inch of green once finished.  haha

You may be on to something.

That would indeed, cure the problem of seeing fake branches.

👍

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

2 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

23 hours ago, RadioRob said:

You most likely only see about an inch of green once finished.  haha

You may be on to something.

That would indeed, cure the problem of seeing fake branches.

👍

When I was a teenager, my family had a beautiful 9-foot artificial Douglas Fir that put any other artificial tree to shame.  But we put so many colored lights (lights of color?) on it that by the time we were done you only saw the general shape of the tree, covered in a mesh of green plastic wires.

Then one year I decided to run lights up and down each individual branch of the tree as I was assembling it, in order to hide the wires. (This was a decade before pre-lit artificial trees).  It tripled the assembly time, but it was worth it.

The final year, I decided to use all white lights instead of lights of color.  That REALLY made the tree look great.  It illuminated all the different hues of green in this magnificent artificial tree from within.  The tree never looked better.