Do you buy a Christmas tree or use an artificial one?

I bought an artificial Christmas tree which I don't intend to replace any time soon. The good thing about artificial trees is they can be re-used for as long as you please which makes them very eco-friendly.

It takes a bit of time to get used to artificial Christmas trees though because you'd have to do without the 'smell' of a real Christmas tree.

 

I have never bought a Christmas tree in my life, and I don't have any plans to buy one in the future either. Where I come from, they grow special Christmas trees, and it's traditional to get one of these chopped off fir trees and then just throw them away when all the Christmas drama is over. I think if you have to have a Christmas tree, then get a living tree and, either keep it around your home, or simply plant it on a friend's property or wherever else you can.

 

We may buy a real tree, but we may also go to the woods and just find one. Not sure what the plan for this year is as it may depend on weather and the motivation level of the persons involved. My family has traditionally gone to the little U-cut tree farm just up the hill, since I have moved out I have not had a tree of my own until the last couple of years. We shall see what happens this year, but it will definitely be a real tree.

 

I don't. We got one for free one year but I agree that real trees are a waste of money. You can only use them once and that's if you even have room for one. Some artificial trees look bad but I'm sure if you look hard enough you can find one that looks decent.

 

My family has always used an artificial Christmas tree that you have to assemble yourself. It has always looked nice, and the only drawback is that it takes so much effort to put up. I don't see the appeal of buying a real tree every year if you can just get an artificial one though. It seems like you waste a lot of money over the years for a tree to be at your house for a month or so.

 

We stick with our artificial one...as you said, on top of the benefit of being able to easily obtain them in a nice, warm store or even online and shipped right to you, they last for years and are more time/cost effective for me. They can be just as beautiful and inviting. However, I do want to have the experience of going out and picking/cutting down a real one at least once, though there are people in my family who have allergies, so I suppose that would only really work if I were doing it to help someone else out.

 

My family always had artificial trees, since my mom absolutely forbid bringing a real one into the house. She is neurotic as hell about the house being clean at all times and those needles falling on the floor would drive her bonkers. She cannot even stand it if there is a single leaf in her yard in the fall (she lives in Ohio), so you can only imagine the nervous breakdown she would be having over a shedding pine tree in her house.

When I moved out I got a really great deal on an artificial tree that not only looked realistic and natural, but it folder down very nicely and was super compact to store away. It originally sold for around $250 but I got it for about $35 after Christmas when they were desperate to get rid of everything.

I used that for many years, but eventually I got sick of decorating for the holidays at my place, so I gave it to my folks to use. They like to set up several trees in their house, but one of the artificial ones they had was really really old, like from the 60's I believe, and it was probably a fire hazard too, so they threw it out and used mine.

 

I also have an artificial tree. I think it's better than having to chop down a tree that took years to grow just so you can hang lights and shiny things on it for one week of every year. I feel having an artificial tree is more environmentally conscious. When I get my own place, I probably won't have space for one, so I think I'll just get a small one, or maybe none at all.

 

Real Christmas trees aren't popular here so everybody basically just buys artificial ones from the department store, including our household. I think it's alright because it at least looks nice but I have always been curious what differences having an actual tree would have. I heard it's a bit more dangerous since the leaves can catch fire but I'm not too sure if that's just a myth.

 

I like both. I like the real tree for the obvious reasons, the beautiful smell, the spirit of Christmas that the tree makes the house have once that live tree is put up and decorated. Live trees remind me of being at home with my parents and going to get a tree. I like artificial trees too, they don't shed pine needles all over, they last year after year, so they're very cost effective.

 

I live in a small apartment - so while I love big huge, live trees, i do not have room in my apartment for one - so right now i have a tiny fake one but I am hoping that maybe next year when my little family moves into a bigger space that we will be able to have a traditional tree.

 

If I want real trees, I'll go out and see them where they belong. My family always had real trees and yes, the smell was great, but your one real tree is one of millions dying for just one day. It's so wasteful and harmful and I can't be a part of it anymore. Not for a smell. I bought a fake tree when I left home and I'll always buy fake trees. The real tree thing just doesn't make sense to me, but says a lot about priorities in society.

 

I use an artificial tree. It's cheaper, and there's much less mess left behind from fallen leaves. Also it's much easier to reuse an artificial tree instead of buying a natural one every year. I know that there's the element of tradition, and the smell/visual appeal, but I think that it's a really small factor compared to its drawbacks.

 

We actually have bought an artificial Christmas tree many years ago when I was a kid, but we have only used it once or twice, since they don't really feel like putting up Christmas decors most of the time. Right now we don't have any Christmas decors displayed at home even if we have a wreath and Christmas lights.

 

As a kid my family bounced back and forth always depending on what type of house we were living in and whether or not we had animals.

 

I have memories of when I was a child and got really sick one year because of a real tree. My Mom did too actually. Ever since then we've always had an artificial tree. Since we live in a small apartment, we only have a table top size tree. However, I still think it looks good and brings about the spirit of the holidays in our home. I think it's a lot to do with personal preference though and there's really no right or wrong answer here.

 

I used to be a big supporter of the natural trees but nowadays I prefer the artificial Christmas tree over the 'real' one. I think this is mostly due to the fact that the real one can make a big mess, especially since I live in a little apartment and with the needles falling everywhere it's not really that convenient. Thought maybe if I lived in a bigger house I might prefer the real one, since I adore the smell of a evergreen trees.