12/03/2015 RQOTD Real, artificial, or no tree for Christmas?

weaselwatchr

weaselwatchr

New member
When we used to put up a tree, we actually went to a tree farm and cut one down. Someone was supposed to have lent us their pick up truck for the experience but at the last minute never showed. By the time we decided to take my two door car to the farm it was already dark. When we got the tree home, we noticed that about a quarter of it had no needles, so we had to put that side up against the wall. Other than that it was a fine tree, lol. After that we got ferrets and since they are climbing monkeys in disguise, so no more trees for us. With the crazy cats, we wouldn't even dream of it! How about you? If you celebrate Christmas, tell me about your tree. Any fun stories to share?
 
I'm allergic to the smell of real pine, but not the artificial scent, so it's fake tree all the way for us. Normally we just get some Scentsy wax that smells like Christmas-y or cookies to warm Christmas morning and we're good to go! lol
In 2001 we were robbed 2 weeks before Christmas. In order to get to the gifts under the tree they threw our tree out of the way and broke part of the top. We weren't so well off financially then and for about 3 years after that the top half of our tree leaned slightly to the left. lol It made a great conversation piece. New friends always wondered about it so we used to make up huge tales about how it happened before we told the true story! :D
Now we have a new and better tree which sits no where near a window which can be seen from the road! ;)
 
Oh Stephanie! That must have been horrible. It takes a nasty, evil person to rob someone on Christmas but I know it happens often. We never put our tree in a window unless it's a back one.

We had a fake tree my entire childhood. My dad hated cleaning up pine needles. A few years when I was about 2-5, we had a bright silver shiny tree!!! It was awful. lol.

Chris and I used fake trees from the time we we moved in together (97) up until last year. In 2010, we bought a really awesome expensive pre-lit tree on Boxing day for 80% off. We were so excited to put it up in 2011. Got it out of the box, all set up and plugged it in. No lights. Not one twinkle. Pre lit trees are supposed to be great because if you lose a bulb, the rest of the tree stays lit! Not this one!!! Not a bulb to be lit, even when DH tried to replace every single bulb (over 300 lights!!) So, Chris being the man that he is, decided to CUT ALL THE STRANDS OF LIGHTS OFF THE TREE!!! (we couldnt' take it back because it was final sale and a year had gone by!!)

Long story short, that hugely expensive (at reg price) tree lasted all of two Christmases! The branches fell off at the top in 2013 and we had to wire them back on because we had just moved into this house the day before we put the tree up and didn't want the hassle of going to find a new one. Anyway, last year we threw that damn thing out when it totally fell apart and went to Chris' uncle's Christmas tree farm to get a real one.

I'd never had a real tree and was nervous, but I LOVED IT!!!! The smell OMG! The beauty OMG!! yeah it shed a few needles but not much and it was so pretty!!!

This year we are going to get another real tree (in fact this Sat!!). I want a taller, thinner tree though, so it fits better in the corner by my fireplace. :) I can't wait to go. We had such a great time looking last year and Chris' Uncle gives a great deal on it too.
 
Most of my life I've had a real tree. Even in college I convinced some friends to drive out to the tree farm with me and cut down a small (4.5 ft) tree so I could have a real one. We had a fake tree from 2007-2011. Then we got a real tree again in 2012-2014. We haven't decided what to do this year yet. We need to decide something because we've decided Saturday is tree day. We don't have curbside pick up of real trees after Christmas here like we did in California and so we never really know what to do with the darn thing when we're done with it. We still have last years brown needled discard sitting in our backyard :(. So I'm guessing we'll do fake this year. They can be so pricy though! I will miss the lovely evergreen scent that permeates the house with a real tree. I don't think the fake scents can do it justice.
 
At the time it was horrible. I had all my gifts for my friends and family under the tree. I had my first job that year and had gone all out. I cried for like 2 days before I came to my senses and realized it was just stuff and it could have been worse, my brother and I could have been home. (We should have been when it happened, but I had decided to treat my brother to ice cream after school that day with some friends instead so we were later then normal.)
Of course, everyone was cool and understanding about it, but when your 17 (And 14 like my brother) it's kinda traumatic to know that some stranger screwed Christmas up for everyone else.
 
When we were young, we used to get real trees, one year we even cut one down. But now, we use artificial, it just makes sense $wise. We have had the same tree for the past 15 years!! I do wish to get another tree with lights, but it still works and still looks really good. I just feel like it would be waste, lol.. Like I say ever year... "maybe next year!" lol..
 
When I still lived at home, we always had a real one. When I got my own place, I wasn't in the mood to celebrate Christmas and in that same year I got Diva at 11 weeks old so no Christmas tree then. Now Jip has joined the family, a tree is a big no no lol.
 
We have a fake. We live in an apartment on the second floor. Not risking fires and things with that.
When we finally buy a house, I've already told my husband we're getting a LIVE tree, one that we can plant after the holidays :D

Increases property values (trees are good), good for the environment, AND less needles falling on the ground because the tree is still alive! Just will have to worry about pets digging in the pot hehe
 
We lived with my grandparents until I was 5. They always had fake trees. One memorable year, my mom bought a small real tree for my sister & I to have in our bedroom. It was awesome!
After my mom remarried, we always had real trees at home.
When I got married, we had real trees - I LOVE the smell!! My husband isn't really into decorating, and especially doesn't like helping to put lights on the tree, so when we bought our bigger house, I bought a gorgeous super nice fake tree (on sale) so we could put it in the window in the front. But, I also bought a real tree for the family room for the kids!
Then, in one of our down-sizing moves, my husband & brother broke my gorgeous big tree :(
Our first Christmas in our apartment, I bought a cheaper "6 foot" fake tree (in quotes because they count the stand at the 10" at the top of straight in the measurement ;) It fits well in our apartment and saves money.
When we're back in a house, I will probably go back to real trees for a while!
 
I love LIVE trees, but my husband is sort of Grinch like at Christmas - so he doesn't help at all - no outside decorations, no real tree, etc. So when we were first married and he wouldn't get me a tree I threatened to buy a fake tree (which he hates worse than real trees! LOL). Well we didn't have a tree, so after Christmas I went out and bought a fake tree. Now I set it up myself everyyear - but make him haul it up and down the steps to the attic! haha!
 
My littlest is allergic to trees :( so ours is fake. We used to have a very Charlie Brown like artificial tree that was close to 30 years old and usually fell at least once and broke things. It was totally a hazard and who knows what allergens it harbored, but dh and my eldest threw a fit when I got rid of it when my mil gave us a new one lol...
 
As much as I love a real tree, I like my trees up way too long to work for us. I put mine up on Halloween this year (scheduling issues in November). I have had to undecorate and buy a new tree one year because it died too early. So now it's only artificial for me.
 
emscraps said:
When we were young, we used to get real trees, one year we even cut one down. But now, we use artificial, it just makes sense $wise. We have had the same tree for the past 15 years!! I do wish to get another tree with lights, but it still works and still looks really good. I just feel like it would be waste, lol.. Like I say ever year... "maybe next year!" lol..
Click to expand...
Our artificial tree literally fell apart a few years ago but it was hard to spend the money considering how expensive the holidays are. Last year we bit the bullet and bought a NICE artificial tree the day after Christmas at Hobby Lobby. I got the gorgeous $800 tree I wanted for $200. It was awesome seeing it for the first time this year when I set it up. So full and beautiful and tons of lights.
 
I have never ever had a fake tree - 53 years of real trees for me :D Trees here are cheap - our state is literally 2/3 forest so yeah, trees are very easy to come by and you can go to a tree farm and cut one yourself for $20. Or you can go out in the woods and chop one down (most everyone here has property with woods). Even when we were in the military we had real trees.
 
Wow, Marie, I am jealous of the $20 price tag. We pay more than that here in Cali. Less than an hour away from us is a place called Apple Hill that is a ton of Apple and Tree Farms working together up in the mountains. There are over 30 tree farms to choose from and you get the experience of walking up the mountain side and cutting your own - or in the case of the one we go to, we find the tree and then yell out "CUTTER!" and a guy shows up with a saw and cuts it down for us. He even drags it up the hill. We make a day of it. We always go the weekend after Thanksgiving, get bundled up, start off the morning with fresh apple donuts & hot cocoa, and then go on the hunt for our tree.
This year, however, 2 of my kiddos got sick, so hubby went and got a fresh cut tree at Costco this year for us. It is beautiful, but it just isn't the same as the whole experience.
 
As a young child we had live trees. Then we moved to Florida and got the silver fake tree with the rotating light....
Eventually a 'green' fake tree.
When DH and I first married we had a live tree.
After DD was born, we tried 'live' but she became ill with croup within 45 min. A trip to the dr. etc.
Next year the same thing. So apparently she is allergic and we've had an artificial ever since.

Our current tree is very pretty. It is 9' and has 1100 lights on it [pre-lit]. However one strand went out last year.
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We just went and cut ours down this morning. My daughter actually does the sawing while I take pics and hold the tree - LOL. It's up and decorated and smells divine!
 
We haven't put up a tree yet, but normally it's a real tree. I think this year it will most likely be our artificial tree, it's been pouring Rain like NON STOP here and we just don't feel like cutting one down in torrential down pours.
 
Awww that stinks Kim :( We've had unseasonably warm weather here with rain but not torrential and not every day. I'm just glad there's now s*** out there yet!
 
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