QUESTION OF THE DAY, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 15, 2021

neely

neely

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Happy Wednesday! The weather is unseasonably warm here for December so I'm trying to savor the milder temps. Usually at this time of year I would see people driving cars with their Christmas trees on the roof but I haven't seen nearly as many trees as in the past. When I was younger I liked to see and smell real, live trees decorated for the holiday but as I got older I appreciated seeing these trees in the ground and an artificial tree decorated instead. When our youngest daughter was in elementary school she brought home a tiny fir tree for Earth Day. We picked out a spot in the backyard and planted the tree together. It has grown enormously so now all I have to do is look out the window and admire having a real tree that grows taller and taller each year. 🌲

QUESTION OF THE DAY -
DO YOU PREFER A REAL TREE OR ARTIFICIAL TREE AT CHRISTMAS?
AND IF YOU DON'T CELEBRATE WHICH TYPE OF TREE DO YOU LIKE TO SEE?
 
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Lari

Lari

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My husband prefers real trees, so that's what we've got. I grew up with an artificial tree (except for one year when we got a real tree), and have fond memories of putting it together. And not having needles shed and not needing to keep it alive. They both have merits, but I think I heard real ones were better for the environment.
 
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vince

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Fake tree. No dropped needles. No trudging out in cold weather to buy one. Already has the lights on it (was even pre-decorated, but I changed the color scheme). Skinny so it doesn't take up much room and is narrower than the large base to which it was fitted, so it's much less likely that the cats can knock it over.

Don't know about environmental issues with all that plastic, though.
 
Kat0121

Kat0121

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Artificial. No mess and no chopping down a tree so it can be just put to the curb for the trash after Christmas. Artificial trees last for years. The tree my parents had was older than me and we had it at least until I was grown. The tree I have is 20 years old. We bought it after Christmas at Michaels for 75% off. I haven't put it up in a while but I still have it.
 
Winchester

Winchester

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When we first got married, we got real trees. There was a tree farm not too far away and we'd go out in the fall and choose our tree. Then we'd go back out at Christmas and cut it down.

When our son developed asthma, we switched over to an artificial tree and we've stayed artificial since. Our first artificial tree lasted us 30 years. It was simply gorgeous and so many people touched it, simply because it was so pretty, they couldn't believe it was fake. No mess, no watering, no worries. And we're not killing a tree anymore. Although I'm sure the plastic isn't all that great either.
 
Elphaba09

Elphaba09

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We have a lovely fake tree for our Yule tree. I have a severe mold allergy and mold often is found on live pine trees. (I am also allergic to pine pollen, but that is not too much of an issue in the winter.) While I would love a real tree--a Fraiser fir--for multiple reasons it is just better for us to have our fake one.
 
MoochNNoodles

MoochNNoodles

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Artificial! My current tree is on it's 19th year and not every branch holds ornaments like it used to. But I do prefer it. There is one branch that the girls chewed off almost every needle over the years. :cringe: I've got a barrier around it now because Mooch can't jump so its keeping her from chewing on it anymore. I look at new trees every year; but the ones I like are never cheap and none left after Christmas. So someday. ;)

I think I was in the 3rd grade the last time we had a real tree. My Grandpa had a row of trees that was getting too big; and the smallest was perfect for a Christmas tree. We lived down the street so that became our tree that year. It lost almost every single needle before Christmas. I still remember the literal PILES of needles on the floor when they took the tree out. And we stepped on pine needles until we moved out of that place! Fortunately it was the kind of apartment where you could put down your own carpet but you had to take it out and leave the industrial type tile floor. So at least we didn't leave pine needles for the next tenants. ;) But Mom bought an artificial tree the next year and had that one until maybe 5 years ago.
 
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For people who regret live trees put out at the curb after the holidays, here are a couple of re-use options.

I used to cut the branches off and use them to mulch semi-hardy plants in the garden such as lavender. The evergreen branches shade and protect from sun scald and trap snow which insulated the plants.

Coastal communities in some places collect the discarded trees and use them along beach areas, "planting" them to hold the sand and stabilize dunes.

Currently we no longer have any kind of tree, neither real nor artificial. There's only the two of us, family is far away, and I no longer feel like hosting a holiday open house.
 
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