Christmas (or X-mas) Trees...

[cowfishrule]

Which do you prefer?
Real or Fake ?
Personally, I always had the fake, then for a couple of years, we switched over to real. Now, I have had it with real. These fake ones look so real, and come PRE-LIT
w00t!
So, which is it for you?
Discuss.

 

[kingsmith]

Its gotta be real

Gotta Love that fresh pine smell and there isn probably like 10 Huge tree farms within 10 miles of where I grew up

 

[cranberry]

We have a faker that is freaking AWESOME. We put up real "trimmings" to get the pine smell... like the wreaths, archway trimmers and mantle stuff.
But I SO don't want to put one up. I HATE putting up the tree. I hate taking it down even more, of course, and I thought last year we were going to have to take off the ornaments and call it a house plant....
They call me the grinch. I hate the holidays. Some things about it are lovely, like the look of a beautiful tree, but there way waaaaaaaay many more things that are just insufferable.

 

[ruaround]

have to have a fake one im alergic to the real thing... besides the real ones are such a PIA to deal with!!!
it would be cool to decorate a palm tree!!!

 

[aquaknight]

Usually do fake, but one year we got a real. Our old house was a 2-story with a large living room that was 'open to below' (didn't have the second story above it). We had a 12 footer trucked in. It was absolutely ridiclous because the thing we didn't count on, was the diameter of that Son of a gun, it was at least 7ft around, at the lowest branches. Put over 20,000 lights on it, and it still looked plain. The house smelt like Chirstmas till February. See if I can get them to email some pics, but probably in storage.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by KingSmith
http:///forum/post/2832905
Its gotta be real

Gotta Love that fresh pine smell and there isn probably like 10 Huge tree farms within 10 miles of where I grew up
Yep, doesn't seem like Christmas with a fake tree.

 

[nw2salt08]

I love the real deal. My kids and I go to the tree farm and have a blast. They run around the field trying to pick the perfect one. If there's a new family member they cut the tree down or we take turns. Then the guys there haul it up front, shake it, wrap it and put it on your vehicle while you comfortably shop in the house and drink warm apple cider. It's great. Love it.

 

[mimzy]

ive been to homes with all kinds;
the real ones smell fantabulous, but uve got to deal with all that water, the falling pine needles and any bugs or sap issues. and for pete's sake having a real tree around pets is a nightmare.
the fake trees can go either way - some are magnificent, and some are just absolutely tacky and aweful. i've seen some incredible pre-lit faux trees that were so lifelike i had to touch them a few times to figure out if they were real or not!! and then there are the ones u can tell from 3 blocks away they were made with astroturph.
all comes down to personal preference I suppose. There are hundreds of tree farms around our new house, i cant wait to see the people driving in in droves to pick out their trees. so romantic ::sigh::

 

[jennythebugg]

i also switched to fake ones - but if you go to the tree seller guys they will either give you or sell you some 'plugs' so you can get the tree smell

the plug is the sawed off end of the trunk

 

[hammerhed7]

I now have a nice fake, but when I was single I had a decent fake that I had used pliers to twist the ornament hooks on the branches so the wouldn't fall off, and I would cover it with a garbage bag and toss it in the attic after christmas. It took less than 5 min to set up and take down. When I got married this efficiency was not appreciated, now that I have kids I have to start from scratch every year, it is no an all day project.

 

[slt wtr stupid]

Ive had real and fake last year i bought a new fake prelite tree and this thing is the shiznet it came in three pieces and all you have to do is fluff the branches a little and plug in the lights takes less that a half an hour with help then on go the decorations. My old one took over three just to assemble not including the lights and decorations. Love the real ones though just there prices are outrageous around here like 60 for a 5 footer and in 3 yrs ive spent as much as i did on this fake one and dont have to water it.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by Mimzy
http:///forum/post/2833037
ive been to homes with all kinds;
the real ones smell fantabulous, but uve got to deal with all that water, the falling pine needles and any bugs or sap issues. and for pete's sake having a real tree around pets is a nightmare.
the fake trees can go either way - some are magnificent, and some are just absolutely tacky and aweful. i've seen some incredible pre-lit faux trees that were so lifelike i had to touch them a few times to figure out if they were real or not!! and then there are the ones u can tell from 3 blocks away they were made with astroturph.
all comes down to personal preference I suppose. There are hundreds of tree farms around our new house, i cant wait to see the people driving in in droves to pick out their trees. so romantic ::sigh::
We have to fasten our real tree to the wall every year because our cats always knock it over climbing it.

It's funny until you have to pick it up and put it back together, and clean up all the water.

 

[prk543]

last year my cat chewed through the the wires on my brand new prelite tree

When I get a house, I will probably put up a real tree, but until then, I need to figure out if I can fix the other tree. Any suggestions?

 

[keri]

Fake.... I Love the way real smells but it's a mess to clean up and I feel guilty chopping down a tree just so I can enjoy it for a week or two. (I came from way up north where a 5 foot tree was likely older than my grand-parents)

 

[spiderwoman]

Seriously speaking, I'd love to have a real tree, but until our twins are older, we are now going with a fake one.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by Keri
http:///forum/post/2833812
Fake.... I Love the way real smells but it's a mess to clean up and I feel guilty chopping down a tree just so I can enjoy it for a week or two. (I came from way up north where a 5 foot tree was likely older than my grand-parents)
We buy the kind that you plant after you "use" them, otherwise I would feel guilty too.

 

[mimzy]

Originally Posted by alyssia
http:///forum/post/2833825
We buy the kind that you plant after you "use" them, otherwise I would feel guilty too.
::gasp:: you can DO that?? OMG!!! that is SO COOL!!!!
How does that WORK????

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Mimzy
http:///forum/post/2833839
::gasp:: you can DO that?? OMG!!! that is SO COOL!!!!
How does that WORK????
It's in a pot or bag. Kelli, correct me if I am wrong. I use a fake tree each year. It looks great and isn't a pain to deal with. I have a wood stove that I use. The needles would be a complete mess. I will stick with my fake tree.

 

[eaglephot]

Originally Posted by Keri
http:///forum/post/2833812
Fake.... I Love the way real smells but it's a mess to clean up and I feel guilty chopping down a tree just so I can enjoy it for a week or two. (I came from way up north where a 5 foot tree was likely older than my grand-parents)
Most real trees that you buy are from farms. I would probably feel guilty if I had to cut one down in the wild. It would be a really cool experience, but I would still feel guilty! lol. I wouldn't feel guilt if I cut one down from a farm, however.
I stick with fake trees. My house is allergic.

 

[keri]

Originally Posted by alyssia
http:///forum/post/2833825
We buy the kind that you plant after you "use" them, otherwise I would feel guilty too.

BEST. IDEA. EVER.
(Now where can i find one?? lol)