Real or Fake Christmas Tree

[rocklobster]

Well, it's that time of year again, so I thought I'd repeat a poll I did during my first year. How many of you still get those real trees, despite the mess they make?

[Etoh*the*Greato]

We've got fake. My wife is allergic.

[Atria35]

Fake. We've had our little fake tree since I was 6. It doesn't make a mess, we don't have to worry about keeping it alive, and when the season is over we can store it for the next one, which makes it overall less expensive.

[TopazRaven]

Technically speaking a fake tree would be the more logical choice. It's not messy, you don't have to worry about watering it and such and you are also somewhat saving a tree from being chopped down. Yet I still get a real tree every year because I feel it is part of the holiday. The mess is worth it. I always give my tree a name. Last year my tree was named Arthur. xD I wonder what name I should give this years tree? Yes, before anyone asks, I am quite aware of how insane I am.

[PrincessZelda]

Fake. Less messy and way cheaper.

[Jingo Jaden]

Real, Norwegian tradition. We even go to the forest to get it ourselves.

[Midori]

Real. I'd worry about the environmental impact of cutting down trees but I'm pretty sure they grow them specifically for this purpose.

[Beau Soir]

I prefer real. There's nothing quite like the wafting smell of a fresh Christmas tree when you walk in from the cold.

We also have a smaller fake one that we set up downstairs so I get to decorate one myself, because I help my mother with the huge real one, but she likes to decorate it basically the same way every year.

[samurai10]

well, i've had a fake one ever since i can remember. let's see, it's.... probably about 7 years old. i was too young when we had a real tree to remember anything about it. so, i do prefer fake though. even though real tree smell nice, fake ones are less expensive, because you can use them year after year. like me! XD fake ones, in my eyes, are more practical. but, i've never had a real one, so i can't say.

[mechana2015]

my parents will be doing fake due to allergies. I won't be doing one at all.

[CrimsonRyu17]

I'm pretty sure they grow them specifically for this purpose.

They do and they're called Christmas Tree Farms.

Artifical trees are typically made of reusabed plastic, vinyl, and PVC while Natural trees are grown on a lot and not taken from the wild. Neither have any environmental impact but the Natural trees that are grown may sometimes offer a habitat for smaller animals. Of course, this depends on how much pesticide is used on the farm.

[ShiroiHikari]

I choose fake. Cheaper, and more convenient.

[goldenspines]

Real; since I have yet to see an actually nice looking and smelling fake one.
Plus, there's something about getting a new tree every year that adds to the season and makes the holiday more memorable. A real Christmas tree is different every time; big, small, lopsided, bushy, etc...
Also, I'm fairly fond of the pine smell, so I'm biased. XD

[ich1990]

Real, and if you love baby Jesus you will get a real one too.

They do and they're called Christmas Tree Farms.

As someone who lives on a Christmas Tree Farm, I can corroborate. Unless you go and cut a naturally growing one down, the net effect on the the environment is zero, as all trees are grown for this purpose (and won't be grown if there isn't any demand for them).

In fact, if you buy a plastic one you will be harming the environment even more, as they are made of refined petroleum products and will eventually end up in a landfill where they won't decompose for hundreds or thousands of years.

As for animal habitats, it is not much of an issue. Farms don't "clear cut" a section of trees, rather they selectively take the well matured and nicest looking ones from the fields and leave the rest to grow for next year. Thus, the worst that could happen is force a rabbit or bird to relocate their nest a few feet to next nearest tree.

[Rusty Claymore]

We get real at my place. In fact it's kinda a special occasion when we go visit friends who live a long way away and we chop a 40' tree down on their lot. Since they have many many acres they are trying to deforest, it's a win win. And yeah, we only take the top 5'-6'. If it servives the fall. Last year we cut down 4. XP

[FllMtl Novelist]

We've always had a real one. We got down to the local farm place, where they have them already cut. (We went and cut ourselves one one year, but it was more expensive, or something like that. XD) Last few years, we've bought a tree that was just a little too tall. XD So we've had to take several inches off the bottom, or take a bit off the top.

But no matter what we do our angel always seems to be squished against the ceiling. XD

And Rusty, that is amazing. o.o

[Nate]

When my dad was still alive, he'd go cut down a cedar tree for Christmas each year (since the pines where we live would make terrible Christmas trees). After he died, interest in getting a real tree waned, so we got a fake one. It's cleaner, easier to take care of (no water, reusable), and cheaper than getting a real one every year.

Real, and if you love baby Jesus you will get a real one too.

Baby Jesus is kind of mean if he wants people with allergies to be miserable all Christmas. :p

[Furen]

doesn't mature and drop pines

[ich1990]

Baby Jesus is kind of mean if he wants people with allergies to be miserable all Christmas. :p

Hey, I don't make the rules.....

[Atria35]

doesn't mature and drop pines

Um, what?

[ABlipinTime]

REAL!!
Real ones are thicker and a more natural element in the living room Christmas scene. I can't do the plastic/wire thing.

I feel sorry for those with allergies. I have allergies too (but for something else). Thankfully, we won't have any in heaven!

I don't feel bad for these specific trees being cut down since people do grow them for this purpose.

[ClosetOtaku]

"Artificial", please. "Fake" is so pejorative.

And the artificial tree in my living room right now belonged to my parents. It's over 40 years old. With proper care, they can last a very long time. And all of the cars any one of you will own over a 40-year period will likely leak more oil, gasoline, and brake and transmission fluid hydrocarbons and heavy metals into the environment than this tree could ever supply.

So, go ahead. Make that trek deep into the woods in your 4-wheel drive SUV gas guzzler. Chop down that living organism that took -- what -- ten, twelve years to grow; count the rings just for fun. Destroy some more foliage on your way out. Have it hauled it twenty, thirty, fifty miles to your home -- putting more CO2 into the environment with every engine stroke. Toss it out on the garbage heap two weeks later to have it hauled (another ten, twenty miles) to some landfill. Do it every year, for 40 years, and tell me how environmentally sensitive you are.

And have a Merry Christmas.