While I love the smell and look of having a real tree, I don't use them anymore due to
health issues. I'm disabled now and would have to wait until I could get someone to help
take it out after Christmas. So I now use artificial trees, which can be fun to decorate too!
I also don't have to worry about it becoming a fire hazard if I can't take it down right away.
I think too that it matters where you live. Some apartment complexes don't allow real trees
because of the risk of fire.
When my dad was still alive and no longer able to deal with a full size tree, I used to go buy him a
smaller real potted tree that was already decorated and after Christmas, planted it in his yard, where
it continued to grow into a Big tree!!! He just loved having them each year!
Growing up we always had real trees and as much as I love them, I don't at the same time, lol! The older I got, the more allergic I got to them, same with my fiance. We have a mini Christmas tree that's a nice silvery/blue and we have fun decorating it. I miss real trees but I don't miss the constant sneezing, watering or huge mess!
-When i was little we always had a artificial tree, now that i have my own family, my husband and i prefer the real trees & the mess they do, lol.. We always get our real christmas tree at the end of November or before it depends.. Our kids love to decorate the tree, also we let them choose the one they like.. they're good choosers!
We never had a Christmas tree when I was a little kid and didn't start getting them until I was about 12 or 13. We had a real tree once and then we had artificial after my parents saw how much of a mess they made. Plus, my father was big stickler on safety, so having a fire hazard in the house didn't sit well with him. I haven't had a tree for about 12 years just because the house I'm in is so small, there is absolutely no room to put one. I tried having a little table top one, but the cats would just knock it down and tear it apart. But I still have my beautiful big artificial tree that hopefully someday I'll have room to put it up and decorate. Its so pretty when its all done up...
I really like the smell of real trees, but I don't really like the mess that comes with it, I prefer the artificial ones, It's our 5th year that we use our artificial tree and still looks like new, we just decorated it last week, and it touches the ceiling and that's what we like about it the kids were so excited, I always like to start decorating after Halloween, and I like to use a variety of candles, my house is always smelling good
We do real trees - even go to Christmas Tree farms, hunt out the tree we want, cut it down & take it home with us...
The only time I didn't do a real tree was sometime after college... For whatever reason, my roommate wanted an artificial tree. I got one at a yard sale & brought it home. When we parted ways (me to an apartment of my own, her with another roommate) I got stuck with that tree. I ended up having to get rid of it as it made my allergies worse. I suspect it's because those things hold/harbor dust (and I'm severely allergic to dust mites). My husband took it out one time (before we got rid of it) & hosed it down - the water was pratically black.
I prefer the artificial trees now, especially since they have started to make them look more like real trees than they used to do years ago. It is a lot less mess, I hated trying to vacuum up all the pine needles from the carpet. The other advantage I like, you buy it once (especially after Christmas when it is marked down 70 to 80%) and you can use it for a number of years before it needs to be replaced, so it ends up being cheaper than the real trees. The disadvantage is you need to have room to store it for the other 10-11 months of the year when you aren't using it.
If I want the smell of pine from a real tree, I will either get a candle or use some essential oils in a atomizer to have the pine smell.
For me it has to be real, nothing beats the smell! We first bought regular trees (Norway spruce) and yes, I hated the mess, but still wouldn't give up on the real thing. About 15 years ago we bought our first Nordmann fir, with thick soft needles and there hardly is any mess, not even with the cats walking in circles under the tree
We have a fake one inside - we are too afraid that the real ones will dry out too easily and start a fire - but I always put a real wreath together and hang it on our wall so we can smell the pine! When I was a kid, my dad used to get live trees, roots and all, then we would plant it outside when spring came. I always loved that!
We always had a real tree as a child, and I love the scent of a real tree, the mess and all! Having all the pine needles - We call them bough sparkles here, all over our gifts, and pretty much everywhere else in the house, was awesome.
Now, my Husband and I have an artificial tree. I prefer the real, but it's not always possible, and natural trees are a bigger fire hazard.
We have an artifical one that reaches the roof. It looks better then the real trees we can get around Christmas ( living in Australia it is Summer) It has lastest us years. I've only ever grown up with an artficial tree.
I always had an artificial tree growing up, so I'm partial to that. I like the idea that you can leave it up as long as you like, no worrying about it dying and making a big mess. I actually use to be allergic to trees as well, not sure if I am anymore. Will have to do some testing when people set theirs up this year.
we always had real trees growing up. By the time I got to my teens, artificial ones came along and thats what we had from then on. One year, recently, feeling really nostalgic, I decided I wouldn't settle for anything less than a real one ...baaaaaaad move! Working 24/7 and having to deal with it dropping bits off everywhere, then cleaning up after we took it down finished me ...I'm back to artifical forever now! ...Unless I can cajole a certain someone into doing all those little extra unpleasantries that come with it ...but no such luck!
I haven't had a real tree since I left home. I am very allergic to them and can't even place boughs in the house. I think a real tree is more 'green' since they are grown for that purpose, support local economy, create compost at the end and therefore biodegradable whereas a fake one is created mostly from petroleum products and although it will look limp after a few years it will still linger on and on and on ..... if I could have a real tree I would, in a heartbeat.
The Christmas Tree in my house, growing up, was A Big Freakin Deal. I loved it! Real tree, which we picked out as a family, tied it onto the station wagon, dad set it up, use kids watered it, we all decorated it... it was awesome. The first Christmas after I got married, I learned that my dear husband HATES Christmas trees. He absolutely, point-blank refused to spend money on one. Not even my tears could sway him. LOL So I bought a tiny dollar-store type for $5 and made do. It was 12 inches tall, I think. We had that for 4 years. Time passed... he joined the military, we moved several times, finally settled in Florida, and my new BFF was all about scoring free stuff. Living on base, there was a constant flux of people moving in, moving out. Furniture, toys, even clothes frequently got set out for "big trash" pick up. If you saw it, you could claim it, but do it fast!!! or someone else might get there first. Anyway, BFF found me an artificial tree that someone was throwing out. It was scrawny, and ugly, and you could see the post in the middle, BUT!!! it was FREE and it was CLEAN and didn't smell, and did I mention it was FREE? So she and I set it up and when hubby came home, he was like, whaaaaat? But I told him all about it and he finally relented. That year at the Christmas clearance sales, I found a nice artificial bough to wrap around the middle. We love that tree. We've had it for 7 years now. We've considered replacing it, but it's got a fun story, and a new tree would probably mean taking up more space.
I recently read an article that said an artificial tree has to be used for 20 years for it to be "greener" than a real one.
Hubby and I looked at each other, and said, "Challenge accepted."
Being a kid we always had a real one. One the first year we bought a fake one. It was expensive but looking real. For the smell we went to a christmas tree market to get some pieces of tree trunk for the smell – so it was smelling real. Still I am not sure, what is better. I like the idea to have a real one in a flowerpot to plant it in the garden in spring – but I don't have a garden yet.
When growing up we ALWAYS had real trees. Once I was on my own and married I continued to get the real trees. Though I absolutely ADORE Christmas (especially since it is my birthday too!) Charles doesn't quite hold the same reverence as I. For years I would go to the Christmas tree farm alone and pick out the perfect tree and get it home. So pretty much the tree has always been my endeavor. Finally, I found it was just too hard for me to get a tree from the tree farm, and I have collected a lot of collectables (actually almost all of my ornaments are collectables) and they aren't always light in weight so the real trees that they sell just won't hold them all without horrible sagging. I finally relented and bought an artificial tree....but I must I looked hard and long and if you walked into my house (except for it not smelling) you would never know it was artificial unless I told you. I aave a LARGE Dept 56 Dickens Village that spreads out from my approximately 6 ft base tree out at least 3 ft on each side of the tree. The sap I am afraid would not be village friendly! As I have aged (depending on my arthritis in my back), it doesn't always get put up because it takes at least 10 days to set it all up. I miss those years that I just cannot do it. Will tell you that this year I am going to put it up!!!!!
Now to this is gonna sound quite crazy but I have only had a real tree once as an adult, the rest of the time it's always been artificial. On the one and only occasion I had a real tree I just felt so guilty about having something that had up until recently been minding its' own business being a tree in some windy Scottish field - next thing along comes someone who cuts it down in it's prime - kills it stone dead just so that I can decorate it and put it on display for a week or two in my front room. That didn't sit right with me. It didn't even help to know that these trees are specifically planted for this purpose. It got to the point where I could hardly look at it! Ironically I have no qualms about burning logs in my fire at home so at least it didn't die completely in vain as eventually we chopped it up and burnt it and it made us warm. So its an over-the-top, glitz and glitter, cheery artificial job for me every time now...!
I like fake trees. There is only two reasons why. The first reason would be I do not like the smell of pine, it literally makes me sick to my stomach. The second reason is the pine needles when I was a child my mom would get real trees and the pine needles would go all over the place and more than not they would get stuck in my feet. For me having a fake tree is less stressful. I can worry about the more important tasks at hand.
I would prefer an artificial christmas tree (no needles, always the perfect size...) but my husband likes to buy a real one and all the work with it. So we stay with the tradition - but he has to do all the work!
I would love to have live trees, just to have that awesome pine smell in the house! Unfortunately though, we have to go with the fake ones. I have 2 autistic children and a yorkie...so all the needles that fall off could be eaten or worse...so around here it is always fake.
While I love the smell and look of having a real tree, I don't use them anymore due to
health issues. I'm disabled now and would have to wait until I could get someone to help
take it out after Christmas. So I now use artificial trees, which can be fun to decorate too!
I also don't have to worry about it becoming a fire hazard if I can't take it down right away.
I think too that it matters where you live. Some apartment complexes don't allow real trees
because of the risk of fire.
When my dad was still alive and no longer able to deal with a full size tree, I used to go buy him a
smaller real potted tree that was already decorated and after Christmas, planted it in his yard, where
it continued to grow into a Big tree!!! He just loved having them each year!
Growing up we always had real trees and as much as I love them, I don't at the same time, lol! The older I got, the more allergic I got to them, same with my fiance. We have a mini Christmas tree that's a nice silvery/blue and we have fun decorating it. I miss real trees but I don't miss the constant sneezing, watering or huge mess!
-When i was little we always had a artificial tree, now that i have my own family, my husband and i prefer the real trees & the mess they do, lol.. We always get our real christmas tree at the end of November or before it depends.. Our kids love to decorate the tree, also we let them choose the one they like.. they're good choosers!
We never had a Christmas tree when I was a little kid and didn't start getting them until I was about 12 or 13. We had a real tree once and then we had artificial after my parents saw how much of a mess they made. Plus, my father was big stickler on safety, so having a fire hazard in the house didn't sit well with him. I haven't had a tree for about 12 years just because the house I'm in is so small, there is absolutely no room to put one. I tried having a little table top one, but the cats would just knock it down and tear it apart. But I still have my beautiful big artificial tree that hopefully someday I'll have room to put it up and decorate. Its so pretty when its all done up...
I really like the smell of real trees, but I don't really like the mess that comes with it, I prefer the artificial ones, It's our 5th year that we use our artificial tree and still looks like new, we just decorated it last week, and it touches the ceiling and that's what we like about it
the kids were so excited, I always like to start decorating after Halloween, and I like to use a variety of candles, my house is always smelling good 
We do real trees - even go to Christmas Tree farms, hunt out the tree we want, cut it down & take it home with us...
The only time I didn't do a real tree was sometime after college... For whatever reason, my roommate wanted an artificial tree. I got one at a yard sale & brought it home. When we parted ways (me to an apartment of my own, her with another roommate) I got stuck with that tree. I ended up having to get rid of it as it made my allergies worse. I suspect it's because those things hold/harbor dust (and I'm severely allergic to dust mites). My husband took it out one time (before we got rid of it) & hosed it down - the water was pratically black.
We have a fake one ,, just easier and to be honest I do prefere artificial
I prefer the artificial trees now, especially since they have started to make them look more like real trees than they used to do years ago. It is a lot less mess, I hated trying to vacuum up all the pine needles from the carpet. The other advantage I like, you buy it once (especially after Christmas when it is marked down 70 to 80%) and you can use it for a number of years before it needs to be replaced, so it ends up being cheaper than the real trees. The disadvantage is you need to have room to store it for the other 10-11 months of the year when you aren't using it.
If I want the smell of pine from a real tree, I will either get a candle or use some essential oils in a atomizer to have the pine smell.
I love the smell of a real tree and an artificial treee for me is just not the same - mess or not
For me it has to be real, nothing beats the smell! We first bought regular trees (Norway spruce) and yes, I hated the mess, but still wouldn't give up on the real thing. About 15 years ago we bought our first Nordmann fir, with thick soft needles and there hardly is any mess, not even with the cats walking in circles under the tree
Real if you can, nothing beats the smell of a real tree
We have a fake one inside - we are too afraid that the real ones will dry out too easily and start a fire - but I always put a real wreath together and hang it on our wall so we can smell the pine! When I was a kid, my dad used to get live trees, roots and all, then we would plant it outside when spring came. I always loved that!
We always had a real tree as a child, and I love the scent of a real tree, the mess and all! Having all the pine needles - We call them bough sparkles here, all over our gifts, and pretty much everywhere else in the house, was awesome.
Now, my Husband and I have an artificial tree. I prefer the real, but it's not always possible, and natural trees are a bigger fire hazard.
Fake fiber optic. No fuss no mess
We have an artifical one that reaches the roof. It looks better then the real trees we can get around Christmas ( living in Australia it is Summer) It has lastest us years. I've only ever grown up with an artficial tree.
I always had an artificial tree growing up, so I'm partial to that. I like the idea that you can leave it up as long as you like, no worrying about it dying and making a big mess. I actually use to be allergic to trees as well, not sure if I am anymore. Will have to do some testing when people set theirs up this year.
we always had real trees growing up. By the time I got to my teens, artificial ones came along and thats what we had from then on. One year, recently, feeling really nostalgic, I decided I wouldn't settle for anything less than a real one ...baaaaaaad move! Working 24/7 and having to deal with it dropping bits off everywhere, then cleaning up after we took it down finished me ...I'm back to artifical forever now! ...Unless I can cajole a certain someone into doing all those little extra unpleasantries that come with it ...but no such luck!
I haven't had a real tree since I left home. I am very allergic to them and can't even place boughs in the house. I think a real tree is more 'green' since they are grown for that purpose, support local economy, create compost at the end and therefore biodegradable whereas a fake one is created mostly from petroleum products and although it will look limp after a few years it will still linger on and on and on ..... if I could have a real tree I would, in a heartbeat.
The Christmas Tree in my house, growing up, was A Big Freakin Deal. I loved it! Real tree, which we picked out as a family, tied it onto the station wagon, dad set it up, use kids watered it, we all decorated it... it was awesome. The first Christmas after I got married, I learned that my dear husband HATES Christmas trees. He absolutely, point-blank refused to spend money on one.
Not even my tears could sway him. LOL So I bought a tiny dollar-store type for $5 and made do. It was 12 inches tall, I think. We had that for 4 years. Time passed... he joined the military, we moved several times, finally settled in Florida, and my new BFF was all about scoring free stuff. Living on base, there was a constant flux of people moving in, moving out. Furniture, toys, even clothes frequently got set out for "big trash" pick up. If you saw it, you could claim it, but do it fast!!! or someone else might get there first. Anyway, BFF found me an artificial tree that someone was throwing out. It was scrawny, and ugly, and you could see the post in the middle, BUT!!! it was FREE and it was CLEAN and didn't smell, and did I mention it was FREE? 
So she and I set it up and when hubby came home, he was like, whaaaaat? But I told him all about it and he finally relented. That year at the Christmas clearance sales, I found a nice artificial bough to wrap around the middle. We love that tree. We've had it for 7 years now. We've considered replacing it, but it's got a fun story, and a new tree would probably mean taking up more space.
I recently read an article that said an artificial tree has to be used for 20 years for it to be "greener" than a real one.
Hubby and I looked at each other, and said, "Challenge accepted."
Being a kid we always had a real one. One the first year we bought a fake one. It was expensive but looking real. For the smell we went to a christmas tree market to get some pieces of tree trunk for the smell – so it was smelling real. Still I am not sure, what is better. I like the idea to have a real one in a flowerpot to plant it in the garden in spring – but I don't have a garden yet.
When growing up we ALWAYS had real trees. Once I was on my own and married I continued to get the real trees. Though I absolutely ADORE Christmas (especially since it is my birthday too!) Charles doesn't quite hold the same reverence as I. For years I would go to the Christmas tree farm alone and pick out the perfect tree and get it home. So pretty much the tree has always been my endeavor. Finally, I found it was just too hard for me to get a tree from the tree farm, and I have collected a lot of collectables (actually almost all of my ornaments are collectables) and they aren't always light in weight so the real trees that they sell just won't hold them all without horrible sagging. I finally relented and bought an artificial tree....but I must I looked hard and long and if you walked into my house (except for it not smelling) you would never know it was artificial unless I told you. I aave a LARGE Dept 56 Dickens Village that spreads out from my approximately 6 ft base tree out at least 3 ft on each side of the tree. The sap I am afraid would not be village friendly! As I have aged (depending on my arthritis in my back), it doesn't always get put up because it takes at least 10 days to set it all up. I miss those years that I just cannot do it. Will tell you that this year I am going to put it up!!!!!
I am allergic to them as well.
Now to this is gonna sound quite crazy but I have only had a real tree once as an adult, the rest of the time it's always been artificial. On the one and only occasion I had a real tree I just felt so guilty about having something that had up until recently been minding its' own business being a tree in some windy Scottish field - next thing along comes someone who cuts it down in it's prime - kills it stone dead just so that I can decorate it and put it on display for a week or two in my front room. That didn't sit right with me. It didn't even help to know that these trees are specifically planted for this purpose. It got to the point where I could hardly look at it! Ironically I have no qualms about burning logs in my fire at home so at least it didn't die completely in vain as eventually we chopped it up and burnt it and it made us warm. So its an over-the-top, glitz and glitter, cheery artificial job for me every time now...!
I like fake trees. There is only two reasons why. The first reason would be I do not like the smell of pine, it literally makes me sick to my stomach. The second reason is the pine needles when I was a child my mom would get real trees and the pine needles would go all over the place and more than not they would get stuck in my feet. For me having a fake tree is less stressful. I can worry about the more important tasks at hand.
We use a fake one and light a pine scented candle
We use real ones. Love the smell of them and the natural look. Plus it helps that we have a friend with a Tree Farm!
I would prefer an artificial christmas tree (no needles, always the perfect size...) but my husband likes to buy a real one and all the work with it. So we stay with the tradition - but he has to do all the work!
I would love to have live trees, just to have that awesome pine smell in the house! Unfortunately though, we have to go with the fake ones. I have 2 autistic children and a yorkie...so all the needles that fall off could be eaten or worse...so around here it is always fake.