What do you have for the holidays----real tree, fake tree, or none. We had fake trees.

[debm55]

[IA8IT]

1. Sister buys live tree in a pot and transplants to yard in spring. Wish I was that smart years ago.

[debm55]

3. I have seen those. Very nice, thank you IABIT

[hlthe2b]

6. I did that one year--cost me a fortune all told and planted. It died-- despite my very best (informed) efforts

I have seen some "survive" in yards near me in Colorado, but they remain stunted and turn brown in some areas. They are likewise vulnerable (seemingly more so) to the western spruce beetle (and others).

So, if I were going to go "live" again, I'd pay the fee and join friends to go up to the mountains on US Forrest Service property and cut one down. You can't use any kind of "motorized" chainsaw or other saw--due to wildfire concerns, but you can use a battery-operated device. But, my hybrid is too small to haul it back, so not this year.

I DO love the smell of a real tree though. I miss it.

[jimfields33]

29. Fake tree. I don't think my family ever had a real tree in 3 generations.

[debm55]

32. Thank you jimfields33

[Walleye]

2. We usually had a live tree in a pot about the size of a bushel basket. Planted it later on the property somewhere

I especially liked blue spruce

[debm55]

4. Wonderful idea. Thank you Walleye.

[Lilithschyld]

5. No indoor trees as we dont celebrate christmas

But I decorate several of our trees outside in my own way.

[debm55]

8. Thank you very much, Lilithschyld

[Marigold]

7. We always had a real tree....

Until I turned 60. Now I am a creature of convenience and ease. I pull it out of the basement, very realistic, already pre-strung with lights that change colors. I used to make fun of my MIL for always having a "fake" tree, now I understand.

[debm55]

9. Thank you Marigold, Your tree sounds lovely.

[TommieMommy]

10. When my husband was alive we would have a fake tree now I just do a few decorations

[debm55]

11. Thank you TommieMommy. I have a small fake table tree. May the memories of you husband be a blessing to you.

[TommieMommy]

13. Thank you. He had a great sense of humor. We had fun together.

[lark]

44. We have a dilapidated but much loved 45 year old table tree dad gave to mom.

It's got those things that change color but most of the tree is green, so looks like a real tree. We've had to repair it each year for many years now, but with all the memories - we just can't get rid of it. Dad didn't buy mom lots of things, especially he rarely ever surprised her. This was one of the rare surprises my sister and I didn't take care of and he did it all himself. He didn't even tell us! He was so proud and mom was so extremely happy. She LOVED Christmas and every part of it and he knew that and honored it in the best possible way. Just can't get rid of it.

So last year I found a set of 12 handpainted ornaments for the "12 Days of Christmas". Dad and I loved that song and would sing it often around Christmas, so I felt really good buying them from the estate sale and now decorating mom's little tree with them. It looks so much better and is even more meaningful. It looks great in the big bay window of our new house. The big tree is in a corner of the room behind the window and it too shows up and looks great from outside. Happy with how our decorations went into the new house.

[debm55]

45. Thank you lark What a beautiful post

[kimbutgar]

12. I used to love real trees but in 2018 I paid $125 for a horrible tree and in 2019 I brought a nice fake tree that

I use every year now. The only thing I miss is the smell of the real tree.

[TommieMommy]

15. We used pine incense and it did smell so good

[debm55]

17. That's a great idea. Thank you, TommieMommy.

[debm55]

16. Thank you kimbutgar. I agree.

[zeusdogmom]

14. Fake.

Real trees inside give me a “Christmas cold” affecting the upper respiratory system and voice. Bummers when you are a choir member and scheduled for lots of Christmas singing. So I have a lovely fake tree. It is 20 years old, cost about $100 back then. Still looks really nice. A bit of a pain to take apart but I manage. Don’t miss the “cold” at all.

[debm55]

19. thank you zeusdogmom. When I was a kid, I always got a cold from the Christmas tree. Loved the smell, but the smell did

like me.

[Elessar Zappa]

18. Fake.

I love real trees but they give me terrible allergies.

[debm55]

20. Thank you Elessar Zappa. me too.

[Americanme]

21. Used to love having real trees

A few times, I took the kids out in our yard to cut a tree and drag it in the house, they loved that. But now the kids are all grown and moved out, we put up several nice artificial trees every year. Fake trees are much nicer than they used to be, and the dog and cat don't mess with them as much.

[debm55]

22. Thank you very much Americanme. And the clean up is easier.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. This Year - None

Carmen & Margo are still kittens, so we're foregoing a tree this year.
Normally, we have a fake.
My aunt & uncle (my mom's brother & wife) had a tree fire back in the mid 60s.
He was sitting right there when a bulb popped & the tree went up. He unplugged, ran to get a pail of water, my aunt called the fire dept., but by the time my uncle got back from the kitchen, a pail of water was useless.
The damage was immense.
I've been spooked ever since.

[debm55]

34. thank you ProfessorGAC. With cats I can see why. the only time Rich and I had a real tree the two cats knocked the tree

over twice. Ornaments were all over the place. Good decision.

[10 Turtle Day]

24. No more trees because of cats

If you’ve seen those cat vs. Christmas videos you know the two aren’t compatible. Can’t put up a tree with blingy lights and ornaments and expect cats not to destroy it. That’s just asking for trouble!

In the past we’ve had both real and artificial trees. I do agree with whoever upthread said that artificial trees are so much improved from their early years.

One year decades ago when my partner and I were super broke and living near the desert in southern California, we dragged in a tumbleweed that had rolled into the yard and decorated it as a Christmas tree. Worst idea ever! They are very stickery and it was constantly dropping stickers. After Christmas when we went to remove it, we got all scratched up and it broke all apart and the stickers got embedded in the carpet, probably forever. What can I say, we were young and dumb!

[debm55]

35. Thank you 10 Turtle Day. I do agree with the cats and trees. The only time we had a real tree the cats knocked it over

and ornaments were all over. The tumbleweed sounded like a great idea. Shame it went bad.

[justaprogressive]

25. Always real

no steeking plastic trees!

[debm55]

36. HAHHAHA, Thank you justaprogressive.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

26. Silver tin foil tree

It’s so glittery when it’s put up with all the lights on it

[debm55]

37. Thank you I_UndergroundPanther. I haven't seen one in a long time.

[MaryMagdaline]

27. Haven't had a tree in years. When I put up a tree, it's real.

Even though the tree sap activates my allergies, I only like real trees.

[debm55]

38. thank you MaryMagdaline. I agree with the allegies. We stay with the artificial trees.

[Lunabell]

28. No tree.

I wish! But, I have too many dogs and cats! I would be chasing them non stop!

[debm55]

39. Thank you Lunabell. I agree with your choice.

[indigoth]

30. Well. "None" I guess.

I have a Xmas “shelf”. Decorated with lights, ornaments and such. No real room for a tree.

[debm55]

40. Thank you indigoth. What a wonderful idea.

[marble falls]

31. We have a cat. We don't get to have a tree. I'm not hanging one from the ceiling

[debm55]

41. HAHAHAHAHHAH, thank you marble falls. I hear you about the cat,

[Jilly_in_VA]

53. When we had toddlers

we took to decorating the bottom third of the tree with unbreakable ornaments. We continued the tradition when cats started adopting us. Late ex also wired the tree to the window frame. It worked well. When we moved, we couldn't wire the tree up any longer, so he took an inch thick piece of heavy board about 3' x 3' and nailed the Christmas tree stand to it. Genius! The tree stayed put and we just had a big Christmas throw around it. Continued the tradition. We did have one cat who liked to crawl into the tree and snooze (on the lower branches) which was a pain because he was a longhaired white cat. Getting the pine pitch out of his fur was awful!

Now I've married again and we have a fake tree because he doesn't feel like dragging a real one in and out of the house and I don't blame him. We don't even take it down, just cover it up the rest of the year.

[debm55]

57. Wonderful post Jilly_in _VA You have some great ideas there.

[GusBob]

33. Both!

Where we live you can get a permit from the DNR $5 and cut trees from the National Forest. You can get up to 5 permits.

Relax folks, its helps with forest growth and its way too much physical activity for most folks. We reckon most are glued to their devices, so not many people are out there sawing away. We are taking the kids when they come to visit.

We will make brush piles with the trees after Xmas for the furbearing critters which live on our property

You can also get a permit to cut evergreen boughs to make wreaths. Actually folks do it to make $ as wreath makers will pay by the pound for them. Native Americans are into that as income

[debm55]

42. GusBob. What a wonderful idea. for everyone involved

[lark]

43. Growing up we always had a live tree.

I was staunch that a live tree was required - up until I got tired of fighting with hubs at the tree lots about the prices. Every year it was a bad scene. So when mom died, I decided to use her fake tree. It was pre-lit (a huge feature for us) and 6' tall so good for our picture windows. It really simplified my life and ended the annual fights - yay!!! To my wonder, I found they are sooo much easier to decorate because the limbs are all sturdy, which doesn't usually happen with the trees we bought - Scotch Pine I think they were.

I do miss the smell - loved that so much. Otherwise, a fake tree is so much better. These days I buy candles to have a nicely scented Christmas house.

[debm55]

46. Thank you very much lark. I find they are easier to clean up too. You don;t have all the needles to clean up

[zanana1]

47. I have a candle.

It's one of those fake ones that runs on batteries. Joyeux Noel.

[debm55]

48. Thank you zanana1. We have those too.

[sakabatou]

49. Three Hanukkiot. That's it.

[debm55]

50. Thank you sakabatou

[Ninga]

51. A sweet artificial tree. Tall and pencil shaped and

no furniture needs to be displaced to accommodate it. Because we are surrounded by a nature preserve and have many pines and firs everywhere- I snip branches and have fresh greens all over house in vases. 🎄

[debm55]

52. Thank you Ninga. That sounds lovely.

[brush]

54. A two-piece, fake, Home Depot special. Five feet tall...

the bottom half is flared out, the top half is tapered to a point and you put the two central poles together and flush out the branches, plug the two electical plugs together that then plug into an extension cord that plugs into the wall. They both have lights that are attached, no stringing needed, has it's own base.

Voila.

Put a towel on a table in. the family room and that's it.

Takes about five minutes.

[debm55]

55. Excellent find. Thank you brush.

[PJMcK]

56. Real

I cut down two firs in the forrest behind our house (our property). One goes in the house and the other in our apartment. They're both about 4-feet tall and just barely less scrawny than Charlie Brown's tree! Still, they had to be cut as they were too close to the house. Best of all, they were free, of course.

[debm55]

58. Very good PJMcK Thank you for your post.

[OldBaldy1701E]

59. Growing up we always had live trees.

When I was working as a land surveyor, I would also get live trees from job sites (areas that were pegged to be bulldozed anyway.) But nowadays, I live in the city and I cannot afford to get one, nor are there any just standing around as when I was in surveying.

So, it is a fake six ft. Minnesota Pine. It does the trick.

[debm55]

64. Thank you very much OldBaldy. It sounds beautiful.

[Niagara]

60. An artificial tree. Real Christmas trees give me a headache

This is what's going on so far.


This is the bottom




I purchased some green garland and I filled in the empty sections. It works really well




I have an extra piece of green garland left over but I haven't used it yet



This isn't the final project as I'm waiting for new string lights. I placed some artificial poinsettias to give me an idea of how it looks

[debm55]

65. Thank you Niagara. I really like it with the poinsettias. Are you going to keep them on?

[Niagara]

71. You're welcome, Debbie. I like the poinsettias as well and I'm going to keep them on the tree

[jmowreader]

61. The first year I was married we had a real tree

We also had three kittens, all of whom decided it was a cat bed. It took a while to pry all of them out of it after Christmas was over.

Our first year in NC the wife ordered me to "buy a tree the cats can't sleep in." I bought one of those little plastic tabletop trees. After the one-hour ass chewing I got for doing this she realized cats don't bother those and we used it the rest of the time I was down there.

Now I am disastrous-wife-free, have two cats and no tree. It's better this way.

[debm55]

66. Thank you jmowreader. You have a great set up now.

[electric_blue68]

62. With my parents a 🩷 live tree. If we had to really go out of the neighborhood we'd take it home on The Subway! 😁...

Then later with roommates get pine branches cut the bottoms and put in a tall vase w some water.

Next for a few years I'd take a fake, green "pine", or "fir" garland, and shape it on the wall (tape, and nails) into a simple Tree Triangle: triangle sides, the flat "bottom" of the branches leaving a small open space then a short bit of verticle from each horizontal end to make "the trunk".

Then where I had several sets of the nails at the same height across from each other from near the top to near the bottom; and putt string up horizontally across the corresponding nail. I'd then hang our family Xmas decorations, and new ones I made. Loved it.

When in my own apt I gave up the real branches, and the "wall tree", and got white branches for a corner and added little red balls on it.

Also since I had this great tall glass vase I also happened to see at Michael's their golden leaf branches ( a year, or two with gold & copper leaves). I'd get a few each year, and add them in. Add three fake pointsettas sticking just above the rim of the vase. Did that for ?9 yrs or so. Really loved that. One or two years found at Michael's something- a ?stik in a little plastic open one end, and the pine scent would emerge

And I got a big clear plastic plastic bowl, and bought the changing colored LEDS that were set inside a clear plastic star. Other times I strung them across the hooks that held half-curtains.

Now I have to get chunky green yarn in the next few days to make a row of crochet half shells (semi circle) on a base base chain: a garland. Then add this pretty, glinting gold "eyelash" yarn (a beige base yarn w thin, shiny golden polyester 1/16 wide x 1/2 long strips attached at 90° degrees) around the curved edges of the shells.

I'll see if I can get any lights.
At Michael's maaaybe I'll get a Styrofoam basic round flat "hoop"; wrap the green chunky yarn aroibd it, and and add the golden eyelash yarn and hang outside my apartment.

While it has it's moments of frustration I love setting up Xmas decorations! As you can since I described them.

Oh, and my sister almost always get a 3' ft or so live tree for her round table. SometimesI go over, and help her decorate. 🩷 It always looks lovely. She some of our other family decorations, a few I've made for her, and what she's bought or been gifted.

[debm55]

63. Thank you so much electic_blue 68 a lot of homemade decorations. The best kind.

[malthaussen]

67. When my brother and I were children, real trees.

The practice was for out father to wait until the last second on Christmas Eve, then run around frantically trying to get one of the last trees available, which were usually pretty wretched (but also usually marked down, not that they cost much in the 60's). After we grew up, everyone turned to fake trees.

-- Mal

[debm55]

68. Thank you for your post malthaussen. Growing up we had real. As an adult I had fake.trees.

[catbyte]

69. Growing up, we always had a real tree that dad cut down then tied ropes around the trunk

and nailed the ropes to the baseboards to anchor it because our Siamese cats thought we were thoughtfully bringing in a tree for their amusement.

My late husband and I had a large Norfolk Island Pine houseplant for years that we'd decorate. After he passed, I went with a fake one and still have a fake tree.

[debm55]

70. Thank you so much catbyte. I am sorry for your husband. May his memories be a blessing to you.

[Different Drummer]

72. When I was a child, my family had real trees.

However, there were problems with disposal of those trees, so we switched to artificial trees, which is a tradition I'm carrying on.

[debm55]

73. Thank you Different Drummer Same here

[dwayneb]

74. Trees of Christmas past and present

When I was a kid, my family would go out and cut down a cedar tree which grew wild and were common in our area. We didn't have extra money to go buy a pre-cut fir tree. Cedar trees are beautiful and have a wonderful smell, but they drop tons of needles. We would be sweeping up needles for weeks after Christmas.

I can recall some of my relative having those weird aluminum artificial trees that were popular in the early 60's. But we never had one of those in our house that I recall.

When my kids were growing up we'd go out and buy a cut tree from a lot, I think we did that until they were in their teens when we switched to an artificial tree.

And now that I'm an old creaker, we have a 4' artificial tree. We leave the ornaments on it and store it that way so that next year we can have an instantly decorated tree. One day we will probably downsize to a tabletop tree but we aren't there yet.