Christmas trees

[Guest]

Fresh or artificial?

[pam]

I do artificial. I have a white tree and have red and gold ornaments.

[Quin]

If I have to lop off a branch and hang a single ornament on it and put it down on the dining room table,.. Fresh.

Given slightly more ideal conditions:

Noble Fir

9+ foot

Somewhat anorexic (to leave more space for hanging ornaments)

_____

We can't do artificial, ever.

The dust & chemicals irritate my son's asthma.

Asthmatic kids can go either way (fresh sets them off, or artificial sets them off)

So we totally scored!

_____

The dog keeps trying to convince us to have evergreen flavored water year round.

Q

[person122]

Artificial. They are cheaper, cleaner, less maintenance, and easier to put away. And when I get older, I hope to be one of those who put the Christmas away still decorated so it is ready for the next year. If real trees were a lot cheaper, we would think about doing it once in a while.

[Quin]

Artificial. They are cheaper, cleaner, less maintenance, and easier to put away. And when I get older, I hope to be one of those who put the Christmas away still decorated so it is ready for the next year. If real trees were a lot cheaper, we would think about doing it once in a while.

Tangent!

How much are fresh cut trees in your area?

We get noble firs at 7-9' from HomeDepot (or similar, depends on the year) for $30-$50

Douglas firs are generally half as much as nobles

Fake trees, though look to be $250-500, when I've seen them out and about.

We'd have to use a fake one for close to 10 years for it to pay for itself.

We can't, anyway, so it's a moot point... I'm just curious.

Thanks!

Q

[person122]

Tangent!

How much are fresh cut trees in your area?

We get noble firs at 7-9' from HomeDepot (or similar, depends on the year) for $30-$50

Douglas firs are generally half as much as nobles

Fake trees, though look to be $250-500, when I've seen them out and about.

We'd have to use a fake one for close to 10 years for it to pay for itself.

We can't, anyway, so it's a moot point... I'm just curious.

Thanks!

Q

That is a super price. A tree like that around where I live in Utah would cost over $100!

[Dravin]

Fake trees, though look to be $250-500, when I've seen them out and about.

The trick is to wait for after holiday sales when the stores are trying to get rid of their holiday inventory.

[Guest]

We got a lovely pre-lit 9 foot artificial tree for $75 or so on Christmas Eve a few years ago. It was on a display the manager was taking down and he just wanted to get rid of it. I was in the right place at the right time.

But our old house was a 1-story with vaulted ceilings. Our new house is 2-story, and the only vaulted ceiling is in our bedroom upstairs. Hubby wants to put it up in there but it will take up the whole room. We need to get something to fit in our living room.

[mirkwood]

We've used artificial trees for many years now. I miss the smell of a fresh tree...but not the mess!!

[Irishcolleen]

We use a fake tree because I worry about fires in real trees. I also don't like vacuuming up needles for the next 3 months If you have wood or laminate floors there is the worry about spilling water on the floor when a real tree is watered. I do love the scent of a real tree, but I can get that from a candle.

[dahlia]

For years we had 2 trees. My mother got tired of the mess upstairs, so she got an artificial tree for the living room. She put a live tree downstairs in the rec room, where it could be taken straight out to the garage and driveway for pick up and where it was easy to sweep the needles from the tile floor.

The first year she did this, she didn't tell my little sisters. So on Christmas morning they came down to the artificial tree, which only had clothes, etc. under it. They were a tad disappointed.

Then she told one to go down and get something from the freezer and there was the real tree with the toys. Freakouts ensued.

I thought it was a great way to have minimal mess in the public areas while letting the kids do what they wanted to do without too much harm downstairs.

[Dravin]

We've used artificial trees for many years now. I miss the smell of a fresh tree...but not the mess!!

I must confess I do enjoy walking among the real trees on display outside stores for the smell. Conifers make me think of growing up in Alaska. Spruce doesn't quite smell like the (predominately) firs on display, but it is close enough.

[Vort]

We go to a local farm every year (coincidentally, owned by an LDS family in our stake) and pay around $30 or so to go cut down our own tree.

[Smudge]

I have an artifical tree - a cheap one which isn't as nice as I would like but at the moment it is as nice as I can afford. I would love to have a 7ft very full tree with lots of nice strong branches to support my ornaments,

I would love to have a real tree but I have never seen a real tree that is thick and bushy as the ones you guys seem to get!

I only have white lights not colored and no tinsel and mix of decorations - folk artsy, victoriany, scandinavian inspired decorations - and a combination of handmade and shop bought

[classylady]

We just got our tree today. A 6 ft. noble fir, that was on sale for $29.99, and then we got a 15 percent discount off of that since my son works there.

We've always gotten fresh. For many, many years we would buy a tree permit and go cut our own. When we went out to the Arizona Strip to cut our tree, it was $5. Then, we started buying our permit for Southern Utah, and it was $10 for a permit. We haven't done that for the last five years since we no longer go to Southern Utah for Thanksgiving. I'm missing that tradition.

[Woodendance]

I'll take fake any day. I'm highly allergic so I would rather keep my head not full of blockage. Plus every fake tree we have ever had has always looked way better then any real one.

[person122]

We use a fake tree because I worry about fires in real trees. I also don't like vacuuming up needles for the next 3 months If you have wood or laminate floors there is the worry about spilling water on the floor when a real tree is watered. I do love the scent of a real tree, but I can get that from a candle.

The needles are the worst. I know what you mean! And then, if you vacuum them up, they can go rancid if not emptied out soon enough. The smell is not piney fresh smelling.

[bytebear]

I have a 6' narrow tree that fit perfectly in the old house which was small. Now I have two story tall vaulted ceilings, and can fit a massive tree. Still the little tree works for now. Those big trees are in the thousands!!! And the cost for the ornaments would be a fortune. I actually sold the ornaments before moving because I didn't want to pack them, and wanted a new theme. This year, we had a big family gathering for Thanksgiving, and all the kids made construction paper chains, and cut out snowflakes. It actually turned out really pretty and quaint. I love it. And it cost me all of $5.