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OldestDaughter
Rohan
Dec 9 2016, 3:44pm
Post #1 of 36
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Christmas trees
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What kind of Christmas Tree do you prefer? Artificial or a live one?
I love live Christmas trees, because I love their scent! But I think there are some pretty artificial ones too!
(This post was edited by OldestDaughter on Dec 9 2016, 3:49pm)
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Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor
Dec 9 2016, 4:00pm
Post #2 of 36
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When Mr. Eruvande and I got married, we both wanted to have a live tree for Christmas. We both grew up with fake trees. My mom and my brother were allergic, and his parents just went with fake.
Nearby where we lived at the start of our marriage is a Christmas tree farm. So we'd go cut our own. When the Little Eruvandes showed up, we hauled them out there too, and let them pretend to saw the tree down.
Well, Texas being Texas, we got hit with a pretty extreme drought a few years ago, and the trees at the farm suffered. They were pretty scraggly, and we had also moved about an hour away from where we first lived, so the trip was a bother with little kids.
We started buying from a boy scout troop in a neighboring town, until I got the bright idea that our own troop should sell Christmas trees, too. So last year was our troop's first lot, and we are almost done selling trees this year. It's a great fundraiser and we don't have to do any others during the year.
I have preferred Noble firs in the past, but this year we got some Nordman firs as substitutes in our order. I much prefer the Nordmans. They have strong branches like Nobles, but the tree itself is much fuller. Plus, the needles have a dark green top and a silvery underside that just makes the whole tree shimmer. And they smell good, too.
(I have become quite the Christmas Tree expert since starting this tree selling business with the scouts. Who knew.  )
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Dec 9 2016, 6:53pm
Post #3 of 36
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brought the idea to the US.
We always had a big live one (cut), which then got recycled into the brush pile or something. I love the massiveness and the weirdness of having a whole TREE in your living room.
And the scent.
I have had cut trees, live trees with root balls (at least one is now a full fledged white pine growing over the burial mound of one of my horses), and fake trees.
I now leave one set of fake trees up all year, as a friend does, changing the decorations on some seasonally (now it's a spring tree, now a summer tree...). One remains the year round sea tree.
While I would like to see people plant trees, a balled tree is not always possible for all.
Fake trees are harder to recycle, though they last longer.
Our one wildlife rehabber used real trees in her birds' flight cages. Owls tended to stash "rt leftovers" in them for later... which generally meant we found rat empties full of maggots.
I put the cut trees by a fence, bush or tree, creating habitat for months.
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Dec 9 2016, 7:23pm
Post #4 of 36
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Alive, but I don't put up a Christmas tree.
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I really can't be faffed these days. However my workplace puts one up in the foyer and I love the pine smell as the tree gradually dies.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Dec 9 2016, 7:47pm
Post #5 of 36
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We gave up on using killed trees
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I grew up with real Christmas trees, but even my father eventually saw the practicality of using an artificial tree. Our current home is too small to accommodate a natural tree even if we were inclined towards one.
I do wish, though, that we could get the cats to leave the tree alone!
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Darkstone
Immortal
Dec 9 2016, 8:18pm
Post #6 of 36
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Our city has an excellent composting program, so all our X-Live Xmas trees get reused in City parks and citizens' yards.
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Annael
Immortal
Dec 9 2016, 9:21pm
Post #7 of 36
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We used to head into the mountains every year with the $2.00 permit from the local ranger station. We knew where there was a stand of silver firs under the powerlines that would get cut down when they got too big. Plus, when I worked for the Forest Service I planted thousands of fir trees, so I don't feel bad about getting a real tree every year. The smell is my favorite. This year we got a nice Noble.
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Eledhwen
Forum Admin
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Dec 9 2016, 9:53pm
Post #8 of 36
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But last year I finally invested in a nice artificial tree, as I keep being away for Christmas and I don't want to go away and come back to a floor covered in needles, although I love a tree.
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Gianna
Rohan
Dec 9 2016, 11:56pm
Post #9 of 36
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I get why some people have a problem with using real trees, but since most Christmas trees are grown for that specific purpose and are always replaced, I'm fine with it. And it's Christmas - nothing about Christmas should be artificial in my opinion!
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Alcarcalime
Tol Eressea
Dec 10 2016, 9:15am
Post #10 of 36
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I grew up in a family that liked killed trees, but . . .
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when I grew up we had occasion to take out some evergreens and then we burned them. After watching how quickly freshly cut evergreens burned, I have never had a live or killed tree in my house. I am afraid of fire. Have always preferred an artificial tree. Am perfectly happy to plant evergreens outside and we have lots around the property.
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Elberbeth
Tol Eressea
Dec 10 2016, 4:25pm
Post #11 of 36
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and we have had some beauties, and some Charlie Browns. It's getting harder and harder to find good available ones, as my husband firmly refuses to PAY for one. (I think it's the Stone Age genes kicking in.) Thus he goes scavenging out in less habited areas along road allowances and sometimes up the logging roads if the weather cooperates. Sometimes it takes half an hour and sometimes several hours. I finally put my foot down last year and demanded a smaller tree, which I got and it was lovely. But who knows what he'll come home with this year.
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DanielLB
Immortal
Dec 10 2016, 8:53pm
Post #12 of 36
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I use to sell real Christmas trees.
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Way back when I had a part time job. At the height of the Christmas season, we were selling 500+ trees per day. But the endless prickles, the constant stench of tree, and finding needles in all sorts of places never put me off.
But the only place for a tree in our home now is next to a radiator, so we have a fake one. Nothing beats the smell of a real tree.
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Bracegirdle
Valinor
Dec 10 2016, 9:04pm
Post #13 of 36
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But the only place for a tree in our home now is next to a radiator, so we have a fake one. Nothing beats the smell of a real tree.
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dormouse
Half-elven
Dec 10 2016, 11:35pm
Post #14 of 36
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Years ago going out to choose the tree was part of the fun. But time passed and when it became harder to find real trees that weren't bagged - so you couldn't play the 'twirl it round to see how full it is' game we gave in and bought the most real-looking pretend tree we could find.
I still use it - it's one of my favourite things, and has decorations going back to when my mother was a child, decorations we made as children and some from different countries that we've bought or that friends have sent. One set of decorations has photos of family pets past and present. And I still keep up the tradition of buying the tree a new decoration each year. Somehow there's always room!
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Calenleya
Bree
Dec 11 2016, 12:07am
Post #15 of 36
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of a real tree is wonderful. Since I live near a forrest itīs not a problem getting one. But I think this year I will just have lights on the tree in my garden and not have an actual tree inside.
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Elarie
Grey Havens
Dec 12 2016, 1:26am
Post #16 of 36
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I grew up with live ones, but for myself I switched to small artificial ones for space reasons. And cat reasons.  And for the past few years, just a wreath. But one of my all time favorite Christmas memories is the year my brother saddled up his two horses and took me cross country to a Christmas tree farm a few miles away and we dragged the tree home through the snow with a rope, taking turns with the rope wrapped around the saddle horns. The tree was VERY flat on one side when we got home, but it went into a corner so that didn't matter.
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Dec 12 2016, 7:37pm
Post #17 of 36
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We use an artificial tree and a real wreath
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We have a table wreath and a wall wreath with green trimmings from our yard, mostly juniper and grape-holly and pine ends and various bits like sumac berries and sagebrush. l love the idea of using things that are growing in our yard.
Once years ago I used a tumbleweed for a tree, like our prairie forebears. It was delicate and lovely, but Uncle Baggins preferred something more green.
Because we're hoarders our house doesn't have room for a full-sized tree anymore, so we used a little one with built-in fiber-optics lights. It forces us to choose only our very favorite ornaments, mostly cardboard stars decorated with photos of our beloved dead (a tradition we got from our church.)
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Donry
Tol Eressea
Dec 12 2016, 11:22pm
Post #18 of 36
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I grew up with live trees....used to buy them from different lots around town. The last several years we have gone to a tree farm for the tree..... local farm...trees get replanted so that is a good thing...
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OldestDaughter
Rohan
Dec 13 2016, 2:34pm
Post #19 of 36
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I prefer live too. They smell incredible, and the experience of having it is wonderful.
That is awesome that you have that family tradition to share with your children, and having your troops sell trees. That is just awesome!
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OldestDaughter
Rohan
Dec 13 2016, 2:38pm
Post #20 of 36
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When we were done using our trees,
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we would either throw it into our woods or we would put it in our pond for the fish.
It is great having a whole tree in a living room! I love it!(Just glad we haven't had a "Christmas Vacation" incident with a squirrel in the tree!)
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OldestDaughter
Rohan
Dec 13 2016, 2:39pm
Post #21 of 36
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I know, the pine smells awesome.
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And it usually is before it dies. At least that is when it is strongest.
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OldestDaughter
Rohan
Dec 13 2016, 2:40pm
Post #22 of 36
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My mom's cat terrorizes the ornaments on my mom's trees.(Pretty much due to me teaching him. )
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OldestDaughter
Rohan
Dec 13 2016, 2:42pm
Post #24 of 36
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We are never away for Christmas, but if we were, that would probably be the way to go.
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