Christmas tree poll

[pegkerr]

This article got me thinking about the issue, so I decided to ask my friends list.

[Poll #1317362]

Comments

[aome.livejournal.com]

I did a similar tree poll a few weeks ago, if you'd like to collect additional data. :)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I haven't looked into the environmental impact of our fake tree, so I don't have a belief either way on that. But making sure that timprov was allergic to his own house for the entire month of December (or even part of it!) does not seem like a good thing, and anyway we always had artifical trees when I was a kid.

I checked the hassle box, but it's definitely not that our fake tree doesn't need cleaning up after. Probably not as much, but when markgritter drags it up from the basement, fake tree bits do get all over the floor.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

The ongoing environmental impact of the fake tree you already own is fairly small, so sticking with it while it lasts is nearly certainly the least-impact option. Never mind that the "allergic to his own house" argument should be a winning one anyway.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

My "other, explain in comments" reason for preferring a real tree: symbolism.

I think that one of the reason we bring evergreen boughs inside in midwinter is to remind us that, even though most plants look dry and dead, there is still the promise of new life and growth. The world in winter is not as lifeless as it seems. Christmas trees, fresh evergreen wreaths, and real holly embody that promise in a way that plastic simply can't.

Here's an account of a lesson I taught along those lines the last time I had the preschool RE class.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I do love that symbolism and it resonates in my heart even though our house is full of houseplants, several of which are in bloom right now, and one of the orchids is throwing up a bloom stalk, and will bloom in a few weeks. So, we do not seem so lifeless as all that, even though there's snow on the ground now, and may well be until April.

I wish holly grew here. Maybe with climate change we could try some sort of hardy ilex. Or mistletoe. That'd be aces.

K.

My Christmas tree

[dragonet2.livejournal.com]

never went downstairs last year.

It is gigantic, we bought it at a going-out-of-business sale and got it for less than$100. AND has lights.

The place we used to use for it in the basement has a leak over it. Once I get that attended to, we may or may not put it back in exile.

Between allergies and the cats, artificial is best.

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

The only time I've ever had a real tree, was when I spent Christmas in Sweden. My husband and I were able to pick up a Swedish Christmas tree (much smaller and with very spread out branches that would be ideal for burning candles on) at the local grocery store for about $15.

When I was growing up, we decorated the same artificial tree my parents had had since the 60s. I've continued in this tradition, first with a miniature artificial tree that fits in a dorm room (and which I used while living in Iowa and Philly) and now with a slightly larger 4-ft. tree that packs up and fits nicely in the closet.

The thought of paying several hundred dollars for a tree (real or artificial) overwhelms me.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

The thought of paying several hundred dollars for a tree (real or artificial) overwhelms me.

Holy cow, do real trees cost that much where you live? Yikes!

We paid $22.99 for a lovely 6-foot Douglas Fir this year.

[thenines.livejournal.com]

I'm living with my parents this christmas, who have an artificial tree for all the reasons I checked.

On my own, I use potted table-top trees which I then give to nursing homes or community centers after the holidays, or do something completely different -- like last year's Christmas Branch (as a tree was inappropriate in the townhouse). I'm flexible, and not tied in to others' expectations.

I'll personally eschew artificial trees because I'm not willing to store one. Storage space is at a premium, and calculating in storage costs per square foot into the cost of an artificial tree, it's definitely more expensive than any other option.

[davidwilford.livejournal.com]

Another reason for me to have a real tree is that I can't have a Christmas tree burning party without one!

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Well, they're harder to light, but an aluminum tree burns *really bright*.

[rachet.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, Jim despises Christmas. He puts up with some things because he loves me but because I love him, too, I do not decorate. It hurts my heart but...there ya go.

[pokeystar.livejournal.com]

I love the smell, but a decent real tree costs about $50 in my parts (plus clean up hassle, and difficult to find time to get one because of a shared custody agreement) - the artificial tree I have, I picked up at Target's after xmas sale for $10. I use them 4 to 5 years usually, then donate it to Goodwill or yard sale it.

I may spring for the pre-lit model this year, if there are any left, as long as it's under $50 (sale price).

[daharyn.livejournal.com]

I grew up with a real tree; it feels wrong and weird not to have one. But with a small apartment, a roommate from an interfaith family, and a far-too-inquisitive cat (not to mention a poverty-level paycheck) a real tree is too much of a "to-do". So we put up a little fake one (a foot high or so) on top of a cabinet, and I wrapped some tinsel around the fire escape, and we'll call it a day. Since my roommate already owned the tree, and has since college, I don't think it's environmentally unsound at this point to keep using such a tiny thing.

I do burn scented candles over the holiday, though, for something slightly more seasonal -- citrus and cinnamon, frex.

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

Okay, we had real trees in our house growing up. None of that fake stuff!

And then the husband and I had real trees in our tiny apartment. One year, it fell on my friend (who fortunately reacted quickly and caught it before it hit the floor), but scared the bejesus out of the cats, one of whom was on the floor near it.

So we realized when we got even MORE furniture that we had no room for a tree. We got a fake, small tree, to put on our dining room table.

And it was apparently oh-so delicious to one of our cats. Who would then leave green colored vomit all over the house.

Now, we actually use one of those white ring of lights trees that are supposed to be stuck in the ground outside, in the middle of our dining room table. (and the cat still likes to chew on the fishing line that's used for the lights, but at least she can't chew it off. Yet.)

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I consider fake trees vastly inferior but I have one anyway. It's because B. didn't grow up with Christmas and doesn't have any real interest in us having a Christmas tree. So, getting it, tying it to the car, hauling it in, keeping it watered, decorating it, sweeping up the needles and disposing of it at the end are all my responsibility, and I don't want a real tree so much that I will do all that work in the face of indifference on his part.

It was different when I was a single mom, even though I didn't really want to do all that work myself then either.

Some years, I don't put it up at all. My daughter bought me a small fake tree to display when I don't feel like doing all the work to put up the big one.

B. did bring the tree box down from the attic today, so don't think that he doesn't help. It's just that, as he says, "it's not his holiday." I suppose I'll have it up most years from now on, now that the grandkids are old enough to notice.

K.

[carbonel]

It's not my holiday, either, but I adore all the stuff associated with Christmas trees. I like the decorating and the lighting and all that. Pat WINOLJ sometimes has a small tree-trimming party, and I always enjoy that.

[brigidsblest.livejournal.com]

Artificial tree (Other): Because I don't have to worry about any of my pets (5 cats and a dog) getting hurt by eating fallen tree needles. I've heard of folks whose animals ate needles from trees (especially short-needled trees like firs) and had to go to the vet because the short, stiff needles punctured into their inner throat or stomach.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

I grew up next to an xmas tree farm. When we have a tree, it is always a fresh cut tree. The last few years instead of a tree my mom has sent us to scavenge the cuttings from the wrapping area (where they trim the lower branches off and wrap the tree up in twine), and we make a 'nest' of branches and put a light-up reindeer in it.

We're Quaker, and my father doesn't believe in xmas, so we rarely-to-never celebrated it at home until after the divorce. We would go to my grandparents for the holiday. There was one year where my father let us decorate the 6 foot saguaro cactus in the living room. It looked like something from a 'theme christmas' decor magazine.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I won't have a tree this year because my real, living Ficus that I used to decorate has died and I am still in mourning for it. AND because I still haven't found my holiday decorations after moving house three years ago.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

The "other" comment: I believe that if I can find a tree that's stayed green, and I bring it in to the house and decorate it and put lights on it, this will encourage the other trees to make an effort to grow leaves again later.

In other words, having a real tree is a religious observance.

They do recycle them, but I can's say it's better for the environment. It's better for my mental health.

[chamisa.livejournal.com]

We have a real tree, but I'm thinking that unfortunately, we may need to switch to artificial. My husband's asthma has been really bad and I think it's the tree... ::sob::

The thing is, we have hardly any storage space for the things we already have--I have NO idea where we'd cram in a fake tree to store it all year long!

[buttonlass.livejournal.com]

We currently have a small 2 ft or so artificial tree we decorate. I love doing trees. I prefer real ones but David's pretty much against them. I'm sure we'll have real ones when our kids are older and care more. Right now it's just one more thing for us to say "no" over and that seems suboptimal.

My favorite was the norfolk pine I had in a pot all year and decorated for the holidays, it was 3 feet or so and perfect for a renter with no large house. I somehow managed to kill it though and David bought me this one as a replacement a couple years ago in our tiny house with no room. I was very pleased.:)

[livsmama.livejournal.com]

I tried to have an artificial tree for a couple years, but the second year it made me cry and I had to have a real one again. I grew up with real, so it is a tradition/mental health thing for me.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I grew up with real, and the fakes are looking so pathetic mostly. While I celebrate Christmas, it's not in any sense a religious or spiritual observance for me, so it's all down to tradition and preference -- so we generally have no tree lately. Pamela sometimes did a small tree of some sort, sometimes including potted plants we had around, in the past, when she cared enough; I never much helped.

[pameladean]

Those episodes were almost entirely driven by my mother, who has been known to go to the length of getting me a Norfolk Island pine in a pot and providing the lights for it.

What I'd really like is to get real living trees and plant them outside afterwards, but this climate is NOT salubrious enough for that to work without a lot more intermediary housing for the tree than I feel able to provide.

P.

[eal.livejournal.com]

I grew up with real trees. In fact, my mother laments every year that we don't buy a real tree.

However, after I was diagnosed with asthma, we realized that the horrible wheezing I did every December has a likely origin -- the Christmas tree. I can't even go to my parents' house once they put their tree up.

This year that works out fine.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Cheaper in the long run? Heck, they're cheaper the first year. Just buy one on Dec 26. We got a really nice artificial tree for about $30, IIRC. A week earlier they were $150, and THAT was a "sale" price on a $250 MSRP tree. We've been using the tree for about 10 years now, so about $3/year currently.

We could make the artificial tree look just like a real one, if, you know, we ran over it with the car a few times so it had branches missing and a big bend in it, then threw a few handfuls of needles around on the ground, then I'd have to get some pine tar to wipe on my hands and clothes to complete the effect.

I also am a tree lover. That's why I refuse to cut one down just to make myself feel a little better for a couple of weeks, or for some sense of nostalgia.

I had a friend years back who bought an evergreen roots and all every year, put that in his house, and then planted it after xmas. He had about 15 pines in his back yard when I knew him.

[irielle.livejournal.com]

We tend to use real trees that have been culled from overcrowded areas in the woods. If we didn't use them, they would still die because of the crowding, so by using these we give other trees a better chance of surviving. Of course given the growing conditions they tend to look more like Charlie Brown Christmas trees but that's part of the fun!

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

BTW, in our stash of xmas stuff, we have what I guess is called an "apartment tree" - it's a fake tree that hangs on the wall.

Monty Python fans will be tickled to know that it's named "Eric" - Eric the Half a Tree, which has been bisected though not accidentally.

[jbru.livejournal.com]

We have a quilt in the shape of a tree that Ericka hangs on the wall in this season. She'd like to have a "real" tree (of either the truly real or artificial sort), but I was strongly opposed when I was coming to terms with my seasonal depression. I'm not so opposed now, but I'm also not in favor.