What do you think - is it better to have a real christmas tree, or a fake one? I'd much prefer a real tree, but I worry whether it is worse to cut down trees just for our pleasure. (I know they're recycled, but it takes a long time for another to grow.) A plastic tree is not ideal either but at least you can use it again and again.

My MIL has a real tree in a pot that she just brings inside each xmas. However, I don't think these trees are supposed to be in pots - hers is rather sparse and not at all healthy looking.

As long as I dont have children, I go for the third option, no tree at all, but if I would host a christmas party I would go for a real one -even if it means needles all over my flat for weeks afterwards.

A plastic tree is just wrong. Like being too cheap for champagne, and instead buy denners cheapest white whine and put in the Sodastream for bubbles.

Doc.

Interesting question! In australia I have always had a fake one - the real ones just dry out and die so quickly! But here I like the real ones - they are just SO lovely!!!

Apparently it takes on average 8 years to grow a typical christmas tree - so the biggest problem is the pesticides uses while they are growing.

But fake trees are made with PVC one of the most environmentally offensive forms of non-renewable, petroleum-derived plastic.

According to one web site: http://environment.about.com/od/gree...tmas_trees.htm

The most eco-friendly way to enjoy a Christmas tree is to buy a live tree with its roots intact from a local grower, and then replant it in your yard once the holiday has passed. However, since trees are dormant in the winter, live trees should spend no more than a week indoors lest they “wake up” and begin to grow again in the warmth of your home. If this happens there is a good chance the tree will not survive once it is returned to the cold winter outdoors and replanted.

REAL TREE! Its the pine aroma that inspires the Christmas feeling.

Those trees are specially bred for Christmas, you not killing a tree. Also a lot of "trees" are just big branches cut off old trees. In the forests they trim the trees and sell those branches at Christmastime.

If you`ve got children ....... ahh, they will always recall that special Christmas smell of their childhood........ whenever they smell a pine tree.

Back home in California a friend of mine brought me a pineapple from Hawaii a couple of weeks prior to Christmas. It wasn't ripe yet so I stood it up on a plate, put a few decorations on it like a Christmas tree and told everyone I was having a Hawaiian Christmas.
On Christmas day we opened it up and ate the Christmas Tree, it was perfect..!

Excellent idea! Ja, better than a plastic tree would be a big twirly dried branch strung with decorations? Maybe a few small pine boughs around the base ... for aroma?

erm, got a fake inside, and a real outside.....

fake is good because you use the same each year and you don't *kill* a tree just for this futile pleasure.

But a real one.... you've killed from your hand and that you can burn after, that's much fun (joking)


I would say a real when you've got small children as they can play inside the tree (hey they are SMALL !!!), it give them some nice dream.

The fake one is more for older kids, more interested by *is that my XBox 360 Special Edition with a 500 Gb Hard Drive and all the games I wanted* than by the *spirit* of Xmas....

Threads of potential interest on this theme

One Where to buy...

Two Tree disposal...

Three Not sure of the topic here...

For me Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a tree so whether you go for real or or artificial, any tree is better than no tree. We've shifted between real and artificial depending on where we lived - Europe real; Asia artificial. Both have their pros and cons so it's down to space, taste and with central/underfloor heating, how long you want it up for. Both can look great or sad depending on what you select and how much care goes into decorating it. As for the ethics, it's swings and roundabouts really. I've yet to see a real xmas tree with white, black, pink, red or electric blue leaves. So if you're into that, you really have no choice.

I have allergies to certain types of pine so just to be "safe" in the US I've always used a fake tree.

We did get a fresh tree last year and didn't have any troubles with it unless I got sap on me - which of course didn't happen once we had it in a stand.

Meanwhile, hubby got terribly sick right when we were supposed to bring it down for the rubbish collection... I'm not strong enough to drag it down 5 flights of stairs... and it is still on our balcony.

Given the fact of the current location of our tree from last year, my vote is for a "fake" tree - at least that I can deal with myself once time comes to take it down.

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Fake one for me. Cant stand having to constantly hoover up the needle pines that fall off from the real ones. I can live without the 'Christmasy' smell.

The Christmas trees called Nordmann fir (Nordmanntanne in German) don't drop their needles on your living room rug. They just turn dry after a month or so but still keep their needles. Some people put them on the balcony or terrace after the Holidays, where they just turn brown but still look good otherwise, can be used to hang bird food etc., and they dispose of them some time in spring or burn them in a woodburner or the like, if they have one. Because of the very resinous nature of the wood it's not exactly a good idea to burn them in the fireplace, though.

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real. if you are concerned about the environment, as said, the production of fake ones is way more harmful. and for me, a plastic xmas tree is in the same category with alcohol-free beer, decaf coffee and so on.

Not sure we will actually get a tree this year though as we have 2 very curious and energetic cats here..

I'm also in favour of the incredibly cheerful perfume a Christmas tree brings to one's home, but... the same trick can be achieved by just a couple of branches, which also look delightful when decorated, instead of the whole tree. It doesn't have the same harm on the environmnent, imho, it helps explore one's creativity and it helps educate children in an environment-conscious way.
Also for the creativity and education part, a real fun is to make your own christmas tree out of recycled materials (plenty info on the internet).

IMHO, the argument "plastic ChTrees are more harmfull to the environment" should be stopped at this point and not continued with "thus we choose a real one instead"...

And afterall, Christmas is not about the tree, is it?

Real is greener. They're specially farmed for the season, so their from renewable, replenishing sources. I'd be happy not to have one at all.

Has anyone considered having something else, say a cactus as your christmas tree

I have one and it's "different", but quite nice too. They'll live for years, don't require too much care, just a bit of water every few weeks, won't drop leaves or thorns all over the floor and can grow quite large.

get one with big thorns and you can hang things from them too, it's what I do on christmas these days, most ecological choice of all, and cheaper too

I think it looks very nice, but to each their own of course.

Maybe, but considering that children still die of malnutrition worldwide, I'd rather have farms of other sorts. This is what Christmas is about after all, isn't it?
Please groan at me softly

fake. I have to say bought one from jumbo 3 years ago, is perfect till date. Everyone is always oohing and aahing and then shocked when I reveal its fake cuz its so real looking they say. I plan on keeping it for a long, long time and I'm not chopping a tree down for a months pleasure each year just to chuck out again. Plus headache buying and transporting it back home, head ache transporting back for recycling and hey - one time expense (not that huge anyway), no messy floor and no allergic reactions... Merry Xmas!

If you have kids; it has to be a real christmas tree and I think with real candles and off course hanging chocolates.

Just burning a branch of Christmas Tree gives the room that Xmas smell if there is such a thing.

Oh I loved your post! If you got cats, especially young inquisitive ones, then a cactus would be perfect! Last year, the kids put up the old artificial tree and strung it full of big glasssy shiny baubles, glitter strings, etc...... looked real sophisticated. And then the two young kittens were left alone in the lounge. And the tree had NOTHING on it anymore. The kittens loved the tree, but lost interest after they`d swiped the last bauble off, and shredded the glitter strings.

Christmas day we had just a bare tree.

Nein, I am not cruel - they would not have scrambled all over a cactus!