Real Tree or Fake Tree? The Debate Rages on...

I didn't know that they planted 3 trees for everyone cut down--thanks for the info. You're right, we all just assume it's better for the environment--some research is needed :)

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

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My sister is married to a firefighter, and I'm now hyper aware of fire hazards!!! The thought of losing the house to flames because of a Christmas tree is horrifying enough to make me turn my back on childhood memories!

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

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There is no debate. I'm married to a firefighter. Real trees are a fire hazard. Fake trees for us.

Contributing Editor Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom )) blogs at Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ). She is a freelance writer and newspaper photographer.

We have had a "fake" tree for nearly every year of our 35 year marriage. I did push a couple of times for real but The Hubby knows first hand how flamable a real tree can be. When he was little his parents had taken their used tree to the curb and he decided to set it on fire to see (firebug he was). He said he lit it and the thing absolutely exploded. Very scary thing for a little boy. So fake we enjoy!

Knowing we'd decided a couple years ago while mourning my real tree preference, we bought a fake, I know how you feel. My husband said it was easier - NOT! All that fluffing is hard work and putting the thing back in the box, eeee gads, but it's safer since ours is up at least a month.
But please don't buy a fake tree thinking it's better for the environment. For every real tree sold, I'm a director of a KAB program, 3 are planted in its place and remember fake trees are partially made from plastic (not necessarily recycled) so you have to be the judge. Not trying to start an argument or be a know-it-all, but I thought they were better too til I did some research.

I'm someone who likes to keep my Christmas tree longer (end of Nov. to Jan 1.), so I guess that really does make a fake tree the best option for me. I'd only be able to keep a fresh tree for a short time.

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

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Oh no! I never knew someone who was allergic to Christmas trees. I'm sorry you don't have even the choice of having a real tree if you wanted one.

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

Get Inspired and Get Going with Travelated ( http://www.travelated.com )!

It's funny how sometimes things turn out completely opposite of what we thought we wanted :) I am happy not to be vacuuming pine needles this year, but I do miss the scent.

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

Get Inspired and Get Going with Travelated ( http://www.travelated.com )!

That's really a sobering thought. I never once thought about Christmas trees being a fire hazard until I moved to the desert, but really it can happen anywhere. It may only be a slight risk, but it's a risk all the same.

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

Get Inspired and Get Going with Travelated ( http://www.travelated.com )!

That's a comforting thought :) We just set up the fake tree last night, and it's okay. Certainly not the same as a real tree though... I may switch back next year :)

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

Get Inspired and Get Going with Travelated ( http://www.travelated.com )!

I miss the smell the most! I bought a pine-scented candle, but it's not the same. I know it's easier and safer than a real tree, but I'm not getting the same feeling. Sigh.

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

Get Inspired and Get Going with Travelated ( http://www.travelated.com )!

That was exactly my problem... fake trees were ridiculed where I grew up! The hardest part was having to tell my mother what I'd done... :)

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

Get Inspired and Get Going with Travelated ( http://www.travelated.com )!

I feel all of your pain. I've been on both sides of fake and real tree debate for many of the reasons mentioned already. So just recently we have switched back to a real tree BUT we only buy it 7 days or less before Christmas and it is out of the house before or on New Years Day. Our goal is to buy it fresh and keep it fresh and take it to the recycle center before it dries out.

Patty

My sister and I are both highly allergic to real Christmas trees. The scent gives us headaches, stuffy noses, watery eyes, etc. Touching them makes us break out in red itchy hives.

We had a wonderful gorgeous huge full fluffy tree I loved. Last year when I was in the hospital over Thanksgiving, Hubby went and bought a pre-lit tree. A skinny, non-fluffy tree. *sigh* I admit not having to mess with stringing lights is nice but I miss my old tree.

Elizabeth

@texasebeth ( http://twitter.com/texasebeth )  and My Life, such as it is.... ( http://texasebeth.blogspot.com )

I grew up with a fake tree so I was determined to have a real tree when I was old enough to decide. The first Christmas where I got to choose a tree happened to be the first Christmas my first husband and I were married. When I told him how excited I was to finally have a real tree he told me that he'd had real trees all his life and wanted a fake tree. I was devastated! We bought the nicest fake tree we could get (though the ones the sell now are way nicer) and I made the best of it. Fast forward through 10 years, a divorce, and a new marriage, and I was excitedly setting up a REAL Christmas tree! It got dry and dropped needles everywhere--I was *so* disappointed! I now have three very nice, pre-lit fake trees, and I love them. :)

Tiffiny blogs at The Bake-Off Flunkie ( http://bakeoff-flunkie.blogspot.com ).

I definitely went and bought a fake tree. No shame, it's great for the environment and it doesn't look that bad, more for presents which I like to give more than receive.

We get fake trees- and the reasons are many but we started when my ex was a student and working on Christmas lights in a really wealthy neighborhood in Louisiana- they literally had enough work for him to work 4 hours evenings and as many as he could fit in (10+ each weekend day).

The day after Christmas he found out one of the houses burned down due to a tree fire and we've been fake since.

Since we have a lot of allergies in the family, it works for us- we get a bit nostalgic sometimes but nothing is more important than our health and safety- we have 5 dogs as well as our 4 girls and grandson, if something happened and we couldn't get all members to safety we'd be devastated.

Hi Emily,

We use to go out of town for Christmas to visit family, so we bought a fake tree for the same reason. We didn't want to come home to a house on fire. I cried and was heartbroken the following year when we were fluffing out the branches. My husband assured me we could get a real tree any year I want. That made me feel so much better. Just because you have a fake tree, doesn't mean you have to use it every year. :)

Lisa Nicole Morrow

Smart Mamas Blog ( http://smartmamas.wordpress.com/ )

It's messy, it might have a hole you have to disguise, but at the same time I love the smell! It's only for two weeks of the year and it's great!

But I have been eyeing the fake trees, easy to set up, easy to take down, no mess, good fo the environment, and I could always get a home scent to spray to give the fresh smell of the tree.

Lots to think about...I still have a couple of weeks to decide!

We broke down and bought a fake one last year. I grew up in Vermont where fake trees are ridiculed, so I know how you are feeling! In the end though, I'm ok with it. It's less messy, less risky, and way cheaper than paying $100 per year for a good real one!

My mother stared down my father in much the same way for years :)

I blog about books, life and writing at Check, please! ( http://www.emilycsims.com/ )

Get Inspired and Get Going with Travelated ( http://www.travelated.com )!

The fake husband would prefer a fake tree because they are less messy but I just look at him and tell him to suck it up.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).