Christmas Celebrators...

[Variance]

I was just wondering out of those of us who celebrate Christmas, who uses a genuine tree and who doesn't. Personally, I feel it's not really Christmas if you don't pick out, decorate and have the smell of a real Christmas pine tree in your home. :)

[Cory Wolfe]

We had real trees up until a few years ago. It just became too much of a hassle to shove a tree through our small door, keep water in it, keep the dogs away from it, and clean up all those needles... Now we use this dinky little fake one. It would be so bad if it werent so damn small... ya know? :P

[sciguy_0504]

Real. Always have, always will.

[Sixty8panther]

The intoxicating smell of pine is worht the hassle. :) Kind of like Wooden Veal.

[bobo]

Fake and pre-lighted.

[Nick]

We used to always have real trees, but lately it started to become a realy pita to find a nice tree, and they were always a mess anyways. So a couple years ago we bought an artificial tree...it was around 500 bucks, but it is a pretty nice looking tree...it's like 8 or 10 feet...somewhere around there, it is flocked and it has built in white lights. It rotates which is pretty neat, but we usually add more lights to the tree (these large round colored frosted bulbs) so it can't turn without wrapping the additional cord around it and getting all tangled up, but it is a very realistic, great looking tree...I'll have to take some pics. We got it all put together and decorated recently, I believe my parents finished the ornaments earlier today.

[mjdecker]

I just love the smell of pine in my house...

[Croc]

We use real, but half the family is allergic. One of these years we will switch to artificial.

[Northstar]

It depends year to year, but usually we have an artificial tree.

[the_yellow_dart]

fake. screw cleaning up pine needles.

[capriceman]

REAL!! Even go cut it down from the woods. Well a tree farm it cost 15 bucks for a 30 foot tree that you just chop the top off of. For easy clean up lay tarps then once you have the tree out fold the tart up go outside and dump it out.

[z28luvr01]

Fake and pre-lighted.

[post="52076"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I would LOVE one of those. Jus take 'em out of the box and you're done. We've always had artifical. If we got a real one, our stupid dogs would probably take turns "claiming it as their own".

[ocnblu]

Each year on the farm, we'd go out and get our real tree cut and bring it home, and we were always amazed at how much it grew, after it was cut, once we threaded it through the house into the living room. The farmhouse has 11 foot ceilings, so it can handle a big one.

This will be my third Christmas in my own home as opposed to renting, and I've been considering one of those really nice "Just Cut" artificial, pre-lit trees. They're the best looking fake ones I've seen, but they sell out before I can make a decision to spend $130. So, it looks like my little teenie 2 foot artificial tree will go up again.

[Casket Demon]

Unfortunatley thanks 2 my wife we've gone 2 the awful fake trees, I'm so tired of hearing her mouth about the pine needles that fall off the real ones. I tell U guys, there's nothing like breaking out the ol' instructuon booklet 2 set up the tree :puke: .

[capriceman]

I tell U guys, there's nothing like breaking out the ol' instructuon booklet 2 set up the tree :puke: .

[post="52242"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

:lol: :lol: :lol: You have to convince her about the real trees, nothing like um. tell her if you put a blanket around the bottom so it extends past the diameter of the tree its eaiser pick up.

[Buickfosure]

Real trees give you more of a holiday feel. As for the needles falling off if you cut down your own tree you will not get half as many as if you just picked it up at one of those corners where they have trees set up that have been cut for a month already.

[pow]

Usually real, but this year, we're getting fake because it's more eco-friendly. And, no, we don't have a Prius.

[Croc]

What my family has always done is first, at the tree farm, they have a machine that shakes the tree to get those needles out before we even take it home. Then, to minimize the mess, we have an old white sheet on the floor surrounding the tree, and that catches the pine needles so all we have to do is carefully gather the sheet and take it outside to shake off after we take the tree down. Hopefully that'll help some of y'all ;)

[Chris_Doane]

Fake?!?! Fake trees are unamerican! Heh.... :D

[razoredge]

The eco friendly thing is a joke. People make a living planting, growing and pruning Christmas trees. Takes around 15 years. Then their cut and another planted and the cycle begins again. I get mine from thinning areas on stateland that were previously clear cut and have now come up overcrowded. Everyone makes it sound like your destroying the nations forests by having a Christmas tree, that a man planted in some old field that was once cleared for farm land - over a century ago. Other issues more politically correct are the unfriendly eco threats. Also byproducts from all the artificial products we so cherish are another eco problem. Just look at the sides of your roads, or local landfill for instance. A machine that shakes the trees, that is an awsome idea but I had never heard of it.

[razoredge]

Then our tree heats our house and makes wonderfull crackling sounds while doing so. Ah yes, the burning of the tree.

[Croc]

I think what makes it eco-unfriendly is that a lot of people cannot burn them due to having gas fireplaces and/or do not wish to burn them due to the carbon emissions. If one doesn't consume the tree, it gets put out on the curb and the trash people take it away unless a local park has a drop-off for recycling like Indianapolis does. I have no problem with real trees as long as they get turned into paper or something instead of just being thrown away. But you are right, Xmas trees generally do come from farms and trees specifically made for such a purpose, so no deforestation worries there ;) Edited December 3, 2005 by Croc

[Paolino]

Then our tree heats our house and makes wonderfull crackling sounds while doing so. Ah yes, the burning of the tree.

[post="52312"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

The burning of the tree?! Oh, wait, nevermind... I'm thinking of the burning BUSH! :lol:

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

i thought the name of this thread was Christmas Defribilators

[razoredge]

The burning of the tree?!  Oh, wait, nevermind... I'm thinking of the burning BUSH!  :lol:

[post="52383"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Thats funny Paulie, I wrote a song called "Queen of the Burning Bush"

Not suitable for Christmas topic, a respectable tongue in cheek review of some longer term relationships with women B)

I think alot of towns and cities now have wood grinders/chippers for mulch or compost to avoid the land fill problems. You are 100% correct however in that the death of the Christmas tree is actually very sad, kinda like driftwood without the romance, very sad. So I burn mine and go on with my new year. Edited December 4, 2005 by razoredge

[Satty]

I had an artificial tree, but I'm not sure where it is. Kind of puts a damper on the whole decorating thing.

[Robert Hall]

I did artificial trees back when I did decorate for xmas. Since I'm always away from home for the holiday now, I never decorate anymore.

[Satty]

I'd love to not have to decorate, but everyone is comeing here for Christmas because everyone else lives in a smaller house. So we're stuck decorating and cleaning. I have no idea where my tree went, unless one of my wonderful family members came and took it one day. I refuse to put up a real tree, too much work, too much cleanup.

[ocnblu]

My Dad found a 4.5 ft. pre-lit tree last year and bought it for me. I put it up on the table in my front window. My kittycat got her claw caught in the snow-look table cloth and pulled the whole shebang down on the floor. Nice. She hid under the couch for a few minutes after that.

[trinacriabob]

How about "NO TREE?"

Bah, hambug!

[ocnblu]

You will be visited by three spirits. Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

[§carlet §wordfish]

We have alternated over the years. We bought a fake pre-lit tree a couple years ago, but half the strands don't work on it now so we picked out a real one this year. I prefer real ones.

[Satty]

Wal-Mart has a 15' pre-lit tree online. I want one just because it wont fit in the living room.

[ocnblu]

Growing up on the farm, it used to be fun to go up to DE and pick out a tree. One year, I swear that tree grew like 3 feet after we got it home, before we put it up. Luckily, the old farmhouse had 12' ceilings.

[gmpartsgirl]

Not putting up anything this year. Not in the mood after the divorce and his car won't fit under it and thats the only xmas going on around here.

[mustang84]

At my parents' house, we've had an artificial tree since I was a baby. For a couple years when I was a teen, we put up a real tree on our front porch (while the artificial tree stayed in the living room). The real tree was too much of a hassle and we haven't done it again since then.

Here at my apartment, I have a little 2 foot tall artificial tree of the flashing, multi-color fiber optics variety.

Edited December 8, 2008 by mustang84

[ocnblu]

Adds to the festivities.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

I have 2 fiber optics ones. Good enough for me. The lighting is way more reliable than the normal christmas lights though where there is call for it I am turning to LED lights. They seem more reliable since LEDs rarely burn out. Helps diaagnostics when the set goes.

[Lamar]

What's with all the thread resurrections these days? It's like buying used instead of new.

We have a fake one here just 'cause it's not worth the hassle putting a real one in the apt.

When we move into a house though, and we get hardwood floors in some parts... there ya go.

[ZL-1]

Not putting up anything this year. Not in the mood after the divorce and his car won't fit under it and thats the only xmas going on around here.

That avatar of yours rocks!

Re trees, it's always been artificial because it isn't that practical to have a real tree on small apartments. This year I chose only to have the Nativity Scene: no tree, and closer to what we're supposed to be celebrating.

Edited December 8, 2008 by ZL-1

[Intrepidation]

We have a fake tree, always have.

We have cats, `nuff said.

[Robert Hall]

I had a neat little minature tree a few years ago---it was internally lighted--blue and silver instead of green. Kind of neat, it would flash on and off in a pattern.

[Satty]

We got a free fake tree from an acquaintance who got a new one this year. It looks like &#036;h&#33;, no wonder they got a new one.

[MyerShift]

I myself would pick real. I love the smell, and it shows that I am not lazy.

[Croc]

I myself would pick real. I love the smell, and it shows that I am not lazy.

Not everyone is as wonderful and special as you so as to be blessed without allergies. Not lazy, allergic.

[Satty]

I'm not allergic, not really lazy, just busy. We're hosting Christmas and skipping town the next day, so we need to have a tree, but dont want to be stuck un-decorating and tossing a tree out in a hurry or coming back after a couple weeks to a dead tree and needles all over the floor. With such short notice, a real tree would be most cost effective, but I've resigned myself to the fact that we're going to have to get something quickly.