Once and for all: To tree or not to tree? Real tree, fake tree, no tree? That is the question.

[ohiosmith]

[Amaril]

1. I'm a fake tree kinda gal

[ohiosmith]

3. I'm with ya!

:thumbsup:

[freshwest]

12. But their rotting corpses smell sweet.

:spank: myself.

[hifiguy]

2. Festivus pole.

Lasts forever.

[ohiosmith]

4. Good idea.

:thumbsup:

[Iggo]

5. Fake tree.

Back in the 80's I saw some comedian do Christmas From A Fireman's Perspective, and it struck a chord.

Anytime it's my choice, I go fake-tree.

[ohiosmith]

6. Fire Marshall Bill?

[Iggo]

8. I found the quote. It was Gallagher.

Gallagher: Let's just take something that you've, you've looked at a long time and just never noticed before. Let's look at Christmas from a fire prevention

Gallagher: point-of-view. Now...

Gallagher: when it's dry in your house and you got the heater on to help dry that air out real good, you go get an evergreen tree.

Gallagher: You put it in the corner, next to the drapes. You lace it with cheap wiring. You put packages of tissue paper, wrapped in tissue paper, underneath. Then invite your friends over, get drunk and light candles.

[ohiosmith]

14. Good one!

:toast:

[freshwest]

7. I converted to fake when I move up to Douglas fir territory and found out how many years it took to

Grow a tree to a marketable size. It just seemed wrong somehow. Before that I always had a variety of cut trees.

My father in the fifties always went to the expense of buying the biggest fir tree he could find, shipped from the Pacific Northwest south. We had a great time decorating them and would spend the evenings before Christmas, lights out in the living room, just the lights from those large colored lights shining. We let our imaginations go wild, as we'd settled tiny figurines along the branches, as if they lived in the tree. It was a very quiet time.

One year I decorated my large Norfolk pine trees with lights and light weight ornaments. It was beautiful, but i had to watch to make sure the heat from the mini lights didn't damage the foliage.

I had to put a sort of fence around it to keep my little kid out of it. Over the years, my kid was such a fan of all things Christmas, that he wanted the tree set up right after Thanksgiving and kept up all the way until Valentine's Day. Just couldn't bear to lose that feeling.

He's got a fake tree where he lives now, and I'm considering one of those Charlie Brown trees, with the Snoopy brand on it. But I can't see spending the money on anything at my house. There's always screen savers and fireplace videos to put on in addition to Christmas mp3s.

Okay, I'll shut up now...

:hide:

[ohiosmith]

15. :

:hi:

[Brickbat]

9. Real tree. We live in the woods and cut our own. It's usually kind of scrawny looking, because we

take the ones that need to be weeded out, but we love it every year.

[ohiosmith]

19. That is so cool!

:toast:

[Arugula Latte]

10. Real tree. I don't feel bad about them being cut -- they're a crop.

Yes, old trees are cut down every year, and every year new ones are planted; it's the circle of life, hakuna matata. ;)

[emilyg]

11. Pre-lit, small and fake.

Voila - u got xmas in a box.

[tabbycat31]

13. I've had both

This year I'm doing nothing though--- the holidays are a really rough time for me this year because I think of all the good that I had last year and how I'll have none of it this year barring a miracle.

I wish this year were over already.

[wysimdnwyg]

16. For me, it's "no tree", but if I did put one up

It would have to be real. And live, complete with root ball so I could plant it come January.

[GoCubsGo]

20. You beat me to it!

Those with no yard can consider a Norfolk Island Pine, which they can decorate year after year.

[RobinA]

17. Real

Then put it out back for the birds to sleep in.

[frogmarch]

18. fake for me,

and my kids and their families go fake too.

Mine and Mr. F's is a small fiber optic tree that we store in a downstairs closet in the off months, fully decorated.

[Flaxbee]

21. a fake pink one that's about 3 feet high.

:D

With pink and white LED lights.

Love it.

Local grocery store, though, has pine garlands for sale - DAMN do they smell good!

[Duppers]

22. Another good reason to use an artificial Christmas tree

The Christmas Tree Curse - An incurable pathogen

A tree infected with the cinnamomi fungus

Courtesy of Linda Haugen/USDA Forest Service/Bugwood.org

THE FRASER FIR IS THE IDEAL Christmas tree. Fragrant, strong-limbed, and long-lasting when cut, it has found its way to the White House's Blue Room more than any other tree over the past 50 years.

It is also a vector to the most destructive plant pathogen you've never heard of.

more...

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201111/grapple.aspx

[MrsBrady]

23. no tree, too many cats n/t