# Christmas tree: is yours real or fake? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980 "2010-12-21T18:16:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/41 "2010-12-22T17:24:42Z")
I didn’t answer the poll, as the answer is, I own a fake tree and use it often, but I have a real tree this year… ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/42 "2010-12-22T17:39:48Z")
Used to get a real tree, for years and years, even when it was so cold I’d just drive to the lot, roll down the window, and tell the guys “that one! bung it up and put it in the back!” I enjoyed the buying, the setting up, the decorating, the heavenly smell. I even enjoyed the ritual hauling out to the curb the first weekend after New Years, vacuuming up the needles, and putting the house back in order…As years went by, though, _I_ was the only one interested in getting a real tree, and the family really didn’t seem to care one way or another. (for various reasons, we don’t really enjoy Christmas any more and we buy gifts and overeat mostly out of habit; we all look forward more to getting it over than the actual celebration of Christmas)…So, I looked around at $200 and up pre-lit artificial trees, Martha Stewart specials, walked through a Holiday Shoppe the size of a football field, full of the klassiest fake trees (got a vertigo attack in that place!)…ended up with a nice little tabletop cheapie from Target, complete with lights. It worked out very well! We put on our old family decorations, spray some balsam fir scent around, and we’re good to go. The tree looks great lit up at night (not so much during the day, of course)…There just comes a time in life when you might think, ok, the kids are grown, things are stressful, people are ailing, but it’s still Christmas…and you might think of downgrading to a fake tree. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/43 "2010-12-22T17:50:16Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > +1 > > The orchard a mile away with 8-10lb apple pies is a lucky coincidence. As is the vineyard a mile further. > > Season Greetings! Amen to that! ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/44 "2010-12-22T18:50:54Z")
Artificial only. I can’t get past killing a tree to decorate for Christmas, and I have nowhere to plant a real one after it’s used. My work tree is a white fiber optic, and I’ve had it for about 5 years. We got a new home tree last year. It was an accident, really: I got a new one for the office, but then realized it was too big for the office. It’s blue. > [@BMalion](#): > > I use the original family aluminum tree with the 1959 color wheel my dad bought before I was born. Rescued from my mom’s attic 10 years ago. > > It just wouldn’t be Christmas without it. I remember those! We had one. I have pictures. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/45 "2010-12-22T18:54:38Z")
Question for the fake tree people on here: I seem to recall years back having heard of a spray you can put on fake trees to simulate the pine smell of a real tree. I like the smell, but loathe the vacuuming. Can anyone on here confirm or deny its existence? The man at the Canadian Tire laughed at me. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/46 "2010-12-22T19:18:50Z")
I’m not sure how to vote. We bought an artificial tree about 8 years ago and have used it every years since – it’s a nice tree. But it’s a huge hassle to assemble every year so this year I said ‘to hell with it’ and bought a real one. So _this_ year we have a real tree, but next year we’ll likely go back to the artificial. I’m not a diehard either way. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/47 "2010-12-22T20:09:15Z")
We just got a very nice fake one. I have always wanted real trees but rarely got them. Last year, we got one. It was 8’ tall and was beautiful. It also was terribly lopsided and fell over 3 times, damaging many of our decorations. In addition, shortly after the tree came into our house, we noticed an upswing in the number of creepy crawlies in our house. This year I told my boyfriend I wouldn’t push for a real tree but only if he agreed to get a 10’ fake tree. He did and it’s very beautiful and is the perfect size for my living room. It cost us over $200 but will last us a very long time so we’ll save money in the long run since a similar size real tree would go for over $50 in this area. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/48 "2010-12-22T20:14:29Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Question for the fake tree people on here: > > I seem to recall years back having heard of a spray you can put on fake trees to simulate the pine smell of a real tree. I like the smell, but loathe the vacuuming. Can anyone on here confirm or deny its existence? The man at the Canadian Tire laughed at me. ☹ [This?](http://www.christmasdepot.com/Christmas+Decorations/Christmas+Tree+Stands+And+Accessories/Natural+Christmas+Tree+Scent+Spray+2+Ounce) ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/49 "2010-12-22T22:04:19Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > [This?](http://www.christmasdepot.com/Christmas+Decorations/Christmas+Tree+Stands+And+Accessories/Natural+Christmas+Tree+Scent+Spray+2+Ounce) I KNEW it existed!! Thanks!!! ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/50 "2010-12-23T00:44:58Z")
Real blue spruce, cut down at the local tree farm every year. Going to get the tree is a holiday tradition for us. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/51 "2010-12-23T00:57:31Z")
While I _do_ think the poll was a little too cut (hah!) and dried, I voted for “Only real will do”. In reality, we _prefer_ a live tree. But under certain circumstances, will settle for fake. While I’m not criticizing the choices of others, what I _do not_ like and would never have in a fake tree is one that screams “I am obviously a fake tree”! When I was growing up, we had either a real tree or a realistic looking fake in the living room, but in the family room, my mother would put up this hideous _silver_ tree. It was like the ‘needles’ of the tree were made from trimmed tinsel. She insisted on decorating this particular abomination strictly in blue. :smack: The last time we had a fake tree was the year we traveled to Colonial Williamsburg for Christmas. Hubby and I weren’t going to put up a tree at all, because we weren’t going to be _home_, but the kids got all upset that there wouldn’t be a tree, so we bought this little 2’ thing that was pre-lit, pre-decorated, and went on the table in our living room. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/52 "2010-12-23T00:59:29Z")
The vintage aluminum tree I got from my relatives is a collectors item now. They are getting hard to find. I have the color wheel too. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/53 "2010-12-23T07:03:00Z")
Real tree. We go to a place up north and cut it down. My mother is perpetually on this quest to get the realest tree she can find. This sometimes means that we have a wonky-looking, Charlie Brown’s Christmas kind of tree, but dammit, it’s REAL. She also hates it when tree farms spray paint their trees, so we always have to inspect trees we like the look of to make sure it hasn’t been painted. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/54 "2010-12-23T11:23:03Z")
Real. Always. This year it is a nice 6’ Nordman fir. My parents don’t do fake, and neither do irishfella’s, so we go with what we know. We have a Dyson and a really fancy tree stand with a massive reservoir, so needle drop isn’t a major issue anyway, especially with the Nordman. Carrying it up the 37 steps to our front door is less fun. Irishbaby has been very good with it- she walks up- points to it and says “tree”, then pokes a bauble and says “ball”, then runs away pretending to be scared. Repeat ad nauseum. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/55 "2010-12-23T12:46:53Z")
And remember, it’s _real_ aluminum, not fake. ---
**Author:** ![ripopgome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@ripopgome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ripopgome)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/56 "2010-12-23T16:47:15Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > The real deal. We go to a tree farm and cut one down every year. I like doing this for a few reasons: We have fun doing it, it supports a local business, and when you cut down your own tree, it lasts a lot longer than one you buy from a tree lot. > > Once the kids are grown, I suspect we may move to getting an artificial tree, but that won’t be for quite some time. This. But always remember – fat end of tree goes toward the front of the car. This year I forgot, and had to spend 15 minutes undoing & re-tying just outside the tree lot :smack:\ I’ve heard claims real trees are more environmentally friendly on the whole, but I really don’t know that I believe that – seems like it’d be highly dependent on how many years you use the fake tree for. But they smell good and are compostable, and the kids like going to cut it down, so that’s what we do. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/57 "2010-12-23T18:22:44Z")
We had real trees when I was a kid, and also when I lived in Germany. Now, we have a 6 1/2 foot Martha Stewart tree (on sale) that we have used for the past 9 years. Advantages to real tree: Fun to select, every one is different. Smells great. Advantages to fake tree: Can put it up day after Thanksgiving and not worry about it drying out or catching on fire or whatever. Saves lots of money over the long run. Almost no needles falling all over the place. Looks great once we have tons of extra lights, about 200 or more ornaments and add other decorations on top of that. We do have scented, pine candles in the living room, so when you walk in you do smell pine - even when the candles are not lit. We also go to the local real tree place, pick up some of the scraps and use them for table decorations ([Adventskranz](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Adventskranz-1.Advent.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adventskranz-1.Advent.jpg&usg= __h0biUy_S34BDteYFFB_3fiS-X6k=&h=2550&w=2550&sz=2248&hl=en&start=0&sig2=GUOAmFAk1KNLwYEw7RBQeg&zoom=1&tbnid=incM8YFax3jBpM:&tbnh=147&tbnw=171&ei=3ZITTdXuHo20sAPX_-iSCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dadventskranz%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R1GGLA_en___ US357%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D609%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=563&vpy=81&dur=4809&hovh=224&hovw=224&tx=83&ty=135&oei=3ZITTdXuHo20sAPX_-iSCg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0)) - so we do have “real” tree in the house, but just on decorations and enough to give the smell of real pine, along with the candles. ---
**Author:** ![barndoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@barndoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barndoor)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/58 "2010-12-24T08:24:55Z")
Two options: - A real real tree made by real Mother Nature - A real plastic and metal tree made by real hard-working workers (not these north pole elves …) There shall be two additional options: - A virtual tree displayed on a computer screen. - or an imaginary tree planted in your mind. Bye, gotta open the virtual gifts given to me by my imaginary friends! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/59 "2010-12-26T03:28:35Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I use the original family aluminum tree with the 1959 color wheel my dad bought before I was born. Rescued from my mom’s attic 10 years ago. > > It just wouldn’t be Christmas without it. Those things, to me, symbolize Christmas, since I was born in 1956. They are better than 10000 live Christmas trees, and a million popcorn garlands. They were in my kindergarten classroom, dining room, and every five and dime, and department store until the 70s. THAT is what the song Silver Bells means! Christmas-time in the city, not the boonies. Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980/60 "2010-12-26T03:35:47Z")
I voted artificial. I love real trees but I am allergic to a mold that often grows on the tree trunks. Therefore, if I want a tree, it’s either got to be artificial or I’m going to suffer for several weeks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-is-yours-real-or-fake/564980.md?page=4)