# What's the appeal of obviously fake Christmas trees? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455 "2008-10-25T00:42:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/21 "2008-10-27T02:04:59Z")
> [@Cloud51180](#): > > Personally I can’t get enough of fake trees - I want a pink one so badly. Any chance you have a [Michaels](http://direct.where2getit.com/cwc/apps/w2gi.php?template=search&client=michaels) craft store in your area? They have a [lurid](http://michaels.shoplocal.com/michaels/Default.aspx?action=detailbrowselarge&storeid=2415526&title=PRE-LIT+TREND+TREES+&img=http%3a%2f%2fakimages.crossmediaservices.com%2fdyn_li%2f600.0.90.0%2fRetailers%2fmichaels%2f081026C_P6_C4_img_1497753820.jpg) pink tree on sale this week. It’s only 3’ or 4’ though. ---
**Author:** ![Mumio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@Mumio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mumio)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/22 "2008-10-27T04:55:55Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > As a kid I remember staring for hours at our aluminum Christmas tree which was illuminated with a rotating color wheel. I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Me too!! It was soooo pretty. I’ve always liked artificial trees better. I don’t like the smell nor the mess from real trees. My very favorite is fiber optic trees–love all those colors! ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/23 "2008-10-27T05:45:25Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > As a kid I remember staring for hours at our aluminum Christmas tree which was illuminated with a rotating color wheel. I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. One of my grandmothers had one of those. I hated it. YMMV Mom has a very nice fake tree. God, how I miss the smell of a real tree. ---
**Author:** ![Nymphadora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/aeb1de/32.png) [@Nymphadora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nymphadora)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/24 "2008-10-27T06:02:05Z")
I have a fake pale pink tree - I decorate it with red decorations, and it’s completely vulgar and fabulous ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/25 "2008-10-27T16:26:37Z")
I’m 33. The reason I found trees other than green odd is that Christmas is usually highly sentimental and traditional, and green would seem more traditional than pink or white. It’s like how people will usually prefer Colonial style furnishings to more modern styles. That’s what threw me about the scene in Peanuts–they acted like real green trees were wildly uncommon, and even in the 70’s almost all trees were real or artificial green. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/26 "2008-10-27T16:42:26Z")
I’d love one of those pink trees. My husband would kill me, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/27 "2008-10-27T20:49:50Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > It’s like how people will usually prefer Colonial style furnishings to more modern styles. I think you’re making the mistake of assuming that what you like is what the majority of people like. Not necessarily. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/28 "2008-10-27T21:36:21Z")
One of the first years after we moved into our new house we got a real tree. A few days after xmas I was cutting some of the dried branches off to use as firestarters before getting rid of it and found a bird’s nest inside. I was completely traumatised by it and bought a fake tree at the after Xmas sales immediately after that and picked up a fancy “christmas pine” Yankee Candle to go with it - I don’t miss the smell at all, lol. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/29 "2008-10-27T21:42:43Z")
They’re cheaper in the long run. My family used the same ‘tree’ - dyed feathers wrapped around wire - for over 75 years. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/30 "2008-10-27T21:44:11Z")
What’s the appeal? Kitsch. It’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![AngryIrishLass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bbce88/32.png) [@AngryIrishLass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngryIrishLass)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/31 "2008-10-27T21:57:32Z")
I’d love a real tree, but can’t breath around them, or so my mother told me. I decided that I was going to have a real tree when I had my first born. Seems Mom knew what she was talking about. It soon got banished to the front porch, with the presents on the floor under the window it stood in front of. Nowadays, I put one large green artificial tree up in the living room. And somewhere between 3-5 smaller trees throughout the house. One is silver, decorated in either purple or red, and one is blue decorated in silver. I’d love a pink one too! I too grew up with a white tree and the Wheel O’Color. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/32 "2008-10-27T22:18:32Z")
As for the peek time for the aluminum trees here is a excerpt from my earlier links. I can still picture that box on the tree display in Ben Franklin when i first saw one. Ma wouldn’t get it. I wanted it for my room not the house tree. I made a tree out of green yarn and a hoop one year and hung it from the ceiling. I won’t comment on how it looked, but remember in the 70’s school made us make toilet paper wreaths. Our poor parents had to display some extremely ugly school projects back then. > [@](#): > > Sales peaked in 1964-1965, and throughout the 1960s the company?s Evergleam brand enjoyed a 60-65% market share in the United States and Canada. Primary outlets included both regional stores and national chains such as Montgomery Ward, Ben Franklin, and Woolworths. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/33 "2008-10-27T22:20:22Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > They’re cheaper in the long run. My family used the same ‘tree’ - dyed feathers wrapped around wire - for over 75 years. That’s interesting - was it cone shaped or with branches coming off it? Feathers dyed green? I’m fascinated. I have a variety of little fake ones - I’ve got a little forest thing going on, but they’re all natural colours. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/34 "2008-10-27T22:26:01Z")
Once you’ve cut a real tree, it doesn’t matter, it might as well be fake. I’ve started trying to get a nice tree with roots and plant it after xmas, it is a lot easier now that I’m in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/35 "2008-10-28T05:24:01Z")
I guess I should confess my own Christmas tree fetish: I think that a real tree, with a big, piney smell; tiny, blue, nonblinking lights; and very few ornaments, is the most beautiful. Most people think I’m nuts for not going with blinking, red/green or multi-color lights, and the more ornaments, the better. Those “icecicle” things that are strewn about the tree to a depth of an inch or so? Don’t get me started. [Puking smilie needed.] Slight hijack: years ago a family with 3 young boys moved in down the street from where I lived at the time. Their tree hit the curb in March, possibly April. And if any English major wants to correct the punctuation in my first sentence, it would be greatly appreciated. I just keep plugging until it looks mostly right. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/36 "2008-10-28T06:35:00Z")
Everyone with an SUV is an asshole, but chopping down real trees for a month of fake worship to Jesus is OK. Give me a break. The appeal is that it’s green, it’s fun and it’s cheap. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/37 "2008-10-28T07:12:00Z")
Mine’s fuschia. It’s one of my favorite colors, and it looks incredible with silver & white ornaments against my blue walls. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/38 "2008-10-28T10:17:15Z")
Since the green fake ones look fake anyway, it’s sort of an “embrace your inner Sim!” moment. I’m all for fake trees: unlike real ones, those don’t shed all over the living room. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/39 "2008-10-28T11:48:08Z")
> [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](#): > > Everyone with an SUV is an asshole, but chopping down real trees for a month of fake worship to Jesus is OK. Give me a break. > > The appeal is that it’s green, it’s fun and it’s cheap. The tree wouldn’t even be growing if not for sale. There would be a field of something different there instead. Wisconsin produces a lot of those trees sold in the USA just like a lot of the timber for paper and some of the lumber. The only reason you shouldn’t cut a tree is because it’s not your tree. The thieves that cut the tops out of a 15 foot spruce in your yard need to be beaten and left naked in Alaska by Santa Claus on Christmas eve. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455/40 "2008-10-28T12:02:47Z")
“Real” Christmas trees don’t get a big look-in down here. You can get them, but most people don’t seem to bother. Personally, my tree is fake and looks fake because I think it’s awesome. It’s green plastick-y, but scattered through with “fibre optics” (read cheap plastic threads) that lead down to a rotating colour wheel over a bulb. When it’s turned on, the colours and patterns kind of trickle through the fibres in the tree and it looks beautiful, especially in a dark room. And it means less decorating is needed 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-appeal-of-obviously-fake-christmas-trees/469455.md?page=3)