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Fake or Live Christmas Tree Poll Results
In last month's issue of the HomeCook'n newsletter we asked, "Do you prefer a fake or a real Christmas tree?" The results are in:
Comments: As a kid, we always had a real Christmas, but we alsways had to wait until December to buy and decorate it (my Mom put it up later, so it wouldn't dry out too soon). As a adult on my own, I had real trees, but hated waiting 'til December to put it up. One year I put up a fake tree on the day after Thanksgiving and did not take it down until February. I love the freedom--I now have 7 (fake trees) that go up right after Thanksgiving. I prefer fake only because of the mess of a live tree when the needles fall. We like the look, touch and especially the smell of a real tree. Noble pine trees are our favorite. Real trees make the house smell like Christmas! And the post holiday vacuming up the needles? Who would want to miss THAT tradition? I can't beleive the % of fake! I, too love the scent and adventure of finding a perfect "real" Xmas tree! However, I am also a worrywart like Kathy and prefer not to lose my home and family to a possible fire! Not to mention that I loath the mess of pine needles left to clean up throughout the season! And there is also a considerabe cost savings in the long run.. About 18 years ago we bought a beautiful artificial tree that we are still using. At that time a good "real" tree cost nearly thirty dollars; so 30x18=540 dollarsless the cost of the tree on sale after xmas 79.00=461.00 dollars saved! That wins the arguement in my book! But, I just love the scent of Christmas, so I fake that, too using candles of pine, bayberry and spice and also simmering liquid Poupourri in a small crockpot. To each thier own, but to all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!! There are a lot of really pretty fake trees out there. They also are maintenance free. When our kids were growing up, we always had live trees. Now that they are all grown up and gone, we set up a table size fiberoptic tree. It is so pretty, with it's changing lights. And we don't have to decorate it, if we don't want to. I would prefer a real tree, but I put the tree up the day after Thankgiving and take it down the day after New Year's so it has to be fake in order to last that long! Every year I fuss about wheather to buy an expensive fake tree at my age or enjoy a freshly cut tree with all it's fragrance. Do I save more trees and spend more money or do I support the local industry and enjoy the memories. Soon it will be taken out of my hands and tho I don't like the care & clean-up when I can no longer get anyone to go out and cut a fresh tree I'll give in and fine one I have to take down and try to find a place to store. It is just too expensive to purchase a tree every year! Dan, Just bought your software for my wife and mother in law. I can relate to your story. Exactly the same for me and your wifes perspective is exactly the same as my wifes. I voted for the real tree howevery the reality is we put up a fake one every year. Happy New Year! I like the real trees best, but unfortunately allergies allow me to only use the fake ones. Fake ones have their advantages (perfect shape, few dropping needles, no need to water, etc.) but there's something about a real tree and the process of selecting it that is special. Of course, my cat doesn't care which it is; she nestles in under the branches and makes herself into a perfect little Christmas present! Real Christmas tree prices have gone too high. A fake tree has it's price spread over a number of years. I have a real tree but it is a dwarf and is outside so the dogs are not tempted to eat the ornaments Mainly for safety sake I prefer a fake tree. Read "Affluenza" and don't want to " over-consume - bought a fake tree Real!! There is no smell like it!! Safe, Can put up right after Thanksgiving and leave up until New Years Day. what is tis world coming to? Fake trees? If you don't want real, plant a bush and forget about it. Voted fake as that is what I have used for 16 years due to high cost of a really nice live tree in So Cal; but I prefer a beautiful tall live tree. Every year my husband would get sick after putting up our tree. When we finally got a fake tree we discovered he was getting sick from cutting down and having a live tree in the house. We love our beautiful fake tree. I never did like vacumning up pine needles in July! The good book states to honor my death NOT my birth. This pagan holiday should be abolished. Actually, I'm shocked that the fake trees out number the real! What's the point if you don't get that pine smell and the joy of trudging out into a field and picking the perfect tree?? a whole lot less mess!! You are able to leave town with no worries of coming home to a needless tree... I love the smell of a live tree, especially one you cut yourself - but, I have limited space and I always know exactly how much room my fake tree will need. Plus I can put my tree up as early in the season as possible without worrying about the dead tree, dropped needles, fire hazard and disposal issues. Merry Christmas! I love the smell of the real tree, the excitement of bringing it home, the hassle of setting it up, the fun of decorating it; I even love the mess of needles that need to be vacuumed after it's taken down! There's nothing better than the look and scent of a real Christmas tree, but I will say they are more messy and need much more care Now that our children are grown and we travel, it is much better to have a fake tree. i PREFER A REAL TREE, BUT AS AGE AND DISABILITIES HAVE TAKEN THERE TOLL AND AS MY KIDS (WHO USED TO HELME) HAVE GROWN UP, THEY "CONVINCED " ME TO GET A FAKE TREE. THE YEAR THAT WE GOT IT, I CRIED WHILE WE WERE PUTTING IT UP! I put up a fake tree now, but prefer a real tree like I have used years ago. I love the look & smell of a real tree. prefer live, but to much trouble I've had both over the years, and yes...the fake ones are more convenient. But when our daughter grew up, and now our granddaughter, we wanted them to have the wonderful memories of the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas to pass on to future generations. Just as Christmas is a special time, those are special memories that we can share. After all...it's not about convenience or cost or ourselves...it's about the children and what we can give them. Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of Jesus' birth, and the wonderful gift He gave us! That's why we give to others. Commercialism says it's a time to give to ourselves, and fake trees go along with the fake commercial version that they are making of Christmas. Except for those with allergies, I think it's cheating our children & grandchildren to go fake! Fake trees are less messy - and they are cheaper in the long run Fake trees are much easier to decorate! Just put the branch where it needs to be. Ornaments don't slide off. Sweet!!! I prefer a real tree because I like the smell of the real trees Less mess to clean up Prefer synthetic over "fake." Saves trees, reduces fire hazard, can be put away with lights and certain ornaments attached, doesn't shed - list goes on. Family can still enjoy decorating, presents still go under - etc. I love real trees, but choose a fake for economics and safety. I used to get real sick every year during the Holidays....until the tree would fall over and have to go outside.....now we do fake...and I don't get sick....and it rarely falls down! Save a tree -- use fake! Less Trouble I prefer the real, but because of a cold mold that comes with the real trees (and I am allergic to mold), we had to go with a "Wannabee" tree. I refuse to call my tree a fake or artificial one. My "Wannabee" tree is doing a great service by keeping me healthy through the Christmas Season. I love a real tree but they have gotten so expensive. The fake trees they make now really do look real unless you walk up and touch them. So it smells like a real tree I just burn pine incense. We place gold ornaments on the tree, so it must carry the weight No mass off the real christmas tree. I like the or prefer the fake christmas tree. With the Dog & Cat the fake Christmas tree is best... Thank you. I am developing an allergy to pine as I get older. I perfer real but have a fake tree as it can be up and decorated longer than a real tree... when you have a fake tree you can put it up much earlier because it won't die. Then you can enjoy the holidays that much longer. it doesn't ruin a perectly good tree where's the fun of cutting your own tree? I prefer a real tree but have a fake one because of allergies. I prefer a real but we have a artifical tree because of the cost of real Why kill a tree every year? safer and less trouble to have a fake tree Fakes won't burn like real ones, or shed and make a mess to clean up I'm too cheap to buy a new one each year, besides I put this years christmas tree up before halloween. I have always preferred a real tree, however, over the years the smell is almost nothing, so about 3 years ago I bought a Fiber Optic tree and I love it. I am allergic to pine Pre-Strung w/ lights & fire-safe Have only had a fake one the last three years, only because my husband and I are alone now and older with arthritis problems and the fake one is easier. We don't have to run around in the snow and cold looking for a tree. nothing like the real thing and if you doubt that just ask your spouse The fakes have come a long ways and if you have some real greenery around (not near lights or candles, of course) it is enough to scent the room. I worked near the burn unit of a hospital, so for me the fire potential is so great that I have been with fake trees for years. I love the scent of a real tree, but due to terrible allergies and asthma, I prefer a fake tree. Breathing is important to me! I'm 47 & tired of untangling lights. I use tiny minitures, a chrome tree, & undecorated fake pines. A manger, table clothes, & garland down the stairs look just as Christmasy. Sorry Dan! I'm 47 & tired of untangling lights. I tiny minitures, a chrome tree, & undecorated fake pines. A manager, table clothes, & garland down the stairs look just as Christmasy. Sorry Dan! As we get older, it's much too difficult to be bring home a real tree each year. I have 16 fake trees in all sizes. Most stay decorated from year to year. Great time saver. actually prefer real, but not willing to do the work Allergies mandate a fake tree. Thank goodness they are so realistic you have to ask if they are real or fake. I really don't think it makes a difference what kind of Christmas tree you have, it is the ornaments that make the difference. The joy of decorating the tree and the memories each ornament brings. My kids have allergies to a real Christmas tree. save a tree I am getting to old to enjoy the extra mess, I can cheat and get the smell from a few fresh boughs from the yard. Fake Ones last longer, therefore you can put them up earilier. Also we have cats, the water for a live tree is deadly to cats. really they each have thier good points and bad points I am 69 and will ALWAYS have a real tree. It's God's beauty for the season I prefer a real xmas tree but that is not what we have because it's not practical! I prefer fake because it doesn't involve killing a tree. I don't like to think of a tree being cut down for a couple weeks decoration. Real is pretty but fake is easier. allergies to real but REAL smells better! Either tree is fine with us live is beautiful in someone elses home !! Fake tree lend ever so much less stress to the holiday season. Mine goes up in a snap. It already has a multitude of lights that always stay lit. So decorating is also a snap. It folds up neatly in a box for the next year. I usually get a real pine wreath or small pine tree in a pot for the pine smell. fake trees are oh soch easierto put up. Mine has all the lights on. They all stay lit. And the tree goes up in three pieces in a snap. I'll be 72 years old next month and am a widow, live alone. However, it's very important to me to have a LIVE Christmas tree. It is more work, but it smells good, and brings back wonderful memories. Granted, it's probably cheaper in the long run, and much less trouble, with the exception of finding a place to store it, but it's well worth the trouble. As long as I am physically able, I plan to make the effort to bring in a real Christmas tree for the Holiday season. I have parrots and fake trees are safer. Don't know what might be on a real tree that could kill my macaw, cockatoo or african grey. I put neither but actually I have a potted plant tree that I decorate now that I don't have kids at home. Somehow the scent of a live tree in the house just says Merry Christmas, and welcome, to all who walk through the doors. Finding the "perfect" Christmas tree was always a family affair, and its selection marked the beginning of the holiday season and good things to come. Now that the children are grown, they continue the old traditions with their own youngsters, but grandma opts for the convenience of a fake tree, flawlessly symmetrical, and perfectly decorated, No more braving the elements to shop, no more turning the tree round and round to detemine its best side. No more ornaments bunched in odd groups, depending on the age and arm span of the decorators. No more messy needles to clean up. Either way, it's the spirit of the seaon that counts. I prefer fake trees because of allergies Too many allergies for a real tree I have a good size weeping fig tree. I decorate it with tiny lights, ornaments and red bows. It works for us! It's not messy and you leave it longer. as we get older a fake tree will be less expensive and we help save the trees. I am concerned about using up the live trees for such a short time. Love the smell of the real. Love the convenience of the fake! For the last few yeas we've been getting a Leyland Cypress tree and they smell good like the old Cedar trees trees I remember as a child. They don't have to sharp needles as do a Cedar and they look like green lace when they open up after being in the house for a few days. You can put ornaments and hide small gifts deep into the tree. And it doesn't shed needles. Our fake trees even did that after we had them a few years. We look forward to having one every year now. Have to admit that I have a fake because of safety, ease of setup and cost I suspect this vote is age biased! I grew up on a christmas tree farm. My whole childhood centered around keeping them trimmed, healthy and pretty. It was a hugh job and took our whole families spring and summer. Fall was the time we woiuld haul all the trees back to the house and prepare them for shipping. After that we sold thousands of them at our house. Many of the buyers were very rude. Once man decieded he wanted a tree that was actually growing in our front yard. He wouldn't take no for an answer and began to pull at it. Of course since it had roots deep into the ground he couldn't pull it up. The next day we woke up to find the tree sawed off and gone. During the winter we burned trees that we suspected on diesease. I hated the whole process, and I absoultly hate Christmas Trees. Fake I believe are safer, but if you keep the water to the real one it does just fine and I really love the smell of a fresh tree. there's nothin' like a real tree Myself and two daughters are allergic to all pine trees I love real trees, and I have had real trees all my life. But now that I am older, my little fake trees are so much easier to do, and besides, I'm helping the environment by saving a tree! smell of real trees affect my sinuses Real trees are cut far to early and buy the time christmas comes they are almost dead When my sons were younger and at home, I would rather have a live tree. However, now that I am older, I like the convenience of a fake tree. before the days of carpeting I really enjoyed the fresh trees with the pine smell floating through the house..... safer; less cleanup; nice looking Had a cat almost killed one year when he ate the pine needles which turned out to be poisoness to cats, so NO real trees I am allerigic to the real trees. Fake because of the cost of Christmas Trees these day. For a really full nice tree you pay a minimum of 100.00, as we grow older that cost is four gifts to family/friends. I'm REALLY allergic to trees and it ruins my Christmas to be sick. We have a really nice artificial tree w/real bark that I picked out for our wedding gift from my folks. While a "real" tree smells good and evokes memories of yore, the hassle of the setting up, and the upkeep while it is still viable, as well as the mess of finally taking it down does more thant offset the "pleasantness" of the memories. A "fake" tree, expecially nowadays, are looking more and more like the real thing, and saves a lot of time and hassle during this very busy time of the year. It is more practical, not only from a safety standpoint, but from an economic standpoint, as well. (Dan M., Shelby Township, MI) Real trees are to expensive and a hassel to put up and take down. Spray my artificial tree with a little pine scented air freshener and you can not tell the difference.
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