We always had real trees when we were kids and I loved them, the smell etc.
DH and I had real ones before DCs although by then we had the stand with water in it which prolongs their life, then I realised that they only smell when they dying so by doing this you lose the smell. When the DCs were small when we bought an artificial one for safety.
A couple of years ago my sister was staying (lives in Australia) so I decided to get the real thing.
Off we go to the garden centre. Tree was about £60! 
How did that happen? Sure they used to be a tenner. Erm ok, it's worth it as it will be lovely.
Then we need a new stand as we remembered that the old one was a complete bastard. New stand - £16 of your Earth pounds thank you very much.
The next task was to get the tree in the car. It would have been easier to persuade a tiger to get into a shopping trolley. A thousand scratches later and with the car full of needles and mud we set off. We did enjoy seeing the couple with two kids scratching their heads about how they were going to get the 15' tree they had just bought into their saloon car with the two kids in car seats in the back. How we congratulated ourselves on leaving our DCs at home with DSis! And the car smelt quite nice. So far so good.
Another tiger mauling later and the tree is in the house. The hall and kitchen are in disarray, covered in needles and mud like the car. We look for a saw to cut the tree to size. This only takes about 45 minutes. Cutting 6" off the bottom of the tree takes another 45 minutes. Then it turns out that's not enough so another bit has to come off. Another 45 minutes. Then a few low branches need to come off.
Finally the new stand is filled with water and the tree is ceremonially inserted. Ta dah!!
We observe it looks a bit, well, drunk. Efforts are made to rectify the wonkiness with minimal results. That's the trouble with the natural world - symmetry is not always what it could be. DH and I engage in a superficially lighthearted discussion about all the other trees each of us wanted apart from this one which were vetoed by the other party.
Eventually decorating commences. And it does look lovely. We congratulate ourselves, bandage our scratches, hoover the hall, mop the floors, book the car in for a valet and retire exhausted to bed.
Coming down the next morning, the anticipated Christmas tree smell is, well, absent. Never mind, the tree looks great, and it's REAL.
I observe that we have without thinking put the tree in the same place we always put the artificial one. Why wouldn't we? Er because it's next to a radiator? Oh well we can't move it now can we . . . ?
After a couple of days we notice a LOT of needles. And a smell. But not that lovely pine needle smell. No, it's more of a stagnant water smell. The water has gone green and is ponging. What a shame there is no BFG to hand to lift the tree out of the water for the 90 seconds it would take for me to empty the water out and re-fill it. We have no choice but to put up with it.
By Christmas Day our living room is adorned with our festive Christmas Stick. Yet enough needles remain for me to still shriek "get away from the tree!" in an armed-and-dangerous fashion every time anyone gets within two feet of the thing.
After Christmas we cut the tree up to burn on the open fire. In past years I always loved this because the needles would fizz in the flames. Sadly, not enough needles remain for even this small amount of viewing pleasure.
The next year the artificial tree is back in its rightful place. Where it should be.