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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think natural Christmas trees are rubbish

189 replies

Grindelwaldswand · 06/12/2016 07:13

Got our first real Christmas tree yesterday and it is useless its 6ft but has massive gaps in between the branches and it can't even hold a bauble on the tip of the branch without falling to the floor Angry i had visions of an amazing tree that would fill the hluse with the smell of pine needles but its scentless. definitely getting a fake tree next year.

OP posts:
AnnPerkins · 06/12/2016 08:13

In my experience the more non-drop the needle the less smell the tree has.

We've bought a potted one this year. I like the idea of bringing the same one indoors every Christmas. I feel like we should name it perhaps? 🎄

MiaowTheCat · 06/12/2016 08:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SixthSenseless · 06/12/2016 08:15

Mumsnet has let you down, OP. There should be a 'how to buy a tree' thread at the end of August, explaining all this.

Height, symmetry, gaps, a good 'crown' etc.

Next year you will have the nets off 43 trees in every pub car park between you and Lands End, twirling, standing back, comparing.

However, I have added to my technique after reading this thread: I will be sniffing my trees before purchase in future.

Don't put the baubles right on the ends of the branches, when the tree does droop a bit they will fall off. Put them a couple of Cms in.

Original poster
Grindelwaldswand · 06/12/2016 08:18

Its only 19 days till Christmas hardly early Hmm and it's coming down for fire wood on the 30th. Literally can't wait to burn it its a limp pathetic excuse of a tree and i don't think any amount of tinsel can fill these gaps and there are no branches in the gaps to hang any more baubles Sad

OP posts:
GoofyTheHero · 06/12/2016 08:19

Mindtrope yes exactly, that's what I meant when I said I didn't see the point in a fake tree. It's not actually a tree, is it? I don't get it!

shovetheholly · 06/12/2016 08:20

Get another one that you like and put the gappy one outside in your garden! Then you can have two trees.

Trees indoors is honestly my favourite part of Christmas. I like it better than mince pies, presents and the roast combined.

Liiinoo · 06/12/2016 08:21

I used to delay buying my real tree to ensure I had the freshest possible one at Christmas. It often meant I ended up with the leftover,uneven crappy ones but I thought they had been harvested recently, so I was happy. Then one day I heard Chris Evans (who owns/owned) a Christmas tree farm talking about people who do this and laughing about it. Apparently they are all harvested in the same week, so the one you buy in the third week of December will have been cut at the same time as one you buy on December 1st. So this years is already up. I am not decorating it yet though - that would be peaking too early.

I do try and order online as I am weedy and hate wrestling them out of the car. Last year that was a disaster, my 8ft tree was a 5ft tree with a 3 ft stem on top. This year I used a local supplier and it is the best tree ever.

BakeOffBiscuits · 06/12/2016 08:22

We go off as a family and spend ages arguing decided which tree is "just right" it's a family tradition🎄🎄🎄

shovetheholly · 06/12/2016 08:23

Oh, and if you get a Nordman fir they are brilliant. You don't get the lovely smell but they are a gorgeous shape and absolutely brilliant for holding the needles, unlike the fragrant trees. I'm going to try buying some pine needle essential oil and adding that to the room this year in the hope that I'll also get that amazing scent this way. (Has anyone tried this?)

Trethew · 06/12/2016 08:25

Get a British tree and choose it carefully (as described by many already).

Trees imported from Scandinavia may have been cut as early as September or October before snow makes harvesting difficult. They will have dehydrated significantly before you buy them, and in the worst case will start dropping all their needles as soon as you put them indoors.

Buy a "non-drop" and don't worry about throwing it away. It's a crop.

annandale · 06/12/2016 08:26

I just want a real tree. That's Christmas to me. When we were really pretty broke growing up my mum asked what was the minimum she could get away with for Christmas still to be Christmas for me, and I said a tree plus listening to the King's carols on Christmas Eve - she could stop presents, no extra food, whatever she liked but I wanted a tree. She always managed it

Muddlingthroughtoo · 06/12/2016 08:28

When I was 4 I stepped on pine needles and my foot swelled up like a balloon, thought it was a one off but it happened the year after in between my fingers. Fake Christmas trees are Christmas savers for me!! And some look just as beautiful as the real thing.

blueskyinmarch · 06/12/2016 08:28

I love a real tree. To get the baubles on one you need to buy the bauble hook things so you can position them along the branches. You can’t just use the cord to hoop them over the end like on a fake tree. You have to use more of the tree interior on a real tree.

I am going to choose mine at the weekend. DH will have exactly the experience that someone outline upthread. It is tradition that DH and i always fall out over the tree. We then sit down after it has been decorated with a glass of wine and in a rosy glow of wine and twinkly lights proclaim how beautiful it is and harmony is restored.

Original poster
Grindelwaldswand · 06/12/2016 08:29

I don't have a garden to put the tree in or a spare £50+ to go buy a new fresh one Hmm MN is an alternate universe sometimes

OP posts:
MiddlingMum · 06/12/2016 08:30

AnnPerkins We have one in a pot in the garden which comes in each year. They last for about 5 or 6 years before they get a bit too big or grow into an odd shape. When that happens, the old one gets chipped and composted so it's not wasted.

We've never thought of naming them though - maybe we should?

I much prefer the shape of a slightly wonky real one to a "perfect" artificial one but each to their own.

pennycarbonara · 06/12/2016 08:32

My mum's old tree actually is environmentally friendly in a way because its saved about 15 tree's from been cut down.

Yeah, I grew up in a house where we used the same plastic tree for even longer than this. maybe it's because natural / organic just wasn't as big a thing as it is now, but it seemed quite normal to have a plastic tree; the people we knew who had real trees seemed like exceptions. We were unusual in keeping one plastic tree for 20+ years, but I totally approve of that. And as a kid, I felt better when reading the Hans Andersen story about the Christmas tree, because we weren't doing that, throwing them out every year. Plastic trees also make a lot less work, no sweeping up needles, and the branches are a lot tougher - putting decorations on real trees can snap bits. Though they do need a bath occasionally, I think we only did that about once every 5 years (which, knowing MN, someone will say is disgusting!)

SlottedSpoon · 06/12/2016 08:33

Not all real trees are pine. Some are spruce. Some smell more than others, have different shapes and needle types, some drop and some don't.

If it's sparse then that's just luck of the draw - I always insist on seeing mine anwrapped and spun round 360 degrees to make sure I am happy with the shape and the fullness. If it's too droopy to hold the baubles then it's probably dehydrated and needs a good drink. Leave the base to soak in plenty of water for a few hours then try again.

myusernamewastaken · 06/12/2016 08:37

I had a real tree every year for a while but the last one stank vinegary and i got fed up of finding pine needles everywhere....

cautiousoptimist1 · 06/12/2016 08:39

I love a real tree too and am always drawn to the biggest one I can find. Luckily part of our Xmas tree choosing argument involves my DH reminding me that it'll look too big in the space we want it for! DH isn't as into Xmas as I am but he's starting to choose some lovely trees! My criteria is:

  • not "Xmas pudding" shaped with all the branches at the same level
  • stem for the star to be wired to
  • good gaps
  • base will fit in stand!

And I always name my trees! We've had Norbert, Roland, Henry and Trevor! I think last years was Trudy (DH thinks I'm ridiculous but now suggests names too!).

MoreThanUs · 06/12/2016 08:39

OutDamnedWind (one of t first posts on page 1) has described the joy of chiding your real tree perfectly!

MoreThanUs · 06/12/2016 08:40

*chosing

Nemosnemsis · 06/12/2016 08:41

Buying a real tree every year is pretty much carbon neutral and much better for the environment than a plastic tree. It takes years for a tree to grow to typical required height, during which time it's oxygenating the atmosphere. As the trees are harvested, new ones are planted in their place and the farm cycle continues. Its not like we're all heading out into the forests with chainsaws and having a massacre (as a pp seemed to be imagining!) If it wasn't for the christmas tree i industry, the trees wouldn't have been planted in the first place.

Also the event of going out to pick the tree is a lovely christmas tradition for many families.

OP, I hope this bad experience hasn't put you off for next year - just don't buy unseen again!

schmack · 06/12/2016 08:41

weve had the same lovely fake tree from ikea for 11 years now, ever since ds1 was earning to crawl at about the same time the real tree we'd bought shed all its needles on the carpet ..... I think they look lovely in big, airy, wooden floor type places but in a modern house with efficient central heating and small kids, no way. I just can't deal with the bloody needles everywhere.

The dc love getting the same tree out of the loft, it's become a bit of a ritual, and I kbow exactly where to put things on it now.

MaximumVolume · 06/12/2016 08:42

Nordmann Fir tree here, bought, but in the garden until next weekend. Only cost £30 for 5/6ft, so I hope your £50 tree is tall, OP.

I always get a fir. I slightly prefer a Noble Fir, but couldn't get one. We did a mass trip with BIL van tree and bought 5 trees for all the family!

Afishcalledchips · 06/12/2016 08:44

Real trees aren't bad for the environment if you buy locally grown ones, in fact you could say they're good for the environment if they've been specifically planted as Christmas trees, and will be continually replaced.

Not so much I guess if you buy them from a supetmarket/DIY store/giant shed on the side of the road because they'll have travelled miles and miles on the back of a lorry.

I'm after a good potted one though, and don't care about prefect symmetry