Real tree Vs artificial tree? Is it a status symbol?

[CatsWhiskers1976]

Just putting up our artificial tree and having some thoughts.
At work the other day we got to discussing Christmas trees, and the old real vs artificial debate. It seemed to me that there was a bit of 'snobbery' against those who had artificial trees (maybe that's just where I work!). There were those who said artificial trees were just TERRIBLE for the environment. Given that most people I know have had their tree for many years (our family one was about 40 years old before it was replaced) is this really true? Cutting down live trees is okay for the environment? I have never had a real tree, growing up I didn't know anyone who had a real tree and in our circles it was usually only the slightly more well off people who ever had real trees. Apologies if this offends anyone, it was just my experience as a child growing up in working class Scotland.
Some people at work looked horrified at the thought of having a 'plastic' tree (mind, they were going off to cut the perfect one down on their 'estate').
So what do you think? Real Vs artificial? I spent a fair bit a few years ago to get a really nice realistic looking artificial tree which I hope will last years. At the time we had cats and I was afraid they would get hurt/never leave the real tree alone so I have stuck with artificial.
What does everyone else have? Do you judge people with fake trees?

Always had an artificial tree growing up at grandparents and parents' (lower middle class). I don't bother with a tree at all.
I think some people like to do what their family did when they were children so if that was a real tree, then only a real tree will do, and I also think people who want real trees are more willing to put work into it and maybe bigger Christmas fans.

Always had real.

Keeping its needles under control is part of the challenge of Christmas. Also when it comes down we are forced to move the sofas and hoover out the dog's secret toy store.

I love the smell of a real tree

So do I.

So do our cats.

So do our dogs.

I gave up on real years ago, having spent Christmas after Christmas detaching cats from the branches, wiping up piddle from round the pot and finding bull terriers replete with tummies full of chocolate Santas!

Artificial all the way, now. Our present one is in its third year. The previous one is downgraded to porch decoration (it was just a little one (and is about 7/8 years old). The one before that we'd had for about 20 years and it was looking the worse for wear.

Solidly middle class here and we have an artificial tree. When I was growing up in the 70s and early 80s, nearly everyone had a real tree, but it wasn't bought until about the 15th December at the earliest. The artificial trees were rubbish, they looked nothing like a real tree and just didn't last.

But technology has moved on - yes artificial trees are still made of plastic but they are much more durable - we have a new one this year but the previous one lasted 20 years. The one we've got now will last as long, or longer. We don't have a theme for the decorations, and don't buy all new decorations each year. I certainly wouldn't be asking anyone to wrap in the "right" colour to go with my tree.

But then again, I don't have Instagram.

I can’t get my head round killing a perfectly happy tree to look after it for a fortnight before ditching.

This. Not a fan of the annual Christmas tree massacre. Seeing the corpses lining the pavements in January because people can't be bothered to dispose of them properly is a sad sight.

You know I was brought up with real trees (middle class for generations like it fucking matters 🙄) and they’re a pain. Needles fall out blah blah blah.
Seems wasteful in a way

We have three plastic ones and are happy as Larry with them, we hang out Oxbridge degree certs off them

I think it's a snobbery thing rather than a class thing. I do think people think dying trees are superior to plastic trees.

I was thinking about the environmental impact yesterday. I dont think our plastic tree has more environmental impact than all those trees being grown then chopped. Land usage, fertiliser pesticides, the effect on wildlife. Our tree is on its 8th year. And still going strong, I cant imagine needing a new one for a long time.

I have a real tree. Nothing to do with class - I just don't think it is christmas without the smell!

Working class and I have an artificial one. If you keep your artificial one going indefinitely, I don't think they are terrible for the environment - no more terrible than buying mounds of plastic toys, which as a childfree household, we don't.

We had a real one when I was growing up. I used to wish we had an artificial one because I liked to dress it very artistically, and a real tree won't always co-operate!

I don’t see it as a ‘class’ issue. We had real trees for years till I realised that the horrific chest infection I got every Christmas was due the tree. We promptly got an artificial tree and it looks great.

@lanthanum my DH is also allergic to real ones - took us a while to realise it was a thing. However, it's just an allergy to the spores that lurk on them, so what we do now is just to spray the tree with bleach when we get it home (really!) and then straight away hose it down. It retains its beautiful sprucey smell, but loses its allergenic quality. Just thought I'd mention, in case you miss a real tree!

Working class here. Always had an artificial tree until last year when I got a real one. I hated it. It kept falling over, water kept leaking out of the stand. It looked nice for about a week then sort of shrivelled/wilted even though it had plenty of water.. then on top of that, I just felt really sad for it there was this beautiful tree slowly dieing in my living room
So this year, I donated my old artifical tree (that was still in the loft) and bought a new one, it has lights built into it which saves me on my most hated job of putting fairy lights on the tree. I love it. Its 7ft tall, big, beautiful, easy to put up and I hope to have it for years to come.

Always had a real tree growing up, definitely not middle class. DP's family more middle class than mine but always had artifical trees.

I love a real tree, especially when they're wonky, too big for the space and wider than they are tall! Going off to choose it, watching it being netted up and squeezing it into the car is all part of xmas for me. As is vacuuming needles out of the carpet in August

We have tried trees with a root ball. Kept it on our allotment then after 2 years it just died on us

Had both. The artificial ones are a storage pain and they get tired and dusty. You long to throw them out. Real ones have pine scent - but shed needles everywhere although are better if in water. Some can be replanted and brought indoors every year - if you have man to do that.

I love having a real tree, but my parents always have an artificial one. Given they have only replaced it once in my 32 years, I can’t imagine it’s that bad for the environment. I assume the real tree I get annually is worse as it needs to be transported etc.

I'm using my grandma's old tree, it's at least 30 years old now. I remember thinking it was beautiful when I was little....it must've cost her a fortune back then. Looking at it now it's obviously fake and not realistic like the modern fakes but it still looks great when all the decorations are on it.
We bought another fake last year (couldn't justify £50 on a real one that year) and we will use it for many years to come.
Bought my kids a £12 one from B&M for their bedroom....It's hideous with it's pink lights and multi coloured baubles but they LOVE it.....not sure that one will last 30 years though!

I grew up with artificial trees, DP grew up with real and now we get a real one every year. We enjoy making a day of going to pick one, the place we go to has a little cafe so we get coffee and cake and have a wander around the forest and get chips on the way home. Just a little tradition we have. I wouldn't go back to an artificial now, even the smell of a real one is enough to convince me! We aren't high class so it's not a show off thing for us. I imagine rich people would choose a real if they have high ceilings? Class doesn't really come into it, it's just personal taste and what you can afford.

Always have a real tree with white lights, Pom Pom garlands rather than tinsel and a total mismatch of decorations- everything from Edgar Allan Poe through to a triceratops .

We're working class and have an artificial tree. Growing up my mum and stepdad used to get a real tree, I don't really want one in my own house though. I don't have the space for one, I don't like the stabby pine needles that fall out all over the place and I don't want my little living room to reek of pine, we already have plenty of pine forests close to our house for that! I also hate faffing about with tangles of Christmas lights every year so got a pre-lit tree a few years back, still works perfectly.

Anyone read Hans Christian Andersen the Fir-Tree? It's bloody miserable about a fir-tree that can't understand why it's been thrown out into the gutter after all the fuss that was made of it at Christmas. I was six when I read it and I was horrified. I'm ridiculously sentimental, I know, but I'm always relieved when the artificial tree goes back into the attic in January instead of out onto the driveway for the binmen.

My middle class circle of friends all have real trees...I definitely think it's a class issue. We have an artificial one. I don't think it's bad for the environment as we have had it for years. Last real tree we got was £40 which is another expense I don't want at this time of year...plus it's a pain to dispose of

I’ve always had artificial trees. I prefer the shape, more economical and we have ours up early so would look dreadful. I discovered when we bought our outdoor tree that I’m allergic to them so that rules them out anyway.

I’ve read for an artificial tree to be more environmentally friendly than a real tree it needs to be used for 10 years. Ours is on its 15th Christmas and still going strong. When it reaches the end of its life it will be passed to a neighbour who makes decorations from recycled trees.

Firmly in the real tree camp. Love the ritual of getting it in (we repot ours each year) and a real tree just smells like Christmas to me. It's a family tradition. I'm from a long line of Liverpool dockers & the class thing would never even have occurred to me tbh. It's just what we do. Old house, blessed with high ceilings so we've had an 11 footer in the past! Yes, it was ridiculous but the cat loved it.

I've never heard of the 'status' angle but I have to say I prefer a real tree, they look and smell nicer. Plus you can buy some that don't drop their needles which is what people generally object to. However there are some artificial trees that look quite real nowadays and it's obviously cheaper.