Christmas tree real or fake?

[Velveteenfruitbowl]

We’ve managed to be away every Christmas for years so haven’t made a Christmas tree purchasing decision since before moving to our new house and now I’m at a loss. List of situations specific points for each below but wwyd in my position

Real:
-I like them better
-Cheaper as a one off purchase (£60 delivered, can’t pick one up ourselves this year and generally don’t want to ever)
-Difficult to dispose of as council won’t take them and can’t take it to wherever it is you take old Christmas trees ourselves so will have to saw it up and put it in bin.

Fake:

• more expensive but saves money in the long run
  
• difficult to store, we don’t have any spare storage space really but will squeeze it in somewhere
  
• it’s likely that we may not ever use it again (we are away for Christmas very often and may move abroad in the next decade anyway)
  

I’m tempted to get a real one purely because it’s nicer but I’m not sure it’s worth the agro.

[DramaAlpaca]

It has to be a real one. It wouldn't be Christmas without the smell of the tree. Just lovely.

[Leflic]

Corneysjazzband because it’s a business which encourages growing and planting of trees.
You have to keep your artifical tree 20 or do before it’s as environmental friendly as a fresh cut tree.

[Whoops75]

Real! No matter how 'real' people think their fake trees look, they don't!

It’s ok
We know

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I've dithered between both.
I bought a real tree a few years ago that had massive gaps in the branches once it settled and it was £50+ so I was put off.
Then we bought a pre-lit fake ( Amazon bargain, delivered about the 22nd Dec , we had loads of snow that year and deliveries were affected ) . It took a load of fluffing and faffing but looked 'ok' .
Every year though I hated it more

Then we got a real tree and I was unwell on the 24th and thought it was the tree .....but it wasn't , it was my sense of smell.

We got a really nice (£) fake tree a couple of years ago, this year we will try it with no baubles and some extra lights on static , as we have two lovely new cats who might or might not mangle it .
It'll get set up on the 14th and we'll go from there .

[PianoThirty]

As a compromise, get a small real one, 3-4ft high, and put it on a low table. It'll be cheaper to buy and easier to dispose of, but it will still have that real tree smell.

[Celebelly]

@Velveteenfruitbowl Mine is a WeRChristmas one. The Alaskan Grand Fir

[banivani]

Real, for environmental and atmospheric reasons. I did have a fake one and it broke after three Christmases so I decided not worth it. I might go fake but then I'd want something really arty like this one shop.lovi.fi/product/112/lovi-spruce-tree-180cm

We can order tress for delivery and include pick up after Christmas for a fee. But mr Banivani takes our saw out and saws the tree into little bits, which we then can put into the normal bin, which were we live goes to be burned at the rubbish burning plant.

[CointreauVersial]

I alternate/vary, depending on what we are doing that year.

Last year we had a real one, because we had 15 people for Christmas and were at home throughout the holiday. Also (handily) DD1 was working for a garden centre, so we got a massive discount. I do prefer real, but they require more effort (collecting/removing/watering....)

I have a reasonable-looking fake one which comes out some years if we are going to be away over Chistmas, or if it's going to be a quiet year. This year, for example, the fake one is coming out because I'm still recovering from a hysterectomy, about to start radiotherapy, and quite frankly can't be bothered with a real one when the only people coming for Christmas are my DPs.

[Dandelion1993]

Fake.

It's a one off cost, they look nicer and more even, less maintenance and don't start dying half way through the celebrations. You also don't have to try and get rid of it either. Just oacknit away until next year.

[RockinHippy]

Fake, but we have cats & real can be toxic to cats & cats are bastards with Christmas trees. I'm happy it to have to deal with shedding needles though

[girlywhirly]

My friends have always liked real, but this year are having a fake one because their cat tries to drink the water in the real tree holder/reservoir.

I used to have real trees years ago but stopped because they became too much hard work (for me, ‘D’H stopped being any help after the first year) Our cats weren’t bothered about them.

A good quality fake, if looked after can last many years and cost far less than a real tree. Our previous fake lasted 16 yrs, and when DH took it to the recycling centre most of it was metal, the guy said the ‘needles’ could be stripped off and the metal recycled.

[Velveteenfruitbowl]

@Celebelly thank you, feeling more incentivised to get a fake one now.

[LifeInAHamsterWheel]

I get quite allergic to real trees, I don't think I could suffer one in the room all over Christmas. Also I hate the idea of having to look after it - I have enough to do at this time of year!

We invested in a Balsam Hill pre-lit fake tree and it's gorgeous, so that will be our tree for the next 15 years at least!!

[OverthinkingThis]

Fake, I have a cat and a toddler so could do without the needles etc.

[Whoops75]

Puleo Christmas trees are lovely fake trees.

[NotMeNoNo]

Real tree. Usually about £35. We get a Fraser fir which are narrow and don't drop too badly. Never owned a fake tree but the decent ones are too expensive.

[Cookit]

Going to get our real tree was one of the biggest “events” of Christmas as a child and I make sure it’s similar for my kids.
We used to go to a Christmas tree farm in a forest all wrapped up in the cold, spend ages freezing and deciding which tree... when younger that was where we’d meet Father Christmas and as we got older we’d have a cup of hot chocolate etc after and then go home to decorate. Getting a plastic tree out of the loft would not have been nearly as special.

I do keel attempting to grow my own Christmas tree to use as our tree every year to live in the garden but I’ve not cracked it yet.

[Roselilly36]

Fake for us, had a real tree one year, dog ended up at the vets, we thought he had an eye infection, he was allergic to the tree.

[Tensixtysix]

Real tree. We then dry it outside over summer and cut it up for winter firewood.

[Chocolateteabag]

Real!

DH grows then so have to have a real one

TIP - put an old duvet cover under the base then when you want to take it out side, take it out of the base, slide that out then pull up the duvet cover to keep the needles from going everywhere as you drag it out

[speakout]

Fake trees are not real trees.

They are bits of plastic on a stick.

Fake trees are like fake flowers- just don't make the mark.I would rather have no tree than a fake one.

[Notonthestairs]

Fake. Real trees make me wheezy. But I really like our fake one - it cost a small fortune 10 years ago.

[Leflic]

There’s spruce, fir and pine trees on sale. Surely you’d pick a different type to the one you are allergic too?

I quite like a “non tree”: bare branches with baubles, metalwork trees , artistically tree shaped stacked books or wine bottles. Even the completely fake tinsel trees have a kitsch charm
But mock trees that are supposed to look real are a bit odd I think.

[Gizlotsmum]

I've just brought a fake tree as much as I love real trees they are just so expensive. Hoping I love the fake one.. It looked good on the pictures and the reviews and has a 15year warranty so will have paid for itself in that time.

[girlywhirly]

It’s the sap from conifers that is the problem, if you get it on your skin it can be very irritant. The sap is what gives that fir tree scent. Why risk having any real tree if it makes you wheeze?