Real or fake Christmas tree? Share your opinions with Homebase for a chance to win a £300 Homebase voucher. NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

‘Tis the season once again. With Christmas on its way, Homebase is keen to get Mumsnetters’ views on the pros and cons of getting a real or fake tree.

Here’s what they have to say: “The Christmas tree is at the heart of everyone’s Christmas look but where do you stand on the annual dilemma - real or fake? Are you a fan of the fresh pine scent and traditional feel you only get from a real tree? Or do you go for a versatile artificial tree most years? Let us know if you go as far as ‘lights included’ or if your fake tree came already snow-tipped and adorned with berries and cones. Tell us all about your trees from over the years, whether you decide on authentic or artificial this Christmas and any tips you have on caring for real trees.”

So what do you think? Does the authentic smell of a real tree win you over? Or are smaller artificial trees better suited to your home? Do you get your family's much-loved tree out of the loft each year or is it a Christmas tradition to go together and choose one? Does real or fake really matter to you and your family?

Whatever your opinion, Homebase wants to know.

We’ll enter everyone who posts on this thread into a prize draw to win a £300 Homebase voucher.

Thanks and good luck.
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Artificial. We'd love a real tree, but it would be completely impractical. We don't have a car, so would struggle to get one home & then dispose of it each year. DH & I are both allergic to pine sap - it brings us out in a rash. Also, we have a pretty small living room, & if we wanted a tree of any decent height, we'd need a tree that took up abou 1/4 of our available floor space. We have a plain tree with no inbuilt lights or anything.

I miss the smell of a real tree though. My parents often had a real one (which my mum & I had to be careful not to touch too much). I love the small of certain evergreen trees after it's rained, it always smells like Christmas.

That said, having a fake one does have another advantage. I still remember the year my mum left her handbag under it. She was still finding the dropped needles in summer.

I'm so glad we're not the only ones who fear their child climbing it. DD tipped it over one year. Thankfully we'd not yet decorated it... we are keeping the good glass decorations until she's a lot older!

I always had a real tree as a child and have had a real tree since being with my Dh and having our own children. I love the excitement of choosing a tree (hoping it'll fit) and taking it home all wrapped up in the car! Then of course comes the mess of fitting the tree in to the stand and hoovering up the needles that have fallen during the transportation!

Fake for me too. I don't even care that it doesn't look real! My tree has been going years, ad I am quite fond of it now. No hassle of going to pick it up, carry it to the car in the cold dark and damp. No dropping needles that I need to hoover up lest they hurt my kids' or pets' feet. No topping up the water. And it's obviously cheaper too.

We had a real tree only once when I was growing up, I didn't like the pine smell and my Mum hoovered the needles ad infinitum then said never again, so it was fake from then on. Husband and i have had the same fake tree since our first Christmas together in 2004, with all the same decorations we purchased together that year too. We buy one new bauble every year, usually found on a trip away, so it represents a memory. Looking forward to having so many baubles that we need a second fake tree. Pine needles would injure our little dog's paws, so they're a no-no for us. Love putting our tree up!

Real but a smaller one that comes in a lot, it can then be brought in for Xmas and be outside through the year, meaning a new tree isn't being chopped down every year but we still get the real thing

Always real - my parent always buy from a local forestry commision place and I guess that has defined normal to me. Real trees are expensive - we pay ~£40-45 but to me are "proper" christmas trees!

Real, always. There's a Christmas tree farm about a mile from our house where you pick and cut your own for under £20, and in February the dry branches make great kindling

Real here. I have the wood all ready for the fire from last years tree.
If we didn't have a burner, I'd get an artificial one.

I am probably odd in that I like chopping it up and storing it, ready to be nice and dry to burn for when we get a new one. It's a ritual that's hard to break.
The branches go to another pile - an insect hotel at the back of the garden.
I don't mind putting all the decorations away as I always get a buzz from getting them out the next year. Ah!

Both! We go pine pulling every year at a nature reserve and in return get a free tree for an hour or twos work. Great day out, we absolutely love it. Tree gets put in a pot and decorated and put in dd 2s bedroom.

Two fake trees down stairs, one in front window and one in the conservatory. Loads of lights everywhere, lots of decorations we've accumulated over the years.

Love Christmas!!!

Always real for us . We put it in the conservatory and it seems to keep its leaves well. Which makes me wonder if it's the light in there , or perhaps just that it's a little cooler. < ponders >

We have a real tree. A big part of Christmas for us is going out and choosing just the right one: not too small, not too sparse, just the right shape. I like imagining the space it will fill back at home. Then we get it bundled up and try and get it in the car! We drive home with that lovely Christmassy smell all around us and spend the evening decorating it. It's one of my favourite parts of the build up to Christmas day.

Real but get from a local farm wouldn't go near homebase.

I love the idea of a real tree but my fake tree has been going for years and still looks great so it feels wasteful to buy something else. I did find some pine needle scent things in the garden centre this week for that real-tree-smell.
[santa]

Real trees are beautiful, until they shed their needles. We have an artificial tree and wheel it out year after year until it falls apart.

Real trees are amazing, the smell is so fabulous - it's truly special! Last year we had one of each, real in the living room and artificial in the kitchen/diner. The artificial was festive of course, but not a patch on the real one!

We have an artificial tree, I've never had a real one before, until I moved area 5 years ago, I didn't know Christmas tree farms were a thing!

Our fake tree is just a basic tree, but it's huge and fills our bay wonderfully, the DC help position the lights and decorations depending on how we feel.

I use Scentsicles for the warm comforting smell.

DH keeps banging on about getting a 'real' tree but with cats and young DC and a baby the needle shedding puts me off. Also our cats like to chew on the fake branches when they think I'm not looking - I'd worry they'd do the sleeves an injury with real needles! A lot of the fake trees are quite realistic nowadays and with enough baubles and ribbonsorry I'm a tinsel snob on our fake tree looks festive enough

Real every time, comes from growing up near a pine forest, nothing beats the smell of fresh pine

Fake, on the grounds of better for the environment. It wasn't particularly expensive, but has lasted six years so far and still looks like new. The other advantage is that you can build it a bit one sided so it takes less space but looks just as leafy.

Fake, real trees are a waste of money imo.

I like the idea of a real tree but when it comes to deciding whether to buy a real one or the get the fake one out that I've had for 10 years the 10 year old one comes out.

A real tree for me - although this is the first year with a toddler so ask me again in a month!

Fake. I cba with needles and mess! Plus it is odd and used to be my parents so it already exists so it might as well be used.

Fake! We got what I think is a nice one and we'll be using it for years. Folds up nicely. We light candles for that Christmas scent!

We have a fake one which we've reused for 15 years! I couldn't be bothered with getting a new one every year, it's hard enough work getting the plastic one out the attic.