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#Post#: 19205--------------------------------------------------
The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: Thitpualso Date: November 17, 2018, 7:31 pm
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Is your tree real or artificial?
We prefer the artificial variety because we live in an apartment
on the third floor. Hocking a live tree up 39 steps to our home
won’t be fun. Taking down a dead tree would be even worse.
In the 35 years we’ve lived here we’ve had only two artificial
trees and we’ve enjoyed them. We can put up the tree early in
December and decorate it as the spirit moves. When we want the
smell of a Christmas tree we can buy fresh branches from the
corner bodega and refresh them as necessary.
When i was a child we always had a real tree. It was easy then.
You bought the tree, cut an inch or so off the bottom, put it
in a bucket of water to relax in the barn and moved it into the
house about a week before
Christmas. There were always problems with crooked trunks and
double tops. At quiet times you could hear the needles drop.
What are your experiences with Christmas trees both real and
artificial?
#Post#: 19215--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: Pattycake Date: November 17, 2018, 9:59 pm
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My trees nowadays are the ceramic ones Grandma made us. I have
her two as well as my mom's. But I always preferred the real
trees. Some years they would be more like Charlie Brown's, but a
few years we got real beauties. I think the earliest we
decorated was the 15th of December, and I still don't like all
this Christmas stuff out so far in advance!
#Post#: 19224--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: HenrysMom Date: November 18, 2018, 1:15 am
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One Christmas, a few years into my marriage, I was alone on
Christmas night. Then husband was working graveyard, and my
parents were out of town. I got so bummed out that I decided to
take down and throw out the tree all by myself. I got what I
thought were all of the ornaments off and then tried to get it
out the front door, where it got itself completely stuck. I had
to get the hacksaw out of the garage and saw off branches while
standing in my open entryway, freezing my tail end off. I
finally got it out the door and to the curb, where the husband
found it the next day along with several ornaments that I missed
scattered over the lawn. For years afterwards, I was finding
pine needles in that entryway.
And that is why I now insist on artificial trees.
#Post#: 19225--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: Aleko Date: November 18, 2018, 2:20 am
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I only ever have a real tree, which doesn't come into the house
and get decorated till Christmas Eve (bringing it in earlier was
traditionally unlucky in England, like bringing the cradle in
before the birth) and is lit with real candles. For me, the
smell of occasionally slightly-singed spruce and honey from the
beeswax isthe smell of Christmas.
#Post#: 19235--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: baritone108 Date: November 18, 2018, 8:00 am
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My husband grew up with real trees, I grew up with artificial
ones. We went back and forth throughout our marriage, starting
out with real trees. After several years we switched to
artificial when I got tired of vacuuming dead needles out of the
carpet and continuing to step on the strays all the way into
June. We got an artificial tree which we used until it started
to show wear and tear from being packed back into the storage
box each year. We went back to real trees, and so on. Then
about 10 years ago I discovered the joys of pre-lit artificial
trees and I was sold. There's no going back. (Note: My
husband missed the smell from real trees so when using
artificial we would bring in a few small branches of real fir
and put them in vases.)
#Post#: 19240--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: vintagegal Date: November 18, 2018, 8:53 am
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many years ago when my dad remarried, it was the clash of the
"real trees" (us) versus "fake trees" (them). Step-mom won, of
course, she already had the fake tree. Plus the scented spray to
spray around for that holiday aroma.
#Post#: 19241--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: katiekat2009 Date: November 18, 2018, 8:54 am
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I also grew up with a real tree. It was an annual event for my
dad to take us traipsing off into the woods to pick the "perfect
tree". (Of course, it never was!) I loved the smell of that
cedar tree (sigh). I tried using a real one a couple of times
after I married but they dried out so much it wasn't worth it. I
even threw one out on Christmas Eve one year and hurriedly got
an artificial tree! Now, my pre-lit one looks just fine. I use
real pine garland on my stair banister to get that smell of
Christmas.
#Post#: 19249--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: Rose Red Date: November 18, 2018, 10:29 am
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Fake tree. I grew up in a typical working class family. A fake
tree last for years and we get our money's worth :D. Also no
upkeep like a real tree needs. We're hard working people but we
don't want extra work or heavy lifting if we don't have to. LOL.
#Post#: 19250--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: RubyCat Date: November 18, 2018, 10:32 am
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[quote author=Aleko link=topic=814.msg19225#msg19225
date=1542529235]
I only ever have a real tree, which doesn't come into the house
and get decorated till Christmas Eve (bringing it in earlier was
traditionally unlucky in England, like bringing the cradle in
before the birth) and is lit with real candles. For me, the
smell of occasionally slightly-singed spruce and honey from the
beeswax isthe smell of Christmas.
[/quote]
I have to wonder if that was behind the annual Christmas Tree
Wars that my mother and father would have each year. My
father's family put up the tree on Christmas Eve but my mother
wanted it up a couple of weeks ahead of time because everything
got so busy the last few days before Christmas. The tension in
the house took all the joy out of Christmas some years.
Dh and I don't always put up a tree but when we do, it's been a
real one. Last year, we had just had a death in the family and
weren't really feeling like it, plus dd and her cat were staying
with us and dh was worried about the cat getting into the tree.
I know, I know... but he's a worrier.
I'm a bit on the fence about this year. I might go buy a tree
early and then put it up a week or two before Christmas. They
dry out so fast! I also want to put up better window lights and
put some lights on the holly bush out front. I find this time
of year difficult and am hoping to get a bit more into the
spirit of things this year. Baby steps...
#Post#: 19253--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Great Christmas Tree Debate
By: Aleko Date: November 18, 2018, 11:33 am
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[quote] My father's family put up the tree on Christmas Eve but
my mother wanted it up a couple of weeks ahead of time because
everything got so busy the last few days before Christmas.
[/quote]
My mother had that one all taped. Quite early in the morning of
Christmas Eve she'd turf all her children out out of the house,
like Hansel and Greterl's wicked stepmother, telling us not to
come back till we'd found something to decorate the house with.
So off we'd go into the hedgerows and woods to gather ivy, moss
and berry-laden branches, while she wrapped presents and stuffed
the goose in peace. Then when we came back with our spoils we
spent the rest of the day arranging them round the house and
decorating the tree; we had a thoroughly creative and absorbing
day and were too busy to get in her hair at all. (My brothers
and I had a collection of hand-carved animals - bears, chamois,
marmots, a St Bernard dog - that we had bought over the years
with our pocket money during skiing holidays in Switzerland, and
every year I would create a mountain landscape scene for them
with moss and rocks etc, every time differently. I loved doing
that.)
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