Do you buy a live Christmas tree or a cut one?

That's the best reason I can think of (for me) to get a live tree. I've planted lots of trees in my life. I feel like I'm giving something back after hearing about the devastation of the rain forests. We bought 3 acres of land last year with only about a third of it being wooded. The rest is, or was, completely cleared out. It's just too plain and gets so hot in the summer! So, I've been planting fruit trees around, plus planting evergreens around the perimeter of our property. The tree we buy this year will be going where the other evergreens have gone... around the perimeter. I might just do this every year until we're completely surrounded by pine trees! I had an artificial one when my kids were living with me because my youngest was severely allergic to evergreens. He's since had 5 years of allergy shots so he's no longer allergic. My husband loves real trees so we're compromising... buying a live one to plant outside once Christmas is over.

My youngest son had the same problem, Xero. When he was 4 I had to buy an artificial tree because that was one of the many things he was allergic to. That was fine with me! No tree to buy each year, no pine needles on the floor to deal with, and no shelling out that money each year for a new tree! But, my husband wants a real tree now. My son had 5 years worth of allergy shots so now he's healthier than I am! LOL I agree wholeheartedly with your reasoning for having a fake tree! If my grandmother was allergic, or even if my son was still allergic, I'd have a fake tree. It just wouldn't make sense to put something like a real tree above the comfort of our own family!

Cats can be real pests with Christmas trees! I remember a cat we had when I was young who would climb up the trunk to the very middle of the thing! It was impossible to get him out of there! He knocked the tree over one year! After that, my mother would always tie a heavy string around the middle of it and attached it to the wall on both sides. I can still see that string! LOL Of course, all the cats I've had since then would play with the ornaments hanging near the bottom until they fell off the tree and broke. I started leaving the bottom of the tree bare. It helped... some.

Oh, that's lovely, jhoannejoj! What a beautiful memory! I would give anything to have one such as yours to remember back on. That tree your mom made had more significance than any real or store-bought tree could ever have! I would have loved to have been there to see you experiencing your first real tree, though. To be able to experience that kind of awe in our adulthood is so very rare! Enjoy your next one!

I agree! I used to do that before I was married with kids. They're so much fresher when you cut them down yourself. Getting a cut tree right now would be kinda nice because there are so many to choose from. I doubt the selection will be there next week, though. I guess hubby and I should get out and buy that live tree soon, too. As far as I've seen, there's only one nursery selling them around here!

Thank you so much, ea! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well! I had an artificial one for around 15 years. My son was about 4 years old when we found out that he was extremely allergic to evergreens so I had to buy an artificial tree. I loved it, personally! No pine needles to pick up or clog the vaccuum cleaner, no freezing our buns off going out to pick out a real tree, no hauling it outside once it was time to take down the decorations, and no shelling out all that money each year for a new tree! But, hubby loves real trees. This will be our 4th Christmas together and I just haven't liked all that goes with a real tree. We're buying a live one this year and only keeping it in the house for a week or so. It shouldn't dry out by then and I'll be planting it outside where it will give us more privacy here. Enjoy your tree and everything that goes along with it!

Your pine trees sound like my pine trees. They're all kind of skimpy. Well, we do have one growing beside our house that's really full and thick. I put lights on it but I'm not about to cut it down and bring in inside! I had an artificial tree almost the entire time my youngest son lived with me. We found out when he was about 4 years old that he was allergic to practically everything, including evergreen trees. So, I had to stop buying the real ones and get an artificial one. Actually, it was much more convenient because it was always there. You didn't have to go freezing your buns off to buy a real one every year, nor did you have to spend that money each year! Real trees are expensive! My husband loves real trees so I got rid of the artificial one. I'm going to insist on a live tree from now on, though. We have the room to plant them after Christmas and, if we're going to spend that much money on a tree each year, we should have something that will live awhile!

Those are fine, too! Some of them look like the real thing until you get up real close to them. I've seen a lot of fake palm trees with lights on them, too. I don't know exactly when that trend started but I think it looks pretty cool.

I had an artificial one for years myself. My youngest son was diagnosed with allergies when he was about 4 years old and one of them was from evergreen trees. So, I had to buy an artificial tree. They have two very good qualities... you don't have to go out and freeze your buns off then lug the thing home each year, nor do you have to shell out all that money for a real tree! Those things are expensive! Oh! And you don't have the problem with pine needles all over your house after the holidays! LOL

I've seen them for sale around here for years but always thought that it would be too much trouble trying to keep them alive so I never even considered buying one until this year. We have the room now to plant one outside, actually we could plant a lot of them outside! We want to have some privacy on our property which we really don't have right now. The private road we share with a few other families runs right through our property! So, by buying a live tree, I'll be accomplishing a lot of things. Also, hopefully, not too many of the needles will fall off inside! LOL I hate picking them up or, worse, stepping on them in bare feet! I had an artificial tree for about 15 years and loved it! No needles to clean up, no freezing my buns off to go out and pick out just the right one, no handing someone a large amount of money each year for something we'll just be throwing away, anyway... yeah, I loved my artificial tree! But, my hubby loves real ones, so... I always try to do things that he'll like because he really works hard for both of us. I love to see him smile.