christmas (tat) number one - those useless trees

tat? If you buy a tree you can plant every year and soon you'll have a small forest, pine needles to rake up, fire hazard.... but still that makes more sense than cutting them down every year. Problem is, the kids really love the ritual. Maybe I'll become a grinch after they grow up and get a fake tree or not do one at all...

hi jb we did just that when we had our own house, we bought a nice sized spruce in a big pot, used it for our christmas tree then planted it in our yard. we did this for five years so we had a fir , a p ine, and three spruce trees in a nice big yard. time passed, we sold the house, went thru the usual thing with real trees and the pine needles and all. NOw I would love an apartment even with left over pine needles and all. but they just put up our Gold Crest artifical trees with lights just half way up so evidently theres a lot more decorating to be done. I was downstairs waiting for Adriana and brad but evidently they are not coming today for the singalong. adriana is an accomplished violinist and her husband plays along with his gitaur and they manage to play old favorites and new favorites and songs in between. lol well they well be here next Monday i am sure.

We have done all of the above. For several years I couldn't afford a tree. Back when they were semi afforable. I decorated my Norwich Pine one year until my do went through and knocked it over and we had balls rollings everywhere. I have then found a plastic plaque of a pretty tree and put it up on the wall. Then we got a real tree for a couple of years. Now we just decorate the house and call it good. We decorate each bedroom (3) and most of the rooms excluding the bathrooms. Interesting graphics on the video.

I'm just hear to escape the madness of the politics section where they seem to think if you don't stick a lifesize jesus on the top of a real tree you'll be chucked out of heaven. All those politicos chopping all those trees down just to make a point about the right kind of baubles.

Most people here in Australia do not have real trees at Christmas time. We have plastic ones that last for years. My parents still have the same one that they bought when I was little, which probably would have been around 35 years ago and I have had mine for 10 years! This is much better than trees being farmed, just so that they can be cut down and and die in peoples living rooms! The only mess that gets on the carpet from our fake trees is usually bits of tinsel which we just scoop up and put back in the box at the end when we pack it up!

Christamas time is now-a-days more a commercial opportunity than anything else. For me, except when I was very young, christmas tree was more a trendy thing than a necessity .. Is a symbol. No need to spend next 6 months looking for pine needles on your carpet. Put the three outside of house .. Or buy a plastic one, parts of it can have different usage dirring the rest of year ... find a big wallpaper with a nice christams tree and put it on the wall .. remove it and save it for next year after the season ..

Well jb I shudder at the commercialisation of Christmas, but I DO celebrate it in recognition of the coming of my Saviour, even though I know the day isn't the right one. Those useless trees. Some plastic ones don't look too bad, but I prefer a real one that can be planted later. For the last number of years we have spent Christmas with family. My son and his wife and their two little girls make a BIG thing of Christmas. They have a large real tree in a tub and it is planted after Christmas. A green sheet is spread around the tree to catch and confine the needles. The family enjoys a VERY happy time together decorating the tree, with the girls deciding what goes where. A massive array of gifts from relatives around the world are placed under the tree. The delight of those two little girls and the family love and fun around the tree is a joy to watch and have a part in. It is a highlight of the year. The other boys have older children but the same type of thing happens in their homes. The tree, the decorations, the lights and the whole atmosphere add to the enjoyment of being together. While I haven't put up a tree for many, many years, I would have to conclude that while it might be conceived as a waste in some ways, it is less of a waste than many other things are throughout the year, and pays tremendous dividends for happy families, especially ones with small children.

Well, in true "redneck" fashion, I do in fact leave my christmas lights on my porch year long, so I won't count them. I had considered (if I ever owned my own home) of putting a hole in the foor in one corner, and planting a small pine tree in it to remain up permanently. Could go with a fake tree but they're just plain vile and my daughter would never allow it anyway. Can't watch the video right now, my lady is watchin tv and I don't want to disturb her, will check it out later. I will counter with a song though....for your amusment and because it fits the discussion and takes up text space. "the 12 pains of christmas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQNQVqR-X38

But bunny, my favorite decoration IS the tree!! I have an smallish artificial one, so the things you've mentioned aren't an issue, and since I am in a big fat rush today, I won't have time to watch the video :D