The Great Christmas Debate - #2 Real Tree Vs. Fake Tree

Loughc

So here we are week number 2 in the Great Christmas Debate Series.

We are under the 100 Day mark in the countdown and are getting closer to October!

This week we have another classic debate, Real or Fake... trees?

Real Trees have that glorious Christmas Tree smell that fills a room with Christmas cheer... but they shed, wither and require a bit of upkeep and maintenance to survive the Christmas period.



The Artificial Christmas trees while over time are more inexpensive, you can have them up for longer and are easier to move and maintain but they are a pain to store away, often look a bit glum after a few years and have no wonderful scent.



Rules, if you're voting we'd love to hear your reasons why for voting. Poll will close next Monday morning and the winner will be announced then.

Let the great Christmas Debate, begin!

Jude13

Fake

I've voted real. The reason being is that the whole idea of having a tree is the fact that its a real thing, in anyone's dream Christmas it would involve a real Christmas tree, with the smell and imperfections. It's an occasion and has a presence. The smell alone brings back real memories, like the smell of turf or a pipe. A fake tree is a substitution for a real Christmas, one just finds it too much work so goes halfway. Like cooking dinner for people but ordering in and putting on your own plates.

In saying that as the heat makes the tree dies in days, really days, plus the fact that they are 250 euro plus we go for a fake one, fake tree fake Christmas. We have yankee candles and scenticeles and kid ourselves that it smells almost the same but we all know it doesn't and chemicals just can't match the real thing. So we have a watered down experience for practical reasons, the own brand version of Christmas.

If I was in a winter climate I would have a real one.

Toto Wolfcastle

I voted for fake. I like the idea of real trees but the reality is very different. They’re hassle to bring home, leave pine needles everywhere and if you buy them too early and don’t have a water system they die. It can be hard to find a nice shape and size too.

Our fake one is hassle-free. Three pieces plus the stand, looks the same when you take it down as it did when you put it up and the shape is perfect.

Fake + scented candle.

CheerLouth

I'm torn on this one! We have both! We have a fake one in our kitchen which we put up in early December & we have a real one in the sitting room that we put up about a week before Christmas!

Decisions, decisions.....

Lord Spence

I personally prefer fake trees aswell, we have had family tree for 12 years now and that alone means something, it leans to one side now but that is part of its charm. Alas this year its getting relegated to the kitchen as its time for a new sitting room tree, any suggestions on the best place to buy a new fake tree would be greatly appreciated by the way.

Fake

I voted for real. Never had a fake one so the smell of a real tree is a huge part of the Christmas experience for me.

When I was a kid and suffering through the final few days of school before the Christmas holidays, I'd stick my head into the living room every morning before leaving and breathe in the scent of Christmas. It made me feel so happy and excited that it got me through the boring school day.

Also I've always helped my dad choose the tree. It's our tradition I suppose. Even now in my 30s and with my own home, I still always go with him to help him choose a tree for my parents house.

baby and crumble

I've voted for fake and there's a few reasons.

1) I appear to be allergic to the sap or something in a few different types of real trees. We had one last year and I had horrible welts all down my arm just from carrying it inside from the car.

2) The needles. They go everywhere. I was hoovering the up from in between our floorbaords in frickin MAY.

3) We have cats. It's bad enough trying to keep them from murdering the tree because of the lights and the glitter, but add in what they think is a real tree and all they do is try to climb it and eat it.

4) I don't like how wonky real trees can look. I know some people think that's quite charming and it is, but our sitting room (the only place we could possibly fit a tree) is quite small and there's only one place we can realistically put it. We have a small little space and wonky trees just get in the way.

5) I do like the smell, but in reality I pick up some really good pine scented candles (DW home and Sand & Fog do the best smelling and longest lasting scented candels ever, and they're always in TK Maxx) and that way I can control the smell.

6) If I'm honest I know I could take care of the tree from one year to the next, re-pot it, all that jazz but I am lazy about gardening and I hate it so realistically whenever I've gotten a real tree it's dead by March and then I feel guilty. At least I can get a few years out of a nice fake tree.

Moonbeam

Fake

Definitely a real one but they are very expensive and logistics can be an issue,
I I love the smell of them,the look of them and after christmas I love the smell of it burning in the fire!

Mc Love

Fake. They've a better shape, last longer and dont have the hassle going out in the cold to pick one and then transport it home!

Baggly

Fake. Environmentally its crazy we have an entire industry devoted to bringing trees into our house once a year so that they can slowly die.

Also they are major hassle if you do bring them home. Sizing, cutting, loose needles. Its not worth it. Its a decorative part of Xmas.....its not like you are using it before pulping it into paper later. Its crazy to me how many trees are bought.

Fake ones also look consistently better when decorated imo!

Jude13

Fake

Um, the environmental angle doesn't work very well for a fake tree. Source crude oil, refine to petroleum, use the by product to make basic plastic raw materials, manufacture said plastic (all associated plant and machinery), ship from china. Use for x number of years, send to landfill for it to degrade for a few centuries.

TheShow

Fake

Real.
Love the ritual of going down and picking out the tree. And the stories about the lobsided trees or too tall trees.
Fake trees are easier, but don’t provide those memories year on year.

donegal_man

In an ideal world it would be real however my son has a serious allergy so it has to be a simulated (don't like to call it 'fake') tree.

beertons

I voted fake. They don't shed, you know it will fit, and you can hang the insence smelling fir sticks on them, so it seems to the nose that its a real one.

Staph

Fake

I voted for real as I love the smell and look of it. I have a water stand and this really helps with it looking good through out the season. I don't mind the extra effort involved, compared to a fake tree. In fact, I love all the aspects of picking it, transporting it and finally getting to appreciate it when its decorated. I love the natural shape of the real tree and I think fake trees have this weird conical shape that in no way represents a real one. The vacuuming of needles and topping up the water stand are totally worth it, as the alternative is having a fake tree.

Baggly

Jude13 wrote: »

Um, the environmental angle doesn't work very well for a fake tree. Source crude oil, refine to petroleum, use the by product to make basic plastic raw materials, manufacture said plastic (all associated plant and machinery), ship from china. Use for x number of years, send to landfill for it to degrade for a few centuries.

Its a one time cost though - and its very easy to keep a fake tree for decades. Added to that, a lot of the plastic we recycle can be used for fake trees (they dont require a high grade of plastic input).

For real tree manufacture you can include the manufacturing cost of transport, cutting, disposal; not to mention the cost of local governments having to clean up ones that are dumped on the side of the road.

We are literally growing trees to keep them in the house for a month before binning them.

Waste is one thing, but needless waste is crazy.

Jude13

Fake

Without going down a weird non christmassy track there's no comparison between the environmental impact of a plastic tree (made on the other side of the world mostly) to a biodegradable natural tree farmed in Ireland.

Baggly

I disagree but sure you are right in terms of its not in the spirit of the thread, so happy to agree to disagree

Jude13

Fake

Next you'll be telling me you like Roses, watch Mrs Brown's boys (and think its good), and say happy holidays!

Baggly

I hate Roses, i dont watch MBB (nor have i liked the snippets ive seen) and most definitely dont say happy holidays!

Jude13

Fake

Back on the nice list it is then (Disclaimer: I have no influence on Santa's list)

miamee

Although my heart says real, I voted fake. I've had the same one for over 10 years now and it still has a few years left in it yet. A lot of fake ones can look awful but mine looks good , I invested in it when I got it I do love the smell of a real one, it's the essence of Cchristmas but I couldn't justify the cost every year at what is already an expensive time of year.

Side note: we got a new couchrecently, a corner one. But it now fills the corner where our Christmas tree normally goes so now we'll have to find a new spot for it :eek:

Baggly

Hang a yankee candle pine fir air freshener on it

pawrick

I go for fake, it's easier to get one which fits the room and there is less work involved.

My preference though would be for no tree as I'm the one who has to set it up, decorate it and prevent the cats frying themselves when they inevitably chew the wires or eat the tinsel, it does make for a festive looking litter tray however.

Whispered

I voted fake. I prefer the idea of real but I end up all stuffed up and headachey with them.

chuckles30

Fake for me - too much hassle trying to get a real one in and standing.  Also, I like my tree up in my sitting room from the Toy Show to Jan 7th.....there would be no green left!!  I also love the symmetry of the fake one.  Mine has done 12 Christmases so far and is still as good as day one.   It's in 2 sections, so easy to assemble - goes back in the box and back under the spare bed for the other 10.5 months of the year.  Still in the original box too!!

DvB

Artificial for me, and no qualms about admitting it. The one thing the real trees have going for them is the smell & that can be replicated now with candles & suchlike.
I find the hassle surrounding real trees with their inconsistent appearance, them dying out if up longer than a week or 2 in centrally heated homes etc, the needles going everywhere & then the disposal afterwards is just too much hassle. I enjoy just being able to get our two out from the attic & decorating them without the grief of having to out buy one (at a total rip off price given what I saw last year) & transporting it home before I can decorate it.

We always had an artificial tree growing up & it became almost an essential part of growing up & our famiy christmas, one year we broke with tradition & it simply wasnt the same, my mum ended up binning it (the scraggy looking real one) on Stephens Day & getting our trusted artificial one down instead, so I suspect I've been brainwashed somewhat in that regard!

Baggly

Lol - its like a member of the family you keep locked in the attic for 11 months of the year

jellybear

Oh this was a tough one!!
I voted for fake. I'm a bit OCD about uniformity etc so aesthetically, a fake tree is more pleasing.
I do love the smell of a real tree, but the shedding would drive me bonkers!

Zubeneschamali

Fake

Not even a question: real trees are real, fake trees are fake.

Loughc

I went for Fake myself, the ease, convenience and durability wins it for me for the fake tree.

The idea of having to but a real tree every year stresses me out, and then worrying about buying it too early into the season, and then trying to find a good one at a good price, all and all too many stresses I would want at Christmas!

freshpopcorn

It has to be fake for me.
Now I don't mind the smell but it reminds me of grave wreaths we get at Christmas.
Cleaning up/etc.I'd be fine. I wouldn't be a neat freak.
The main reason I voted for fake is because I have so many light, baubles, etc that a real tree couldn't cope with it.

otnomart

I voted fake.
Christmas tree in my family home was bought when I was born and it was such a pleasure to unpack it together with the decorations, year after year, it was like an old friend.
(Mind you, its fake needles can give fierce paper cuts !)
It is lasting forever and still looking great; we have bought a replacement only because we wanted something smaller.

We tried a real tree maybe 2-4 times, and did not like the shedding, it went off pretty quickly.

The fake one can be put up as early as you like, and stay up as long as you like.

Mind you, if I had a garden I would go for a real tree outdoors !

CheerLouth

After much thought, although I do love our real tree, I went with fake for the following reasons:

- Fake one can be up for much longer than the real one
- It's like an old family friend taking it out of the attic
- We have the Nebraska one from Homestore & More & it's so full and green and I love it!
- I always think the real tree is either too full & we are chopping bits off it, or it is too skinny


On the other hand, I hate taking the bugger down - I can never get it back in the box the same way it came out :P

Loughc

50 Votes posted so far with a 64% 36% split. I don't think this will be as close as the sweets poll was.

washiskin

My chocolate tuppence worth is fake trees all the way. It's the only way I can have as many as I have.

Loughc

Only 55 votes but a clear leader. Stil 3 Days to cast Your Vote!

Toots

Fake

I voted real, even though I actually have a lovely fake one. We always had massive real trees growing up, and if I had a house I'd 100% be getting a real one (I'd still put up the fake one somewhere but the real one would be the "main" tree) I live in an apartment and the first few years here we did have real trees but the every time getting it out of the apartment after Christmas was a nightmare. There would end up being pine needles all over the common areas and we'd be ages hoovering it all up.

We bought a fake tree as an experiment one year, and despite the lack of amazing smell, the ease of removal and lack of mess make it a winner for apartment living. We still do a massive real tree in my parents every year, so I can still get me fix of the Christmas scent.

Posy

Fake tree for me, all the way!!

I've never had a real tree, always plastic.

Mine is a fake BT tree. It's slim so fits beautifully in the corner, which a real tree wouldn't.
I also prefer a nice symmetrical tree. Plus I have a dog and used to have cats, so I like to be able to wrap the branch around the baubles so they can't be pulled off the tree by naughty pets!

Staph

Fake

I can see where you're coming from Posy. But I like the frisson of tension of having delicate ornaments on a real tree .... and pets, just adds to the christmas season! :pac:

OUTDOORLASS

Fake unfortunately. With houses so well insulated nowadays, real trees have major droop problems well before the big day, with
baubles touching the ground. I would love to have a real tree. Grew up with real tree always, and nothing nicer than coming downstairs
each morning to the lovely smell of pine. But back then, there was no nonshed trees, so for the next 6 months, you would regularly get a fine prick from random spines still stuck in the carpet.
We bought an artificial one about 10 years ago, bought it in sale after Christmas so bought a decent one. a 7 footer...... and shes just gorgeous when she is decorated in all her glory....
We live near a wood, so in December I can be seen taking some small bits off the real trees, and tucking them into our fake tree.
Lovely real pine smell then, so maybe I have the best of both worlds.
My brother refuses to go fake, and travels about 30 miles to a Christmas Tree farm, where he picks the tree he wants, and it
it cut fresh there and then. Hashtag real Christmas Tree Envy....

Posy

OUTDOORLASS wrote: »

We live near a wood, so in December I can be seen taking some small bits off the real trees, and tucking them into our fake tree.

I do that, except with my mantlepiece garland. Lovely and piney.

touts

Fake

Had an expensive "real look" fake tree for years and I was very happy with how real it looked etc etc etc. I still put it up in one room BUT a few years ago I got a real one for the showpiece in the living room. I did it because I wanted our son to have the memory of going and picking out the tree from a local tree farm. I thought we'd do it for one or two years but I have to say now real is best and we still do it. The smell, the look, the size. Everything about it is better. The perfect plastic fake one looks awful in comparison. I can't see us going back to a fake one for many years. Yes they are hassle but now that's enjoyable hassle. I keep mine in a stand with water and I've found is lasts for the whole Christmas period. It can drink about 2lt of water a day the first few days and that keeps it fresh for longer. Just go to a farm where it was cut that day and they will cut the bottom off the stump for you. Get it home and into water within 2 hours seems to be the trick. The ones you buy on the side of the road could have been cut in East Europe two weeks before and no amount of water will make them last once you get them home.

Loughc

And the winner with 60.32% of the votes and 38 votes is...


Fake Tree


So the artificial tree wins out

Week's 3 debate is now live!