Are Those Real?

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 00:17.

Well, we did it. We put our Christmas tree up today, and it's a very nice tree -- we bought it and brought it home in a box last night -- yes, it's an artificial tree. We've been working up to this decision for a few years, but the price of real trees, the mess of real trees and the final straw of the increased dosage of sinus medication we had to take while having the cut tree in the house made our decision for us. We found a very nice tree on sale and bought it.

There is a long list of advantages. We don't have to water it, an the cats won't drink the tree water and then yak on the floor somewhere. It's been up for hours and my eyes are not watering and I'm not sneezing. Because of the lack of allergies, we can put it here in the family room with us, instead of two rooms away. It's straight, and it has a nice shape, so Mike doesn't have to screw hooks into the wall and use twine to prop it up and make it stand tall. We didn't have to go out in the cold to get it, and we don't have to wait for the boughs to drop to decorate it, and the boughs are strong enough to hold all of our ornaments. There are no needles on the floor and the animals won't eat it.

I grew up with live trees at Christmas, and I did like going out when I was a kid, finding just the right tree, and bringing it home, but I've done that for four decades, and I realized the time I actually leave the tree up was getting shorter and shorter -- sometimes only two weeks or less, because of the allergies and the mess. Now we can enjoy the tree for a month if we want.

The downside is that it's not an environmental choice -- I know that, and it was why it took a while to decide, but I'll try to make up for it in other ways. I've cut a lot of plastic out of my life, and so I hope I can sneak this tree in.

There is the problem of lead -- but guess what? A lot of lead is used in Christmas tree ornaments and lights, and so you can have that on a real tree, as well. Also, we didn't like the 800 white lights that came with this tree, so we cut them all out with wire cutters (which makes the tree even nicer looking, really, getting rid of all those wires -- and the wires are where you find a lot of lead). So, we'll put our own lights on it, just like we would a normal tree.

It's also amazingly real looking -- even up close, I know people would have to take a second look and think "is that real?". Touching it even take a minute to tell -- it's that real. It wasn't inexpensive, but it will pay for itself in about 3 years. It has little pine cones on the branches. The picture here is of an artificial tree. Pretty huh? I like ours better, because we have room underneath for presents. :)

Now, for years I never thought I would have a fake tree, but now I do. There are, however, a few other lines I won't ever cross. I always make my own spaghetti sauce, and I don't use fake foods (especially fake cheese and fake crabmeat). I don't put silk flowers in outdoor flower boxes (we have seen many houses around town that do this). I will never do cosmetic surgery or any kind of implant unless I have a medical reason for doing so.

So...I'm happy with my tree. I'm going to go put some ornaments on it now, and we'll enjoy looking at it here in our family room for the next few weeks.

Do you like live or artificial trees? Do you have other natural/homemade/artificial products you enjoy or would never use? Something you thought you'd never use, and now you do? Share, and I'll send one lucky person a Christmas gift in the mail. Remember you have to be registered to win. :)

Sam

First to Comment

Submitted by Lily on Mon, 2007-12-10 01:11.

I remember we had an artificial tree when I was younger... it was beautiful when decorated!!

I prefer it to the natural one because it is less messy, I don't like the idea of cutting trees and we could keep it up for a complete three months without fearing it will light up a fire.

However, we don't have the nice smell of pine :)

Pine Scented

Submitted by Jane on Mon, 2007-12-10 02:06.

I've never had a real tree. It's more economical for us to get a fake tree that lasts for years. I'd rather have a real tree but disposing of it is a little difficult and there's not much room in an apartment for a good sized tree.

The pine scent is nice...

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 02:23.

But it also makes me sneeze. But it's true, this one, because it's new, sorta smells like new sneakers right now (at least it doesn't smell like old ones!), but I think I'll just burn a little incense and that will take care of it. :)

Sam

Funny!!

Submitted by Nathalie on Mon, 2007-12-10 21:55.

Pins can have that effect... but sneakers... how horrible!!

Up until my mother passed

Submitted by Ellen----- on Mon, 2007-12-10 02:29.

Up until my mother passed away we always had real trees and sneezed out way through Christmas. But my grandmother use to have one of those aluminum trees that were popular back in the 60s (I think). Since I live alone and spend Christmas with my brother and his family I don't put a tree up and if I did it would be fake. I too am tired of sneezing.

You know,

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 13:12.

I think a lot of those retro things come back and are cool, too -- I have to admit, like Lucy on Peanuts, I have secretly thought about the pink or white tree. Maybe I'll pick one up for an extra tree one of these years... :)

Sam

We have a fake tree also. I

Submitted by Stacy S on Mon, 2007-12-10 02:56.

We have a fake tree also. I like it so much better than a real one. No mess to clean up. In my house we all have allergies, but I do love the way the real ones smell though!

Growing up we alternated

Submitted by JenniferY on Mon, 2007-12-10 03:37.

Growing up we alternated between real and artificial trees and to be honest, I have no preference really. The artificial tree wasn't as messy as the real tree though.

Today we put up a tree for the first time in years...a 3 ft articial tree that sits on the table.

lots of memories

Submitted by Missy the dreamer on Mon, 2007-12-10 04:14.

The year I was born (1968) my parents bought a new artificial tree. We used it nearly every year, they bought a real one every few years, but mom said they were a pain to mess with.

Over the years the artificial tree (in my mind it was MY tree) was starting to look kind of sad, it was getting kind of droopy and bare from being smashed into a small box eleven months out of the year. LOL We had used it for over 20 years. So my mom went out and bought a new artificial one. It made me so sad. Was the new one pretty and full? Yes, but it wasn't MY tree! :-(

That summer my mom had a yard sale, when I asked her how it went she said "Great, I even sold our old tree for 5 dollars." I said "WHAT, you sold my tree?????" She said yes. I started crying. I know how silly that must sound, but that sad droopy tree held a LOT of memories! Even now I get a little sad thinking about it. My mom felt really bad, she said she had no idea how much the tree meant to me. I know it's the memories that count, but sometimes I still wish I had that old tree! LOL

My grandparents had an small silver aluminum tree that they used every year, I always thought it was so pretty especially the way it reflected the different colored lights.

I love the smell of pine but since I don't use a real tree, I buy the pine scented air freshener they sell this time of year and spray my little fake tree with it. LOL

It's just me, my husband, and our kitty, so we bought a 2 foot fiber optic tree and we put it on top of the entertainment center so kitty can't get a hold of it. LOL

I personally think the advantages of an artificial tree outweigh the real ones, but I know a lot of people who would never have a "fake tree". Everyone is different! :-)

I love this!

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 13:15.

This is the whole point, isn't it? It's not whether the tree is real or not, it's the memories and traditions attached to it.

We really enjoyed decorating our tree last night, maybe even more so because everything fit and it looks so pretty! All the ornaments which mean a lot, each one from a trip, a gift from someone, the ones we gave each other, and old family favorites, still were just as wonderful to hang.

You made me think that if we ever did adopt kids, or for other families, a fun tradition could be to buy them their own little tree and let them decorate it any way they want, and it's "theirs" forever... wouldn't that be neat?

I love having it here in the room with us, too. I'm just going to burn a candle or incense for the scent... :)

Sam

Count us in the artificial camp...

Submitted by fedora on Mon, 2007-12-10 07:59.

At least for trees :) We had them growing up, and although we've bought a couple of real ones since we got married, a few years ago we broke down and bought ourselves a lovely fake one on clearance and have been happily using it since. No, it doesn't look completely real, but we're OK with that, and we don't have the hassle with needles or feeling bad that we're chopping down a real tree each year only to discard it shortly thereafter. And we can put it up whenever we want! (We did leave it up so long one year that we redecorated it into a Valentine's tree, covered with hot pink hearts...)

We're mostly into real food (although I admit a real weakness for fake-o nacho cheese sauce--I know, it's just melted yellow plastic but somehow it's so SO irresistible to me--pathetic!), and though I enjoy real plants, we are home to the "black thumb of death" so we don't have many (for their sake). Was adamantly opposed to any sort of elective cosmetic surgery and implants until I had kids, and although I still don't think I'd actually have any, I can now understand the appeal.

We do sometimes use fake meat (soy stuff mostly), and enjoy that, although we still eat the real thing at times. We are amusing ourselves with sports on the Wii that we've never played in real life (although the kids want to try them now--we'll start off with mini-golf maybe, and see). I guess we're just a random mix of natural/artifical in our house!

I'm surprised and pleased to

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 13:19.

I'm surprised and pleased to find so many friends in the artificial tree camp! I guess I've been the one behind the times, but it's one of those things where I thought people would be much more into the natural ones... So I am enjoying all of these stories!

LOVE the Valentine's tree... that would just be fun... Again, it could even be fun to buy one of the small 3' ones on clearance and have it up year around for decorating different holidays...

I also like some of the nacho stuff, though it's mostly when we're at someone else's house or a restaurant, but I also have dairy allergy, and so cheese hasn't been a big part of my life in recent years... I know what you mean, though.

I was looking at the Tofurkey at the local grocery store, thinking of Karen F, and I just couldn't imagine -- I'm such a carnivore. ;)

Sam

Trees

Submitted by Mads on Mon, 2007-12-10 10:14.

Hi Sam! For years I had a very large real tree. I suffered through allergies and skin rashes, all for the sake of my young sons. We bought an artificial tree as soon as my youngest son turned 10. It looks so real that nobody can tell the difference. Although I miss the real tree smell, I don't regret buying the artificial tree.
My cats haven't seemed to notice the difference. They still climb up the tree, and get stuck. The dog still tries to use it for unspeakable things. We still have to take it down at the end of the season but, without all the mess to clean up.
Like you, I do draw the line at artificial trees. I still do everything natural. Pine cones in colorful bowls, oranges with cinnamon and cloves in them, and of course, homemade cookies with all natural ingredients.
I hope you enjoy your new tree, and that you get many more years of enjoyment from it. Have a great Holiday. Mads:)

Hi Mads!

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 13:22.

My cats actually haven't attacked the tree yet -- I think it's partly because it's in the room with us, now, where last year (a real tree) it was over in the main living room, two rooms away, and they had free shots at destroying it. Also, I think the smell of a real tree triggers something for them, because our cats are ridiculously mischievous, and yet they haven't messed with the tree -- yet.

Oh, and YES on the cookies -- I would never buy Christmas cookies, even at a bakery. I always make my own, a lot of my mom's recipes, which helps me feel connected to her, as well.

Sam

Christmas Trees

Submitted by cherierj on Mon, 2007-12-10 16:37.

With a one year old girl who puts everything in her mouth there is no way I could have a real tree. I would end up having to rush her to the hospital every day for picking up every pine needle she can find and eating it. The girl has an amazing oral fixation. If I miss sweeping up even just one crumb from the floor she will find it and it will go straight to her mouth. Same thing with vacuuming the carpet. It never ceases to amaze my husband and me because our 4 year old son rarely put things in his mouth and so he spoiled us. So our garbage picker little girl has been a big shock for us. :-)

Real tree for me

Submitted by JeannieWatt on Mon, 2007-12-10 16:39.

Cool conversation! I’m in the real tree camp. I hadn’t realized how many people were allergic to evergreen trees! I count myself lucky not to be one of them, since I am allergic to other plants (grass—ouch!). I don’t feel bad about cutting the trees because the ones I get come from tree farms. They are grown to be Christmas trees, they put oxygen into the air for several years, and when they are cut, another one is planted.

Sam—there are environmental concerns about using plastics, but when you consider the amount of petroleum used to bring the real trees to market (year after year), and the fact that yours is not going to be doing anymore traveling, it is probably as environmentally sound as a real tree.

Fake things I draw the line at—like Sam, I don’t think any surgeon will be carving on me for cosmetic reasons. I also make my own pie crusts—don’t like the prefab ones. I have to admit, I can’t flute an edge worth beans, but my crusts are light and taste really good.

Fedora—We eat the fake soy meat, too. We call it “veganimal.”

Have a great day,
Jeannie

Jeannie, thanks!

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 19:09.

Good point in on the transportation costs. I hadn't thought of that. :)

I make my own pie crusts, too -- I'm not a "fluter" LOL either -- what I did do, though, for a Thanksgiving pie, was to buy a set of leaf cookie cutters at Wally World, and I cut out the pie dough for the top with them, and layered them in circles, overlapping, and then brushed it with egg wash and sugar, and it was so pretty! Didn't take long, either. :) Thank you Martha Stewart. ;)

Sam

Great idea

Submitted by JeannieWatt on Mon, 2007-12-10 19:14.

I love this idea! I'll be off to Wally World before I do the Christmas pies. My flutes are truly frightening.
:) Jeannie

Trees

Submitted by Karen Erickson on Mon, 2007-12-10 18:00.

I prefer a live tree cos I love that fresh pine scent but we bought a fake one when we first moved into our house and it's a very nice tree. And you can't reproduce that smell in candles, spray, whatever. Only a bona fide tree fits the bill.

But I like my fake tree. It's purty and pre-strung with lights which makes my hubby happy. :)

~ Karen Erickson

http://karenwritesromance.com

I think you're right

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Mon, 2007-12-10 19:11.

Fake pine smell would hit me as kinda gross, maybe like what you use to clean the kitchen floor. But I think nice incense can be very Christmassy. :)

See, we cut out all the prestrung lights because we didn't like them, and that's really where the lead hazard is. We have these little lights that each bulb is half one color, and half another color,and they're so pretty. We did save the clips, and what dh thought is when we take it down we might clip our own lights in there, and maybe it will be just ready for next year...

sam

We have an artifical tree

Submitted by BethR on Mon, 2007-12-10 21:25.

Believe it or not we were finding that we were all getting sinus infections from the real tree, we think.

I'm Fake This Year

Submitted by Dee Tenorio on Mon, 2007-12-10 22:55.

We had the crappiest fake tree growing up from the cats attacking it for years. All my married years, we've had real and it was such a treat for me. Made me feel like it was a real family atmosphere. Now I have the babies and real is just too much work for not enough space. Maybe next year, though. :)

:)
Dee

I have always had live trees

Submitted by Estella on Mon, 2007-12-10 22:56.

I have always had live trees until this year. We bought an artifical tree so we could put it up earlier and not have to worry about it getting too dry before Christmas.

i like them both, dont

Submitted by kim h on Tue, 2007-12-11 02:00.

i like them both, dont matter to me

Christmas Trees

Submitted by Karen Foley on Tue, 2007-12-11 11:57.

My girls and I went out on Sunday to choose a tree; we've always had live trees, but I can definitely see the allure of an artificial tree! We used to go to local tree farms and cut our own, but gave that up because the kids were always so cold and miserable. Now we get a precut tree, although we ended up going to four different places before we found one we loved. I'm still in sticker shock -- $55 for a smallish, 7-ft tree!! Then there was the whole comic scenario of me and my 13-year old daughter trying to heft that baby (did I say smallish?? HA!) up onto the safari-rack of my husband's SUV. My daughter was doubled over with laughter at the sight of me trying to tie that sucker down. Well, we did get it home and we did finally get it into the house and decorated and yes, it looks beautiful, but it definitely is a process. For now, the kids want to continue doing the live tree but I think once they're gone...we're going artificial.

LOL

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Tue, 2007-12-11 14:00.

Next time, tape it and YouTube it, LOL. I would loved to have seen this...

$55 for a 7' tree isn't bad actually -- we've seen them for more, depending on type. I guess that's part of what bugs me -- it just shouldn't be so expensive. When we were kids, and even 10-12 years ago, you could get a tree for 10-15 dollars. Now it's a profit engine. Our artificial was originally marked at $350, and we got it for $160. I thought that was a good deal, and like I said, would pay for itself in 3-4 years.

However, like in Margaret's post below, the fun (?) of the live trees is the stuff we do to get them home and stand them up. We've had some doosies. Had a tree one year that literally lost every single needle within days -- had to take back the branches and get a new one. Mike and I had this short, squat "fuzzy tree" the first year were were together -- we all laughed, because it was just this puffball of a tree that would hardly handle the ornaments. Last year, our last real tree, it was insanely crooked, but the guy gave it to us for a deal, so we took it. Still, though we could stand it up straight, the trunk was all bent, and it just looked so sad -- especially as the cats continued to torture it, and after a few days I'd had to remove most of the ornaments and just had them around the very top... This year is much better so far. ;)

Sam

Late...again

Submitted by booklover1971 on Tue, 2007-12-11 13:51.

My grandfather owns a huge Christmas tree acreage/lumber lot in Nova Scotia. In the 60s and 70s he delivered trees to lots up and down the East Coast. When we were kids and living in Canada we each had a baby tree in our room to decorate just as we liked. So you'd think I'd be a real tree girl all the way....

Hmmm....not. We have an artificial tree. My MIL and BIL are allergic to them, and honestly, having a tree boxed up in the basement is much easier than choosing one at a lot each year.

That said, the 5 years we lived in NYC I did buy a real tree each year. I have fond memories of trundling a tree home across Park Avenue, and on one memorable occasion, on the 86th Street crosstown bus. I'm not sure what possessed me to buy a tree at a lot on the Upper West Side, but I did.

Most of the people working at the "lots" in the city were Canadians, down for about a month to make money. They slept in vans and worked in the ugliest bitter cold you can imagine. It was fun to chat up fellow Canadians...usually they loathed the city. After a peek in a van and an assessment of the layers required to work 15 hrs a day outside, I understood why.

Heya Margaret

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Tue, 2007-12-11 14:02.

Love the image of carrying the tree across Manhattan -- that does sound like fun, and a great image for a book. :)

When we went to pick out our tree last year, it was so cold we were aching after a few minutes, which is why we took the crooked tree when the guy offered us a deal -- I didn't want to spend a fortune when it would just be up for a week or so, but also, I was freezing my ass off and wanted to get out of the cold. The guy who sold it to us was pretty warm, though -- he was half in the bag, LOL.

Sam

Heya, Sam...

Submitted by booklover1971 on Tue, 2007-12-11 17:26.

Half in the bag? *snerk* I guess that's one way to survive the cold work on a Christmas tree lot!

We decided on a fake tree

Submitted by kendara on Tue, 2007-12-11 22:49.

We decided on a fake tree about 7 years ago when we discovered that a small real tree was around $40. My husbands grandparents had owned a Christmas tree farm in the midwest so that was a huge deal that we didn't have a live tree..his grandparents are not around anymore so a few years ago we got a tree from their old farm and planted it in our back yard in their honor. We decorate our fake tree inside and the real one outside.

Kendra

Lovely

Submitted by Tawny Weber on Wed, 2007-12-12 06:33.

what a wonderful memorial to your grandparent-in-laws!!!

Count me in the fake tree camp!

Submitted by Jennifer Lewis on Wed, 2007-12-12 02:24.

About 5 years ago I bought our first fake tree. I bought it the day after Christmas, it was being discontinued and it was a massive bargain--especially since it's 10 feet tall and looks very real! It took years before we finally had enough ornaments to fill it--For the first 2-3 years I was winding ribbons around it, department store style.

Partly I wanted it as our living room has such high ceilings that even an $80 real tree looked puny. And I hated having a fire hazard in our living room. I love that the fake tree can be put up after Thanksgiving and stays up until the twelfth day of Christmas without turning orange.

We had a real tree when I was growing up until my mother discovered environmentalism. In retrospect, I don't have issues with people using real trees for environmental reasons, since they are mostly grown on farms where they eat carbon dioxide for few years, then are hacked down as sacrificial Christmas trees, and another tree is most likely planted in the same spot--good for the environment, really, since young trees consume the most CO2. I guess I just really didn't enjoy having a big, beautiful tree dying in my living room :-( I don't like cut flowers for the same reason. My house is filled with potted plants, and I guess I just like them in a pot, growing and thriving, not cut off from life and on their last legs.

I do miss that beautiful pine smell. Swags of pine roping, anyone??

Jen
http://www.jenlewis.com

Another in the artificial camp

Submitted by GDBroker on Wed, 2007-12-12 02:59.

In the past I loved heading out and to cut down my own tree, but my condo is both too small and too dry for a live one now. Besides, the kids love our setting it up together Thanksgiving morning while they watch the Macy's parade before heading back to their mom's in the afternoon. It's turned into a nice little tradition that wouldn't be possible that early in the season with a real tree.

And I recommend pine scented candles for those who just have to have that fresh cut smell. I prefer either the Balsam Fir or Christmas Wreath scents available from Yankee Candle myself.

Mike

Mike, do the candles set off

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Wed, 2007-12-12 13:45.

Mike, do the candles set off any allergic reactions? Maybe I'll try one, but I even have allergies to some scents, so have to be careful. :/

Nice image, of putting up the tree Thanksgiving morning. I think we may try to do something like that now that we can enjoy it longer...

I'm also thinking of taking someone's earlier idea and buying a small one when they go on after-holiday sale to decorate for Valentines, Fourth of July, etc. Kinda fun!

Sam

Allergies and Candles

Submitted by GDBroker on Wed, 2007-12-12 15:05.

Sam, my son has an abundance of allergies and the candles do not seem to bother him in the least. You should pick up a small candle and give it a test run just to make sure, but I think it just might do the trick.

Mike

I'll do a fake tree...

Submitted by Tawny Weber on Wed, 2007-12-12 06:32.

but thats about it LOL.

We do the artificial tree route- we have for years because of allergies. A couple times we've tried to bring in a real tree instead, but congestion and watery eyes aside, it just depressed me miserably to watch it die in my living room. I never did figure out how to get it to stay perky.

But that said, some things that are less perky in my life these years will just stay that way LOL. No plastic surgery, for sure.

Yeah, I don't like seeing

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Wed, 2007-12-12 13:47.

Yeah, I don't like seeing them die either. We did put our last one out in the yard for the birds to have for shelter from the cold, but then a hawk came in and had some handy hunting grounds! So, that was a bad idea after he got one of our sparrows.

I know they have to eat, too, but I don't want to provide the buffet table!

Sam

SEASON

Submitted by traveler on Wed, 2007-12-12 06:46.

We always had a real tree and made a big production of choosing it and then putting it up, putting all the ornaments and home made decorations. Now though we have a pretty artificial one that is attractive and no mess. I can appreciate the simplicity as well. I do prefer in cooking and food preparation the real thing since the taste is the most important quality and I would not want to compromise.

REAL OR NO

Submitted by pearl on Wed, 2007-12-12 06:50.

I enjoy the green and smell of a real tree but have decided not to anymore. Too much work and mess. It still is pretty and using original ornaments makes it unique.
Plastic surgery is not an option, just to risky and that route is not even wise.
Real food all the way. I prefer to cook and bake my own meals, and baked goods since store bought has too many ingredients and oils that are not healthy.

I agree

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Wed, 2007-12-12 13:49.

And once you get used to the taste of real food, you can really notice how heavy a lot of the bakery goods, etc are. I make some pretty rich cookies, but they aren't as "heavy" (for lack of a better word) as the stuff the bakery makes. Except for one expensive Italian place we have close by, their stuff is amazing. But you pay for it, too, because real ingredients are expensive.

We don't eat a lot of bacon, but I've gone to buying uncured applewood bacon, no nitrates, and it's so much better than the other...

Sam

ONLY TRUE AND REAL

Submitted by beach on Wed, 2007-12-12 06:53.

I put up an artificial tree since it is so quick and easy, looks good and is more practical.
As far as elective surgery goes it would never happen. Too much can and does go wrong.
Love real food that is home made and tasty. Pity that I am now spoiled and love to cook my own delectable meals.

We have both

Submitted by Dannyfiredragon on Wed, 2007-12-12 13:35.

A huge real one in the family room and a smaller artifical one in my own room.

I love the scent of real ones.

fake trees

Submitted by christy on Wed, 2007-12-12 15:50.

We always had a real tree when I was growing up. And, for the first half of my marriage we did too. But now we have artificial trees ~ 10 of them ~ and I leave all but 2 of them up all year.

BEST OF THE SEASON

Submitted by principessa on Wed, 2007-12-12 19:52.

When I was much younger real trees were the way to go and we loved them but so much has changed. Cleaner and more efficient to have a pretty artificial tree that could last for a long time. When I think of the wonderful meals that I have created it is work but well worth the effort. Everyone appreciates the culinary delights. There is always a new dish each year and the traditional yummie treats which we look forward to. Store bought looks it ans tastes it and I hate to let anyone down.
Surgery would be an option only in a dire case. Otherwise it is to be avoided due to so many hidden dangers and risks.

TREES AND REALITY

Submitted by guido on Wed, 2007-12-12 20:18.

I think that real trees belong outside. I do not enjoy seeing them draped across a car and brought home and then a week later lying at the curb. We have a cute, little artificial tree which is delightful.
When we are invited out to dinner or a meal at someone's home I always hope that it will be a real meal that is home made, not store bought from Sam's or Costco. It is so easy to cook a good and nice looking dinner that everyone enjoys. Especially during a special occasion it is important, I think to show off your ability.

Artificial tree

Submitted by Teresa on Fri, 2007-12-14 13:24.

Hail to the Redskins!

Always had real trees growing up. When I was single and in my own place I bought an Artificial tree because I didn't want to deal with a real tree. Loved it. Married a few years later and dh and I kept up with the artificial tree. When we were in Japan we got real trees each year and he realized what a hassle they were. We moved back here and got real trees with the roots to plant in our yard the first three years to enhance our landscaping and now are back to artificial--mainly because we ran out of room to plant trees! lol. Although he states he prefers real trees, neither of us want to deal with watering, vacuming the needles, etc. I enjoy the artificial trees and wouldn't have it any other way.