Last week the question on BAM or SLAM was White lights or colored?
WHITE IT IS!
41 of readers preferr white lights, 4 colored, and a few both.
This week, I wanted to run another holiday edition. I am so excited to put up my Christmas tree, I can hardly stand it! Do you have yours up yet?
For as long as I can remember, I have always put my tree up the day after Thanksgiving. I started the tradition when I was 13. The day after Thanksgiving, I would ask my mom to drive me downtown to the Farmer’s Market, where I would search until I found the perfect 5 foot Christmas tree.
We would load it on top of the car, take it home and my dad and I would lug it upstairs to my bedroom. I would spend the rest of the evening wrapping each individual branch with little white lights and pulling out all of the ornaments my parent’s had collected for me over the years to dress the tree.
My family thought I was crazy for 1) putting a 5 foot Christmas tree in my room and 2) putting it up so early. They would always wait until mid-December, but I couldn’t wait that long. Putting up the Christmas tree was always my favorite way to start the holiday season.
This is the first year, since I was 13, that I have not decorated the Christmas tree Thanksgiving weekend. We spent Thanksgiving in Santa Fe, NM with my cousin and some friends. Sunday, we tried to go to the nursery to pick-up the tree, but they were closed! We went back again yesterday afternoon, and closed again. I cannot start decorating the rest of the house until the tree is up. Hopefully, we can get it up this week, but my question for you this week is…
Real or Artificial?
Is your tree up yet?
I have decided to offer the Cyber Monday special one more day.
If you’re thinking of freshening up your blog for the New Year, this is the perfect opportunity.
Click here for design services.
definitely real!!!! it is better for the environment. unless you have tree allergies, which some people do, then a real tree is a must! these trees are farm raised for the purpose of being cut down. artificial trees will one day end up in the landfill.
REAL!! There is no other way! The smell and all of the pine needles falling on the floor… there is nothing better!!
Tiffany
Real is my preference but we’ve had to settle for artificial since we have always been away travelling to family for the holidays so the real ones dry out while we’re away. I love the smell of real trees though. Luckily our artificial is so real looking that it makes up for it!
I love real (minus the little pieces of evergreen that land everywhere) but i must admit we do a fake one. Where we place our tree the ceiling is really tall and it was just getting to expensive to buy a real one every year.
We’re artificial fans. The cost savings and lack of mess are winning factors for us!
REAL! Unless you have allergies, there is really no convincing me that fake is better.
Real is my favorite- but because I like to put my tree up the week of Thanksgiving- if I did a real tree it would be dead weeks before Christmas, plus we have huge ceilings so we have a 12ft artificial tree and Im not sure we could get a real 12 footer home. BUT oh the smell of a live tree-ahhhh. So I try and bring in a few live wreaths to add the smell.
Real or Artificial are both fine with me! Although, I love the smell of real trees!
That is so cute that you had a tree of your own in your bedroom growing up! I’ve thought about getting a mini tree for my son’s room that he could decorate all on his own. I though it could be a sweet tradition for him because he loves our tree!
REAL, REAL, REAL!!!!!!! The smell and the look can’t be beaten. For sure, they don’t last as long, shed messy needles, require water and attention, etc. But there is something so magical about hunting for the perfectly imperfect natural tree, dragging it home and watching the branches fall into place as it thaws.
I also put little teeny trees in both my kids rooms. They are artificial and only about a eighteen inches tall but my kids love to decorate them and make them special each year. They love this tradition!
I love a real tree – we always had one growing up, and I love the smell and look it brings into the home!
Real all the way! I grew up going to the tree farm with my family, and now James and I get a $5 permit from the Forest Service and have an adventure in the woods with our dogs while hunting down the perfect tree! Nothing beats that fresh fir smell, or the benefits of fresh air with the ones you love!
REAL for me! I do hate the mess they make, but the smell and the look can’t be beat.
We have done both and ditched the fake tree when we moved this summer so we are trying a real one. The last time we had a real tree our male dog lifted his leg and peed on it multiple times so that was the last time we had real. That dog is gone and so far so good!
Oh how I LOVE real trees! I insisted upon one our first year of marriage even though my husband said he was allergic (my MIL told him he was allergic to everything, whatevs)….he got so sick and I felt terrible. So fake for us, boohoo. But I did finally get the 12 ft tall one of my dreams!! Pre-lit yeehaw!!
I have to do faux since the real tree causes allergies around here. I had a real tree for years until my kids were gone and now I do a faux, I do miss the smell but not the allergies. I have my tree up ready for ornaments and the mantel is done, I gave a sneak peek in my last post!! I love love this time of year and I am a big kid when it comes to Christmas, Falalalala ♪♫♪
Kathlysue
REAL!
I have not put up my tree yet and I am like you—I feel like I am behind schedule! I want my tree up to enjoy it as long as possible!
Artificial– but only because two of my kids are allergic to real pine! I burn pine scented candles all month long.
I was thwarted in my Christmas tree decorating as well– and it’s killing me!! I need to play hooky from work one day so I can get ‘er done!!!!
Real, but I see the benefit of artificial as far as ease of maintenance is concerned!
I am so sorry to say this, but it’s artificial in our house. All of us have pretty bad allergies, and when the boys were babies, they tried to eat the branches. Not ideal. But our artificial tree is a really nice one from Frontgate that fools almost everyone … so I did the best I could!
Real, real, real. Grew up in Colorado and we always chopped down our own tree in the mountains; of course it was always feet too tall when we got it home. Would miss the smell, the feel, the yearly ritual of my husband patiently chiseling the trunk to fit into the stand. The needles that continue to pop up for weeks afterwards are a small price to pay. ALLERGIES: have read that if you bring the tree home, leave it outside and rinse it for several days with garden hose, it will generally eliminate all allergic reactions. Will NEVER go plastic…EVER.
REAL! I can understand the convenience, the non-messiness, the frugality of an artificial one, but I will have real as long as I am able to do it! But then, I don’t like artificial flowers or plants either. We used to cut down our own, but now we buy one. It’s no fun to haul them out after Christmas dropping needles everywhere, but it’s still worth it.
Artificial all the way at my house!! Too many allergic fellows who live here for real.
Well, real trees are beautiful and they smell so good! But I also love my white fluffy Christmas tree so I guess my vote cancels itself out!
Well, I grew up in a country where real Christmas trees were not available and so my dad purchased an artificial one a business trip to Singapore. We have special memories of those holidays. In the UK, too, we did not have a real tree..but after having lived in NYC where they are sold in abundance on sidewalks and now in the suburbs, the scent of a real tree is hard to beat.
I’m okay with either! But I can’t start decorating until the calender says DECEMBER!
This will probably drive some of you crazy, but—
my mom is 78 and has a hard time decorating her tree. So to help her out, we bought a really beautiful fake, and I WIRED ALL THE ORNAMENTS ON for her. The tree comes out, gets fluffed and dusted and she’s ready! —she now has 3 trees to change it up each year!
Catherine
Real tree for us for the time being. Growing up, we had an artificial tree for a while and then we switched over to real when my brother and I were old enough to help my Mom with the tree. The smell does it for me – I love it. I’m hoping Sheila doesn’t have any allergy issues with the tree – she was okay last year so fingers crossed. We’ll get ours this weekend. I like the holiday series of bam or slam.
Real, all the way! I tried an artificial tree one year. I bought it from Costco and while it looked nice for an artificial, it just wasn’t me. I sold it to my neighbors and they were thrilled! You just can’t beat the smell of a real tree. Getting mine later this week!
We’re all real at our house! I always had artificial growing up, so I love to get a REAL tree now!! It just smells like Christmas!