Reaching a certain age in life, you start to rethink some of the traditional things you’ve done just for tradition’s sake. The Wife and I have always bought a real Christmas tree each year the Friday after Thanksgiving, but this year things are gonna be different.
Yes, Dear Reader, we thought about going artificial. And if you’re still trying to decide what to do, before you go out trudging through those tree farms or visiting the big box stores, let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of an artificial tree vs. a real one. After reading, you may decide like we did. After all, old tradition or new tradition … the choice is obvious.
Artificial Christmas tree advantages: Buy once and you’ll never have to buy it again. Ranging from $200 to over $800 the initial price is … well, pricy. But at least you don’t have to trudge the family through every tree lot in the county, braving the rain, sleet, or snow and frigid temperatures of the season while looking for the perfect tree, only to spend $120 to $300 every year.
From one foot to twenty feet, no matter what size home you have, there’s an artificial tree perfect for you. No fresh cut is needed, but if you want that fresh tree smell, it comes in a handy spray can. The trees also look identical to real ones, coming in different shades of green from light to dark with limbs that can be bent to give the natural appearance. No longer do you have to seek out the largest limbs to hold those heavy ornaments, each limb of an artificial tree is made of super strong heavy gauge aluminum. Spending hours untangling and then hanging lights are now a thing of the past with a pre-lit tree — just plug it in.
Crawling under the tree each night to water while getting poked by sharp pine needles or sweeping fallen needles up every morning are also a thing of the past. The needles of an artificial tree never drop off, and the tree never needs to be watered. Lastly, when Christmas is over, loose pine needles won’t be all over the house as the tree is carried out, plus you don’t have to find a place to dump it. An artificial tree just folds up in the box and stores in the basement ‘till next year. Real vs. artificial … the choice is obvious.
But then again …
Real Christmas tree advantages: Some of The Wife’s and my fondest memories around the holidays have been watching our granddaughters run through the local Christmas tree farm. Rain, sleet, snow, or freezing temperatures — each year the Saturday after Thanksgiving, they delight in “getting lost” amongst the forest of evergreens. And each year they argue about whether to get a tall, skinny one or short, fat one. When they finally decide which tree is the best fit for our home, they help carry it to the car and tie it on top.
Once home, they carefully help saw a fresh cut and drill a hole in the bottom of the tree so water can easily be drawn from the reservoir of the stand. The next day, they argue over who gets what lights to hang first, where to hang the small ornaments and which limbs will be strong enough to display the heavier ones.
Each of their handmade decorations over the years can easily be displayed on the openness of the real branches. They decorate the entire tree while complaining about the “pokiness” of the needles, keeping account of who got poked the least.
It’s a contest they look forward to playing every year. If we bought an artificial tree, the needles aren’t poky, so they couldn’t play their favorite poky game.
At bedtime, the girls take turns crawling under the tree to make sure it stays watered so it will still look nice and fresh for Santa’s visit. Finally, after Christmas has come and gone, they help carry the tree outside, sweep up all the fallen needles in the house and ride with me to the nearby parking lot of the giant hardware store with the orange roof.
Once there, they hold their ears over the noise while watching the tree-eating machine shred and recycle our once beautiful tree into a small pile of mulch. Then they help shovel and bag it so we can take our tree back home and spread it around the plants in the front yard. Can’t do that with an artificial tree.
Real vs. artificial … the choice is obvious. But then again, we are getting older, and some things must change.
This year our family didn’t visit any tree farm on the Friday after Thanksgiving. No, we didn’t go out and purchase an artificial tree. The reason why is simple, we didn’t have our grandchildren on that day we are going to the tree farm a week later.
Our long tradition of buying a real tree is still intact — just modified a little. After all, the older you get you have to be open to change … even when it comes to traditions.
So, my question to you, Dear Reader, is what kind of tree will you be bringing home this year — real or artificial?
For our family, the choice is obvious. We will forever be getting a real tree.
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories since 2001.]
