So, why do people choose fake trees?

#31
We had fake in Colorado when our kids were small because all we had available were pine & the needles they shed were dangerous to our kids. Plus the cost of a real tree there! :wtf:

Now we're in Georgia where there are trees everywhere, the kids are older & we choose a Leyland Cypress every year, cheap, smells great & no needles.

Our tree goes to the recycler after Christmas to be made into mulch.
 
#32
berryblondeboys said:
A fake tree is full of toxins and will last 5-10 years (my guess with these new lighted trees even less than they did before) and will sit in a landfill FOREVER.
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This isn't true for my family. My parents' fake tree is 25 years old and my grandparents' tree is around 35, maybe 40 and both still look wonderful.

I will always have a fake tree, in my opinion they're easier, cleaner, and less of a pain.
 
#33
hell_lo_kitty said:
This isn't true for my family. My parents' fake tree is 25 years old and my grandparents' tree is around 35, maybe 40 and both still look wonderful.

I will always have a fake tree, in my opinion they're easier, cleaner, and less of a pain.
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I think the older fake trees last longer, but the new ones with the lights already on them? I think it would be a miracle if they lasted 10 years.
 
#34
^You can just replace the bulbs or fuses, it's not hard once you see how they're put up, since most come in sections (bottom, 2 middle sections and the top).
We used to get real ones when I was little but realized the fakes are more cost effective. Plus, we can put them up earlier and leave them up longer, a big plus. We like to get it out around and weekend or two after Thanksgiving and leave it up until a couple of days after New Year's.
And it's not as messy either, no sap or green color on the carpet.
 
#35
boxermom said:
Our experience in Illinois with real trees was that they had less and less real tree aroma (for me it's the main reason to fuss with a real one). The last few years even the varieties that supposedly had the most aroma were just nothing inside the house. so why put up with all the needles, the watering. dispoasal, etc.? They are certainly getting expensive, too.
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Yeah I agree, we had one of those supposedly nice wreaths that we ordered from one of those catalogs and they deliver them like the week before Christmas. There wasn't one bit of smell even when you went right up to it.
 
#36
berryblondeboys said:
I think the older fake trees last longer, but the new ones with the lights already on them? I think it would be a miracle if they lasted 10 years.
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But like someone else said, the light technology is much better now and the fake trees now, both pre-lit and not, are made much stronger and sturdier.

In fact the pre-lit tree my in-laws bought last year came with a 15 year guarantee and extra lights. The company even includes a form where you can send away for even more replacement bulbs and all you pay is shipping to your home.
 
#39
less maintenance, cheaper to use the same tree year after year, if you have a prelit tree you don't have to spend time putting lights up (I hate doing that), not a fire hazard..
 
#40
a couple of years ago, my husband put some of our tree branches into our outdoor fireplace to dispose of

he lit a match, and BOOM...it went up immediately into flames, it was such an intense and strong fire...we ran to the hose immediately so that it wouldn't catch anything else on fire

i had no idea how dry the tree was, or how potentially dangerous it is to have something so flammable in the home. it was truly scary, it was like a can of gasoline had ignited.

they really are a fire hazard, and with kids and pets...i feel safer with the fake tree
 
#42
We used to do real trees. We would go to a lot, choose the tree, strap it to the car. It would scratch the car (usually mine!!). We would drag it inside where it would scratch the doors and floors. We would put it up and I would spend HOURS winding the lights. In So Cal it is so hot and dry that you have to check the water EVERY day. There is always a day when you forget and the it dries out and then you have a tinderbox on your hands and any water you add to the base just smells.

Then comes the unwinding of the lights, the sweeping of the needles, the remembering of when the ONLY pickup day for your area is, and dragging it outside at the right time.

I finally had had enough last year and we went fake. I LOVE it!!!! Easy, convenient, the cat and kids don't eat it. We can have it up longer and no more winding of lights :yahoo:. OK it doesn't smell, but candles are cool as is room spray.
 
#44
My family always had fake trees. Putting them up was a pain, and taking them down was not fun either. I've done a few real trees, but have always gone back to a fake. A few years ago I got a pre-lit, which comes in three pieces; so much easier to assemble. However, we got a dog last year, so we didn't put up a tree (and we have no children), and as much as I like my tree, it was so nice to not have it taking up the living room and not have to take it down. Thus, we are no longer putting it up, I'm going to try to sell it. I do put up lights in the front window. I got these really nice star lights from Ikea that drape down on strings, and I got a few of the really pretty ball lights from Restoration Hardware; I hang them in front of the stars, closer to the windows.
 
#45
berryblondeboys said:
Ok, this I can accept LOL as a real reason - can keep it up longer and not worry about daily maintenance... the spray... not so much, can't fake nature!
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Oh trust me....B&BW got it right on the money with this spray. And it smells only when i want to spray it! Pine smell cal give me a headache after awhile so i like that i can control it :nuts:
 
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