Real vs Artificial Christmas Tree

The Great Seasonal Debate: Real vs. Artificial Tree. I can see the pros and cons of both sides. I’ve laid them out for you!

Artificial Tree

Pros

• One time investment - You buy one tree and never need to again. Cost efficiency is totally a perk here.
• No Daily Maintenance - Since the tree is not alive, you do not need to worry about watering it every morning and making sure it’s water bowl never runs dry.
• Built-in lights/decorations - Some artificial trees come either completely decorated or with the lights built in. This makes the effort of putting up the tree less burdensome. No need for “stringing the lights”!
• Limited clean up - When the sad time of year comes and the tree needs to be put away, you just fold it up and put it in a box! No need for vacuuming the line of pine tree needles on the floor!
• Flawless - Artificial trees are most always the perfect shape and size. You can purchase it to fit your desired space. No need for trimming the branches and worrying if the tree will fit in the house. If you are on the slightly OCD side and if a stray super long tree branch would drive you crazy… definitely stick with the uniform fake tree.

Cons

• Storage - After you undress your tree, you have to fold it up nicely and store that big sucker somewhere. For someone in a small apartment where storage space is valuable, a fake tree will just unnecessarily take up space 80% of the year. Make sure you have the space to store an artificial tree before investing in one!   

Real Tree

Pros

• OMG the smell – Nothing beats the smell of pine when you come in the front door. You can buy a fake tree with the artificial smell or try and replicate it with a candle but it’s sooo not the same!
• Cutting down the tree is part of the experience – to me this is like picking apples, just part of the seasonal tradition! You spend an hour finding the perfect tree, try and negotiate the tree price, struggle to connect it to the car and pray the whole way home it doesn’t fall off! Some of my favorite Christmas memories involve the tree-picking experience!
• Disposal is all natural and eco-friendly! You can find a nice friendly location either in the woods or your yard to let it biodegrade naturally. The home I grew up in has a small patch of woods in the backyard and every year we contribute that years tree to the graveyard!

Cons

• Yearly purchase – some trees are not cheap! When you cut your own down, there are farms you can pay a flat rate for which allows you to enter and you can choose any tree you want! But if you buy at a pop-up tree stand or at a home-depot-ish location, the prices can really get up there! This year I saw some mediocre trees for $60! Hard to drop that much cash when it is a precious commodity in December!
• Not Animal Friendly – Between the smell and the water, animals are just drawn to the tree. I can’t imagine having a cat whose instinct is to climb all over it! Our bunny can't stop licking our tree … he may be more obsessed with it than I am!
• Daily Maintenance – Got to water that tree to keep its branches strong and to prevent the needles from falling everywhere!!

So where do I weigh in on this debate? Well I can totally see the benefits to both sides and I do hesitate to say that an Artificial tree may have more pros on my list… BUT I will always be a Real tree gal. For me it is as simple as tradition! No matter where I live, come early December there will be a real tree in my home!

Speaking of tradition, my sister and I have this tradition of naming our tree. There is something extremely fun about giving the tree a persona to make it feel like part of the family during the holidays. This year my boyfriend and I named our tree Walt since he joined our family the same day we got home from Walt Disney World... And not to mention he is covered in Disney ornaments!  

Let me formally introduce you to Walt! Isn’t he fun!? We love him in all his unique glory!