There aren't too many things I insist upon at Christmas. As long as my little family unit is home Christmas morning to open gifts, I will happily go with the flow. Travel or stay home? Host or bring a dish? Traditional card or photo-op? Exchange or skip this year? Whatever you want is fine with me.
On one thing, however, I will not budge. A real Christmas Tree. Every year we bundle up and head five miles down the road to the Christmas Tree Farm, saw in hand, to stand in the middle of a snow-shrouded field and select that perfect addition to our home. I so believe in it, one year we had to stick an ice-encrusted tree in the shower before we could put it in the stand.
For those of you who don't know, all of us that opt for a real tree sort of look down our noses at fake. After all, what could be more traditional than walking into a pine-scented room, lights and ornaments dripping from the branches, wrapped gifts nestled under the tree in a glorious display of the season. Let's face it. You fakers have given up. There's no wheeling out a pile of pre-lighted plastic at our house. And don't even get me started on those white, spray-painted "trees". I could go on for days.
It makes me wonder. Do those of you who opt for fake, feel the same about us real tree aficionados? Do you roll your eyes and snicker behind a hand, thinking how ridiculous we will spend the entire season sucking up needles with our vacuums? Do you use the ever-popular "I'm allergic" argument? Just exactly how deep are the lines drawn?
8 comments:
How funny! My family was the "Griswolds." Every year we struggled through deep snow, etc., to find that perfect tree. Just in the last few years, we caved and went for the fake tree. But we are enjoying it.
Much to my horror, I just found out my MOTHER opted for fake this year. Sigh. The world has definitely changed. Thanks for stopping by, Patsy!
I'll bet you find that the Northerners are two to one for real. Once you have grown up with one, you can't take the idea of fake. They are worth a few needles and the fun. There are things you can put on the floor for the needles to drop on.
Nothing compares to going to the tree farm, cold or not. When you spot the one, bells go off in your brain!
So they just don't know. If spruce trees grew here, in the South it might be different. That includes all Northerners who have lived here for more then five years, year round. That's my take!
Real-one vote
I gave up real except in my books where I still enjoy them! And no cleanup afterwards. Same with snow. Love to write about it, think about it, read about it while enjoying warm temps and Gulf breezes.
I used to insist on real. But I've been fake now since my youngest daughter's second Christmas in 1990. Why? Time. No pine/cedar/spruce needles to clean up. And, I have a fear of house fires. Don't know where it comes from. I have 2 fire extinguishers in my house. One under the kitchen sink and one in the bathroom (in case I awaken in the middle of the night and the kitchen is on fire.) I love candles but seldom burn them for fear of fire. I have 2 smoke detectors and one carbon monoxide detector. And I will always investigate any smoke smell, even if it is rose scented from a candle. So, I applaud you your real tree but I'm keeping my pencil thin, 7.5 foot previously pre-lit tree that now has medium sized LED lights on it.
I WISH we could have a real tree. But after spending my entire childhood and the early part of my adult life unable to breathe, eyes red and watering and coughing up a lung - an allergist finally confirmed it. I AM allergic to the sap. So, I envy you your real tree but I value oxygen more than the fresh crisp scent of a pine. I found I'm much more able to handle the holiday chaos when I'm not drugged to the gills with cold or allergy medicine. Merry Christmas to you and yours, AJ. I hope you have a wondrously happy holiday. :-)
AJ, I love real trees, the adventure to get it, the smell, the feel of Christmas. But, since two family members would be miserable at our house with their allergies, we go fake, but it is a very pretty tree.
We go fake for fire reasons. My husband and I used to fight every year. Him wanting the tree gone as soon as Christmas was over because it was dead (no matter how often I watered it and used the tricks you read about) and me wanting it up till New Years. Our compromise was a fake tree. It goes up shortly after Thanksgiving and down New Years Day. No more arguments or worry over burning our house down over a dead tree.
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