by Sonce Reese

Created on: September 27, 2009   Last Updated: October 08, 2009

There definitely are pros and cons to bringing home a real tree at Christmas or a fake one.

Real trees help to bring the glory of Christmas into your home. Start by choosing your tree, the one that's going to look best in your home at Christmas. Your tree can be any size, any height. You'll have the smell of pine wafting through your home as you choose the decorations that will compliment your tree. What a joy to have a real live tree in your living room or family room.

Fake trees also bring the glory of Christmas into your home and are timeless. Fake Christmas can be used year after year; even though they are stuffed in a box after each Christmas season, the memories come out of the box every year. Memories of when the tree first became a part of the family tradition or when someone first brought the tree home. Memories that last a lifetime.

Along with the beauty of having a real tree at Christmas comes the pain. The pain of stepping on pine needles with your bare feet, constantly cleaning up pine needles and the fun of having to cart the tree outside (or having it hauled away) after Christmas. But...

With a fake tree, the decorations come off and the tree goes into a box and back into the attic or the basement or into storage. The branches may be squished or smashed, but it's nothing that a few extra lights or tinsel can't fix. Christmas in a box; it's not as dramatic or whimsical, but it does the trick.

Christmas trees, on television, department stores or in outside displays, are usually majestic and somewhat magical. The trees with their glamorous decorations, twinkling lights and sparkling tinsel. The magic can be created at home, no matter which tree you choose. Real trees and fake trees come in a range of sizes, can be large or small (fake trees even come in mini sizes) and can be expensive to moderately priced; both kinds of trees are relatively easy to decorate (and if not easy, fun).

Either tree is a fantastic choice at Christmas, but if you're concerned about the environment, a real tree can be recycled and used for other purposes. The fake tree although not as environmentally friendly when pitched, is "recycled" every year. The fake tree is deposited into a box ever year and taken out each Christmas. The fake tree can last many years and still perform as well as it did the previous year, plus the memories are priceless.

In conclusion, whether to buy a real Christmas tree or a fake Christmas tree depends on the individual. Each person (or family) should experience the real tree experience at least once (and if you haven't tried the fake tree experience, try it once). The smell of pine, the needles are things that shouldn't be missed. If you don't enjoy the real tree experience, no worries, the fake tree is just right upstairs, or in the basement or in storage just waiting to be a part of your Christmas memories.

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