This is one of those categories that should be easy, but it’s a bit complicated for us. We USUALLY had a REAL tree. Until we didn’t. 😀
Several years back hubby’s National Guard unit was put on alert one September and by Thanksgiving they were shipping out to IRAQ. They left sunny southern California and headed to Washington to be integrated into the Army, which for hubby was easy because he had already served in the Army and then joined the National Guard so it was like going home for him.
I was lucky because in the end he was named the Rear Detachment Commander and sent home to man the Armory and guys that remained behind for one reason or another.
But, I digress. While he was gone I needed to put up the tree and just couldn’t talk myself into doing a real tree by myself so I purchased a really nice artificial one. I put it up and decorated it that year and the next while he was still deployed. The following year we went back to a real tree. The year after that we moved to the north woods and REALLY enjoyed live trees again for a couple years.
During that time the artificial tree stayed boxed up. When we were in Texas after that live trees were exorbitantly priced so we used the artificial tree again for a couple years. When we came back to the Pacific North West we went back to live trees until the year of the COVID pandemic and the local tree farm closed early leaving us live treeLESS so we pulled out the artificial tree once again.
LOL this is my long winded way of asking you if you can tell the difference between a few of the trees from the past few years? Which ones are real and which ones are artificial? 😀
Live or artificial doesn’t matter to us anymore – being decorated with all the sentimental ornaments is what makes either tree special. A LIVE tree smells good, but honestly a nice artificial tree is easier and a whole lot less mess in the long run. We do buy a LIVE spray for inside and wreaths for outside! Sadly our local tree farm is up for sale. While whoever buys it will probably keep it the same, there’s no gaurantee it will remain the same. 🙁
great post. will start mine on Dec 1. Doing postcards from North Pole for each day celebration.
Sounds fun!
I think live trees are wonderful but they are either too big (no tree farms around here, you pick them up in a lot all wrapped up) and they are expensive! plus all the needles, etc… we used to have live trees at my parents when were were young. I’ve always had an artificial one… the one I have now came from a hotel lobby so it is very full… but so heavy! would love to get a slimmer one but it would have to look real… the one we have does look real.
I LOVE the smell of a live tree, but you are so right about the mess! 😀