Once your Christmas tree goes up in your home, that’s your cue to get into the Christmas spirit and start counting down the days until the 25th. With only a few days to go until December, most of us have our trees on standby ready for the designated decorating day sometime in the next week. But have you stopped to give your tree much thought or are you dusting off last year’s greenery?
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of Christmas recycling. Who can afford to replace their decorations every year? When it comes to decoration though, it should be all about choice. Many of us re-use our trees out of habit but have you stopped to weigh up real vs artificial Christmas trees?
Real vs artificial Christmas trees
There’s nothing quite like the smell of a real Christmas tree. Each tree has its own unique markings and shape and to put it simply, they just look real. It’s tradition for a family to go and choose a tree from a tree farm and they’re quicker to decorate with no assembly time. The tricky part comes with getting one home strapped to the roof of a car!
If you’re green-fingered, you’ll appreciate that each tree absorbs carbon dioxide and expels oxygen into the air, giving your home a healthy boost at a time when the cold forces you to keep your windows closed! For each tree felled for you to buy, there’s another one planted to help keep a healthy supply going.
In the artificial camp, the trees remove the hassle of maintenance. There’s no chance of rotting and their fire resistance makes them a safe addition to have alongside the extra electrical hazards – those fairy lights that become a must-have for Christmas cheer and sparkle.
If you forget to water a real tree, you could end up with a sorry looking figure – especially if you have your heating turned up high! When it comes down to it though, it’s usually cost and cleaning requirements that seal the deal. Real trees shed prickly needles and they can be expensive compared to artificial copies when you factor in replacing them every year. By themselves, prices start from around £30 – unless you opt for a scrawny make.
It just seems easier to bring out last year’s tree and save the hassle of setting money aside to buy and then dispose of a real one in the new year.
Of course, if you’ve built up a hoarder’s collection of items or your home didn’t have much storage space, to begin with, you might just consider going real after all! For now, I’m sticking with my artificial purchase, even if it is two years old.
Are you in the real or artificial tree camp?
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