Comments on: A Real Christmas Tree vs An Artificial Christmas Tree

By: Giving Back with a Few Clicks and Keystrokes - SavingAdvice.com Blog

Giving Back with a Few Clicks and Keystrokes - SavingAdvice.com Blog — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:41:16 +0000

[...] with thoughts about Christmas, cheap dates at Christmas (the holiday dates section), and the benefits of artificial Christmas trees among others. Whether you agree with my ideas or not, I believe that thinking about the holidays [...]

By: David G. Mitchell

David G. Mitchell — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:44:33 +0000

I found an interesting article in the Orlando Sentinel about the high cost of Christmas trees. Note that even real Christmas trees require the use of petroleum products (as in petroleum based fertilers, sold by the ton!!). Here is a link to the article for those of you who are interested.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-trees0608dec06,0,5713798.story

By: Cindy M

Cindy M — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:12:11 +0000

Wow. I must be on the wrong forum, I’m truly into recycle and reuse these days. Anyway, you guys make me glad I don’t have to obsess anymore about xmass or impressing the kiddies. Tree worship, totally pagan in origin (I’m a saved bible believer, by the way, but yes, xmass and most of the customs are totally pagan). Having said that, I do love my evergreens but would only buy one I could plant out in my yard. I also seeing love lights on a tree, so I’d string some tiny lights on an outside tree if that’s what I was into. But I’m not, ha-ha.

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:55:54 +0000

If I didn’t live in an area where real Christmas trees are plentiful in all varieties (Portland, OR, area), perhaps I would be more inclined to go with an artificial tree. As it is, I would rather go without than go artificial.

By: Pepper

Pepper — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:29:20 +0000

After spending my life hunting for a tree each christmas (on family land or land of friends, so…free tree), and swearing I’d never have a fake tree, when my new family moved into our first house, I bought a fake tree. Why? 2 words, printed right there on the box:

FLAME RETARDENT!!!!

Every New Year’s Eve my Dad would give us our fire-safety lesson/new year’s celebration. We would take the dried out tree into the back yard (always a cedar), he would hold it up in one hand, stick a match to it, and we’d all watch it explode in flame in about 3 seconds. Great fun when you’re 10. But when you’re 27 with a newborn, it makes you think. So I sacrifice my personal preferences on the alter of family safety.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:53:41 +0000

The local Starbucks in my are was giving them out for free.
I got one yesterday.
So yeah
I’m fine.

By: justme

justme — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:52:51 +0000

I am in Oregon, people plant the trees just for this purpose they are cheap and planted on mom and pop farms all over the state

By: Art

Art — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:37:44 +0000

I don’t know where you guys are from that buy real trees for $20. The only trees you can buy for that amount are 4 foot trees w/o any needles.

As far as saving the environment, I don’t see how cutting down a tree year after year is better for the environment when you can use a artificial tree for 10 years +.

And what’s the deal of going out into the woods (read tree farm), searching around for the “right tree” cutting it down, tying it on top of your SUV, putting it up, watering it, spray it w/ some sort of fire retardant, and vacuuming up needles for 3-4 weeks? Sounds like more of a hassle than tradition to me.

I see an artificial tree as an investment, a couple hundred bucks now and we’re done for at least 10 years (that’s $20 per year). As far as the smell, I use one of those tree shaped car fresheners.

By: sheila

sheila — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:17:36 +0000

I have had a real tree all my life and now I have a home an a 2 kids and a husband. I hate fake tree’s. I only spend 8 $ and i would have to but up a ugly fake tree over 30 years before i would have paid 4 it. The smell is great and fun to pick out.

By: Pine

Pine — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:25:46 +0000

Most artificial trees are manufactured in China and contain PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The plastic material, typically PVC, can be a potential source of hazardous lead. The potential for lead poisoning is great enough that fake trees made in China are required by California Prop 65 to have a warning label. the manufacture of PVC creates and disperses dioxins, which include the most toxic man-made chemical known. Released into air or water, dioxins enter the food chain, where they accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans, a potential risk for causing cancer, damaging immune functions and impairing children’s development. Buy a real tree and water it.