As Thanksgiving ends and everyone begins to decorate for the holidays, they hang the lights, bake the cookies and get the tree. Families gather together, browsing through over 35 different types of Christmas trees, cutting down their favorite one and going home to decorate it the way they choose. With the beautiful lights, glistening ornaments and shiny tinsel, it fills the house with the aroma of Christmas and pine.

The debate of an artificial or real tree often comes up when beginning the yearly routine of decorating for the holidays. Although artificial trees might be easier for some, real trees have been a tradition since the early 1900s. They offer so much more festivity and bring a family together while searching for the perfect tree and wrapping it in bright lights of your choosing.

Many people may complain about the mess a real tree brings with it, but if people deal with the dead needles outside, it will not make as big of a mess. Also, many disadvantages of a fake tree is when pulling them out of storage with dust and artificial needles falling off, it causes a mess and allergies to act up.

A perk of having a real tree is that the branches don’t need to be fluffed and already are full looking. Having Christmas tree farms, which are mostly local family businesses, helps the families during the season. Also, people won’t be feeding the countrywide stores more money than they already do during the holidays.

Real christmas trees come in many different sizes and they don’t all have to be an exact height. They vary from really short to extremely tall, reaching heights of 12 feet and higher. Every house is different and the height of one’s ceiling may be different than another person’s. Artificial trees only come in certain sizes and they could be too short for some houses. There are very few fake trees that are taller than ten feet tall and a decent price.
When buying a real tree, many farms allow you to buy any size tree for a set price and that allows you to buy the
perfect size tree for your home. For those with vaulted ceilings, buying an eleven or twelve foot tall tree is possible and cheaper when buying a real one.

When disposing of a real tree, many can recycle their tree and it can be turned into compost. When getting rid of an artificial tree when it gets older and branches break off or gets damaged in storage or in a move, the tree will be thrown in the garbage and sent to a landfill. Not to mention, real trees are natural and naturally grown without any chemicals. Artificial trees are made with oils, PVC pipe and steel and then shipped from foreign countries to the U.S. Over 85 percent of artificial trees come from China, meaning we are adding to the products we are buying from China rather than buying from the U.S.

Having a real Christmas tree can brighten up the holidays for anyone. The pine and balsam fir scents fill the house with a Christmas scent making holiday visitors feel welcomed and at home rather than dust from sitting in storage all year. Real trees are local and traditional, bringing joy to everyone.