Do you prefer having a fake or real Christmas tree? / LJWorld.com

Asked at Massachusetts Street on December 7, 2010

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“A real one, it’s more of an authentic feel. It’s more wholesome.”

— Colt Coffin, sociology and human services major, Ottawa

“A real Christmas tree. I like the smell of it.”

— Sally Franks, CSL Plasma employee, Lawrence

“Real. That’s what we have.”

— Ed Parker, management, Lawrence

“Fake. There’s less mess to clean.”

— Brita Calnon, stay-at-home mom, Lawrence

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Multidisciplinary 3 years, 4 months ago

christmas trees...I miss that ritual.

beeshlii 3 years, 4 months ago

my wife fakes, so i like everything fake.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 4 months ago

"One of every 18 Christmas tree fires resulted in a death."
- National Institute of Standards and Technology

There you have it.
People who bring real trees indoors are harbingers of death.

pace 3 years, 4 months ago

We considered using artificial string but decided it looked trashy.We use 100 percent cotton string recycled from Grandma's string ball.

The_Original_Bob 3 years, 4 months ago

My wiring comes from Taiwan.

75x55 3 years, 4 months ago

Nothing like a large piece of tinder in the corner, festooned with hot lights and cheap Chinese wiring...

Fake.

slvrntrt 3 years, 4 months ago

Real, but then my cat would eat it and puke everywhere.

overplayedhistory 3 years, 4 months ago

Fake seems more appropriate.

When the kids were little we always had a Christmas limb, but now we use a piece of string. We string it across a small window and hang an ornament on it. When the kids are in town we will often put 2 or 3 different ornaments on it. World Peas for everyone.

riverdrifter 3 years, 4 months ago

Damn. Like a Christmas card.

riverdrifter 3 years, 4 months ago

"They say that love

is like Christmas card

You decorate a tree and throw it in the yard"

--John Prine

Deja Coffin 3 years, 4 months ago

Colt!!!!!! Yay!!!

Lacy Mohler 3 years, 4 months ago

Preferred real until the year of the spider. Was gone for a couple of days and returned to a tree encased in a beautiful spider web with webs extending up to the vaulted ceiling and hundreds of tiny spiders marching toward the ceiling on the webs. First time the tree came down before Christmas and we have done phoney ever year since.

Rae Hudspeth 3 years, 4 months ago

I prefer garlands with lights, but the hubs insists on a tree.
I like shiny aluminum ones, but had to settle for shiny white, with built-in lights. It was not as tempting for the household furballs to try and pull down, either.

Lazy? yes. I save my "domestic talents" for other rooms of the house.

... and yes, they're real.

HollisBrown 3 years, 4 months ago

To the outside: the dead leaves, they're on the lawn For they don't have trees to hang their own.

HollisBrown 3 years, 4 months ago

Oh, clickety click! Good one, bruno! Got any Elvis jokes?

I think that I shall never see, anything as stupid as a tree.

Pitt_Mackeson 3 years, 4 months ago

I did the same thing with my can of worms. They escaped the tree, crawled into my ears and ate my brains.

consumer1 3 years, 4 months ago

I opened a can of worms once, I tried hanging worms on my tree last year, it was pretty cool seeing them all wiggle around. But the next day they were all gone??? Couldn't find them anyplace?? I wondered why my living room smelled like a bait shop for the following 10 days.

The_Original_Bob 3 years, 4 months ago

"do you really want to open up that can of worms already? seems i remember being accused of tree murder, harming the environment, etc for as long as i've been registered on this here ljw thing! maybe we should just dig up a three or four year old tree debacle thread&have at it...educate those who think real is harmful..."

Every year.

bruno2 3 years, 4 months ago

I'm sure conservatives love cutting down real trees, their hero was all for it:

"Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do." -- Ronald Reagan, 1981

"A tree is a tree. How many more do you have to look at?" -- Ronald Reagan, 1966, opposing expansion of Redwood National Park as governor of California

That said, real trees are farmed for the holiday, help the environment, and look and smell much nicer. As for the fire hazard, water the darn thing! We do and ours is still nice and fresh when we take it to the curb. Then the city recycles it. Perfect.

HollisBrown 3 years, 4 months ago

So the maples formed a union And demanded equal rights. "The oaks are just too greedy; We will make them give us light." Now there's no more oak oppression, For they passed a noble law, And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, axe, and saw.

riverdrifter 3 years, 4 months ago

None. There only one place I could put a tree in my house and there's a gun safe there now. Ain't a gonna move thet sucker.

HollisBrown 3 years, 4 months ago

No kidding. Now trees are harmful to the environment. Cool with me. At least the lumberjacks have been right all along. I'm gonna go deforest my backyard. I've been hallucinating and foaming at the mouth since I moved in here. I smoke really good weed, but not that good. It's the damn trees.

The_Original_Bob 3 years, 4 months ago

"fake, its nbot harmful to the environment and it saves money"

How is a real tree harmful to the enivornment?

Ron Holzwarth 3 years, 4 months ago

When I was young, Christmas was never very pleasant because Mom was always sick.

She did the best she could to put on a cheery face, but her illness could not be hidden. Her eyes turned red, her nose ran, and she had a terrific headache all the time. It made Christmas a real downer for us kids.

And then one day she realized - she's allergic to evergreen! After that, we always had an artificial tree, and Christmas was a happy holiday!

obamarocks 3 years, 4 months ago

fake, its nbot harmful to the environment and it saves money

fleeba 3 years, 4 months ago

I would love to have a real one, but the kitty cats love them way too much! So we'll stick with our 12 inch black tree decorated with Halloween items.. She has served us well for many years. Purrrfect fit for the atheist household that celebrates a commercial holiday.

jonas_opines 3 years, 4 months ago

We did try casting one in paper mache to get a more authentic trunk color and feel, but they stopped moving and started to smell after just 5 days. On retrospect, I suppose we could have stopped at the neck.

jonas_opines 3 years, 4 months ago

We just give a poor third world child a paycheck for a few weeks by having them stand very still holding sheets of green construction paper and put a few ornaments on them.

jd 3 years, 4 months ago

Real trees are nice, smell good and help local growers but they are an extreme fire hazard, so be careful.

http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=296&URL=Safety%20Information/For%20consumers/Holidays/Christmas%20tree%20fires&cookie_test=1

The_Original_Bob 3 years, 4 months ago

Real trees get thrown in the pond. Fake ones get disassembled and stored. Winner real tree.

BABBOY 3 years, 4 months ago

Real ones our better. But, a pain with kids, pets, and clean up.

We are getting real tree but it is going to be regulated to the deck.

The gifts will be inside.....

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 4 months ago

Seriously, a real tree is just an improvised high-impulse thermobaric weapon.

consumer1 3 years, 4 months ago

I have a real fake one!! The best of both worlds.

HollisBrown 3 years, 4 months ago

I prefer a real one. It makes a much better fire hazard. I decorate mine with fireworks and kerosene. And some lights made in 1952 with a really frayed electric cord.

somedude20 3 years, 4 months ago

aluminum " Airing of Grievances Festivus Pole"

lily 3 years, 4 months ago

Love the idea of real but scared of fire hazard. I like my tree to be up a long time so artificial works best. So I decorate my live ones out front and all is good.

CWGOKU 3 years, 4 months ago

Real My wife has fakes ones and they are spectacular

The_Original_Bob 3 years, 4 months ago

"Same ratiocination for meth dealers?"

Nah.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 4 months ago

g-rock, Rachael Ray is giving away a 6' orange tree from Treetopia to whoever posts the funniest holiday story on her Facebook Fan page.

thuja 3 years, 4 months ago

I thought it said oral Christmas tree. I would definitely prefer oral to fake.

g_rock 3 years, 4 months ago

I want a real one. A palm tree. With lights on it. That is the only type of tree I want. And a cocktail. On the beach. In Aruba or Key West or someplace tropical.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 4 months ago

Damn heathens. "Gotta be real. Gotta keep the Christmas tree farmers in business." - T_O_B

Same ratiocination for meth dealers?

Bill Lee 3 years, 4 months ago

I learned many years ago at KU that Kansas is the only state without a native pine tree. I'm not sure what that has to do with this discussion, but I felt I should share that fact.

trinity 3 years, 4 months ago

prefer real but have fake this year-very smallish house. sure do miss the big ol' trees! :( and yeah they're a mess-but then again a person should clean anyway so what's the big whoop about sweeping up pine needles?

thebigspoon 3 years, 4 months ago

Real

introversion 3 years, 4 months ago

We invite friends out to cut down free red cedars to help with our eradication. I know, I know... Leave it to the liberals to turn tree-killing into a re-purposing activity....

Chris Ogle 3 years, 4 months ago

We have plenty of trees outside----where they belong.

The_Original_Bob 3 years, 4 months ago

Gotta be real. Gotta keep the Christmas tree farmers in business.

autie 3 years, 4 months ago

Yes, we do.

RoeDapple 3 years, 4 months ago

Kill a Tree For Jesus!

Stuart Evans 3 years, 4 months ago

Sixth! look mom, I'm like KU Law...

Flap Doodle 3 years, 4 months ago

Nothing says Christmas like pagan Germanic traditions.

grammaddy 3 years, 4 months ago

Why must thousands, perhaps millions of pine trees sacrifice their lives each year so that we may decorate them and keep them in our homes for a few weeks? I like the smell of them but I'll use my artificial one again this year. I's easier to clean up at the end of it all.