Having a Real Christmas Tree Made Me Love the Artificial Ones Even More

For anyone that celebrates Christmas, putting up a Christmas tree is a yearly tradition.

Some people put their tree up as early as mid-November with some putting theirs up even before that. Some wait until December or even up until the day right before Christmas.

Regardless of when the right time is to put the tree up, there is a more important debate.

Real or artificial?

It’s probably the first decision many of us make. A decision we make even before deciding when to put a tree up.

Last holiday season was the first time I have ever had a real tree in my home.

Christmas tree memories

I’ve always had an artificial Christmas tree in my home. It’s one part of how I grew up. The very first Christmas tree I can remember, going as far back as when I was five, was artificial. As I grew up, and eagerly awaited Christmas after Christmas as a kid, one of my favorite holiday traditions was helping take the Christmas tree down out of the attic as well as the decorations.

Each light and garland strung around the branches. Each ornament hung brought me sheer joy and excitement. While a real Christmas tree can obviously offer these memories too, I’ll always remember the feel of the fake pine needles and the annoyance … oh! The annoyance of putting the tree up.

Each limb was color coded and had to snap into a certain slot on the tree. Putting it up wasn’t difficult. Just a process. You had to start with the bigger limbs first and work your way up to the top ending with the smallest limbs and top piece.

Since it was the first time I’ve ever had a real Christmas tree, last year was different and a little break from tradition.

The tree picked out was absolutely beautiful. With fully bodied limbs, it stood almost 6 feet tall. The smell of the pine wasn’t strong in the slightest but still noticeable. I love pine!

I hung up the lights and ornaments around the tree and made it look festive. As I did so, I felt the pine needles and smiled. The joy of decorating the tree was no different from the artificial trees I've decorated in the past. Except the tree I was decorating was real.

This is nice! Maybe I can get used to a real Christmas tree!

And then, not even a week passed. Sweeping up the pine needles that fell from the tree became the new annoyance. Pine needles had to be swept up almost daily.

Eventually Christmas was over, it was now into the new year, and the Christmas tree was losing its luster and pine needles even more. It was time to take it down and dispose of it properly. Our neighbor helped and ended up using it for campfire firewood.

I can’t help but to shake my head at disposing of a Christmas tree year after year. With an artificial tree, you just take it down when the holidays are over and store it away. As long as it’s taken care of and stored properly, it will last you for a while.

I know some people who keep their artificial tree up all year but decorate it according to the seasons.

Of course, it can’t compare to the experience of having a real tree. The experience of finding and picking out that ideal Christmas tree! The scent of the pine! While I feel a little left out of this experience growing up, I still think I’ll stick with my artificial Christmas tree this year.