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Mary G
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| Posted: Dec 03 2007 at 2:53pm | IP Logged
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Growing up, we ALWAYS had a real tree but since Dad often didn't get paid until Christmas Eve, often we got a very "Charlie Brown" kind of tree. But they were always gorgeous once we got ahold of them.
When I got married, my first husband's family was very against cutting down real trees -- they said it was unfair to the environment (but personally I think it was that trees were getting so expensive and my in-laws didn't want to waste the money -- especially since MIL puts up 3 or 4 trees!). I went along with the fake tree, even after Mike died, primarily for the ease of being a single mom and having to do the whole Christmas thing on my own ....
Well, since I met Rick, we've ALWAYS had a real tree -- even in Austria! As a matter of fact 11/22 was our tenth anniversary of our engagement -- we got engaged the day he came with us to cut down a Christmas Tree! So I guess, having a real tree is a pretty emotion-charged thing for me.
There is NOTHING compares with the smell of a real tree or the beauty ... no matter how good a fake tree looks -- it just looks too good (and thus, doesn't look good).
Probably more than you wanted to hear, huh Mary Chris?
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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Barbara C.
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| Posted: Dec 03 2007 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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We always had real growing up. I have many vivid memories of my dad cursing and snapping at my mother while my mother silently fumed as they tried to get the tree in the stand. Then they would calm down and we would decorate. By the time I was in college, though, my mom's allergies were completely out of control and she would always end up with bronchitis and/or pneumonia. They switched to artificial because she felt that the real tree was contributing to her problems.
My husband and I didn't get our first tree until our first baby was born. It's a 3-foot artificial with pre-strung lights. My husband never really celebrated Christmas as a child (every year he would talk his mom into giving him all of his presents months before), and he never really cared much about decorating the tree or house.
This year my husband has really been feeling the Christmas spirit (in the secular way) and he keeps pushing for us to put up the tree. I want to wait until at least two weeks before Christmas and keep it up for the 12 Days. I'll probably give in this weekend.
My mom has this ornament obsession. She's always giving the kids ornaments and making comments about how she'll buy more if we ever get a big tree. I told her, though, that I'm pretty content for now with our little one. It's not a lot of work to set it up, and we can skip to the fun of decorating. Plus, with little ones around it's nice to be able to easily pick it up and lock it in another room to save it from curious fingers.
In his newfound zeal, though, my husband did start lamenting that he has never had a real Christmas tree. He was keen to buy one the other day at the grocery, but then I explained that we'd also have to buy a stand and lights and we're trying to cut our budget. Plus, we just got our mini-van and I have this nightmare of repeating my parents' mistake with one of their last trees. My dad didn't tie the tree on top of the van tight enough, the tree flew off in front of his van when he went down a hill, and dad ran over it. Thankfully, everyone was safe, but that poor tree was in bad shape.
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Barbara
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MaryM
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| Posted: Dec 04 2007 at 12:49am | IP Logged
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marihalojen wrote:
Oh, and I'm so pleased to hear that Rosemary Trees are in the stores this year!  I'll have to check Home Depot too, no Lowes, Whole Foods or Target here... |
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I just saw them at Safeway tonight, but I don't think you have those in Florida either. They were $17 there, so looks like Whole FOods is my best bet here.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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MaryM
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| Posted: Dec 04 2007 at 3:36am | IP Logged
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We get a real tree also. For the last 12 years we have been cutting our own in the National Forest. As Jodie mentioned it is an important part of their thinning operation which helps provide a healthier forest and for fire prevention. It is a wonderful tradition we share with another family who are close friends.
Mary Chris wrote:
We did it once about 11 years ago, our tree was so huge! It was hard for us to get the whole size picture out in the field full of trees  . |
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And I laughed at your description Mary Chris as it is very difficult to gauge the size of tree out in the wide open. We got a huge one the first year and by the time we cut it down to fit it was almost as round as it was tall - we called it the Christmas ball tree.
And we just read A Christmas Tree in the White House, a picture book based on a story about the Teddy Roosevelt years. Teddy being a "staunch conservationist" decided not to have a Christmas tree in the White House. His young sons snuck one in and hide it in a closet. When they where caught Teddy took them to meet with Gifford Pinchot, the chief forester of the US at that time, thnking he would support his decision. Pinchot said that sometimes if done right it was a good thing to cut young trees for the health of the forest. It didn't change Teddy's mind about an official tree but he did allow the boys to keep their tree.
JodieLyn wrote:
| We get a tree permit on our local forest for $5. |
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Our permits are $10 so we always think we are getting such a good deal, but then you add the price for gas to drive to the NF, the cost of lunch at the local volunteer fire department where we stop to support their fundraising efforts, it does add up and probably doesn't save us anything over buying one in a lot.
But you know what they say:
Christmas tree permit: $10
Gas for drive: $18
Lunch and fudge at the fire station: $30
Family memories: PRICELESS!
And growing up we always had a real tree, too - sometimes purchased from a lot, occassionally cut at a Christmas tree farm and twice we had live trees that we planted afterward (my dad is natural resource guy - conservationist in the old school sense not new PC type). That was always fun because the tree lived on in the yard afterward.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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KackyK
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| Posted: Dec 04 2007 at 6:39am | IP Logged
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We have always always had fake and always will. I am terribly allergic. I can't really even visit anyone's home who has a real tree for more than several hours before my throat will close and I leave using my inhaler. Pathetic isn't it??? We do buy a real wreath...but it's outside on the door.
My father is the same way. For years my grandparents never understood why little Billy would always get sick at Christmas...DUH! Finally they figured it out, got a fake tree and he was never sick at Christmas again  So because of him, I grew up with fake trees. We discovered I was allergic too when we had a LONG visit at a cousin's house with a live tree, and my father and I both left (early, we stood outside in the freezing cold waiting for my mother to finish up!) using inhalers, we all knew I was allergic too!
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Dec 04 2007 at 8:14am | IP Logged
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Mary Chris wrote:
But this west coast girl needed to have the experience of watching dh chop the tree down.
When dh and I were first married we did have a living Christmas tree, but we had to leave it in Hawaii  ! |
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Bill handed me the saw the year we cut our own in MO. He "held the tree up." In Kansas they came around with a chain saw.
When (if?) we move back to Hawaii, I think we'll go artificial since it seems like a waste to support the shipping of trees 3,000 miles so we can have a real tree for a few weeks. It seems like in that situation artificial would be kinder, but we bought cut trees. We din't have a yard to plant a real one!
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: Dec 04 2007 at 8:38am | IP Logged
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We kept our living tree in the pot for the two years we were there. I did have a bad ant infestation when I took it out then brought it back in  , I think it kept the geckos happy though. That might have been the year dh was gone for Christmas...go figure.
The nursery we bought the tree from was out in Hawaii Kai....of course that was 15 years ago.
The moving out inspector guy took the tree with him after he finished inspecting our house before we moved.
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Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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juststartn
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Artificial here. I HATE dropping needles. We have hardwoods, and I've done a real tree once. I was finding needles eons later, and that was pre-dc. Now with five dc, a teeny house, the less moving around of things I have to do to clean up, the better.
And I don't care much for the smell of fir/pine/cedar. Makes me sneezy.
Rachel
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Real or Artifical Tree?
