Now to answer the question I posed at the beginning of my Christmas Debriefing.
Which is better: Fake or Live Trees?
Man, is this a mixed bag. You can create a whole pro/con list. Ultimately, I come down on the *Live* side. But I can easily see making a different decision.
Live Pros:
* Beautiful tree.
* Amazing pine scent.
* Compostable and/or able to turn into mulch.
* May cause allergies.
Live Cons:
* What a mess!
* Must strap tree to roof to get it home.
* Cannot keep the tree too long or else it sheds needles.
* Even if you don't keep tree too long it sheds needles when you take it out.
* Also will start smelling pine-stinky instead of pine-fresh if you keep it too long.
Fake Pros:
* Buy it once; store it for years in a box; reuse.
* Typically less expensive than Live, if you reuse the tree more than one year.
* Don't have to spend time shopping for a tree every year.
* Don't have to spend time stringing lights on the tree every year (assuming you get a fake tree with lights).
Fake Cons:
* Gets dusty.
* Once you decide to get rid of it, I doubt you can really recycle it. The fake tree is likely to end up at the dump, and so is not really a green alternative.
* Requires storage space.
* Lacks fresh pine scent (hanging pine scented air fresheners doesn't quite measure up).
If you go "Live," buy the tree from an organization that is worth supporting. Also, make sure that the source of the trees uses sustainable farming.
And there you have it. My full Christmas tree debriefing for 2011.
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