With Thanksgiving weekend 2016 at rest, it's officially the season of Christmas! Ever since I was a small child, I recall purchasing and decorating my Christmas Tree within the first few days after Thanksgiving each year. It is always a day I look forward to because it signifies the commencement of my favorite time of year. For seventeen years, my family and I had the tradition of going to Home Depot and picking out a real tree to adorn our house with. It was by far one of my favorite things to experience each year. The smell of pine and the brisk air outside truly brought the feeling of Christmastime to life when in search for our tree.
However, through the years, we started to find small nuisances with having a real tree in our home. To start, the tree would shed needles like water and just when you thought you cleaned them all up, there'd be more and more that you've missed. A real tree needs a lot of tender love and care, it must be watered at least once a day or it runs the risk of dying/drying out before Christmas day - and that's no fun at all. For a family that loves having our tree up until the first week of January or so, the thought of a dying tree was not in store for us. Nevertheless, when you've had a long day at school or work and you've been busy with loads of chores and homework, the last thing you want to do and/or remember to do is to water the tree. Although, it was only a few second process, you'd still have to crawl under the tree (potentially breaking a beloved ornament) to pour the water in. And don't get me started about all the needles that would run rampant once you're finished. Additionally, with a real tree, my family and I would have to wait a few days before decorating in order for the branches to "settle" and spread out. That was always a daunting wait - especially when the tree is already in your house and all you want to do is decorate it already. Regardless, it was just a number of small things like that, which made having a real tree a bit stressful at times. 
After years of having the lovely experience of owning real Christmas trees, my parents and I made the hasty decision last year to purchase a fake tree. I was extremely hesitant at first because it would be a drastic change in regards to Christmas traditions. It took a lot of reluctant speculation and convincing and I was finally able to coax up the courage to agree to an artificial tree. This was a lot for me. This meant abandoning yearly trips to Home Depot in search for a real tree. It would also mean no more "real" pine smell permeating through our house (although we do buy the surprisingly functional scent sticks for the tree). On the other hand, there were some good things associated with getting a fake tree, too. Having a fake tree eliminated the issue of messy pine needles, it meant no more waiting for the tree branches to "settle" and it also meant that we would be able to decorate it immediately. We also didn't have to worry about watering it! Fake trees don't die. Another cool feature about our tree is that the lights come attached to it, so it saves the hassle of stringing the lights on our own - I think that is something that is super time efficient and cool.
At the end of the day, having experiences with both real and fake Christmas trees has had its ups and downs. I can genuinely say that I endorse both forms of foliage. A Christmas tree is a Christmas tree and no matter which form you choose, it still provides the same satisfactory feelings, nonetheless. I originally thought that getting a fake tree would be detrimental to my Christmas experience, however, I've learned to adjust to it and I'm learning to love the easiness to it, as well. Though, that doesn't eliminate the chances of me ever getting a real tree again in my life. If for whatever reason we get bored of our fake tree one year, there will still be plenty of real trees for us to claim as our own. So, if you're like me, and your family is contemplating on getting an artificial Christmas tree this year, don't completely destroy the idea. Give it a chance, and maybe you'll learn to embrace it as much as I have.
