Here at Alberta Mamas we are split! Some of us love a real tree and others prefer to have a fake one. We’ve listed pros and cons to both a real or fake Christmas tree.

Real Christmas Tree

Pros:

• The smell. End of list! There is nothing better than bringing the tree into the house and the smell wafting throughout all the rooms.
• Picking a new one out every year. It becomes a tradition whether you get one from a tree lot or right from the forest there are a lot to choose from and it is fun to pick one out together.
• Christmas is limited to a few weeks. No setting up in the middle of November or your presents will be covered in pine needles by the time Santa arrives. This is perfect for people that don’t want their houses exploding with Christmas until December.

Cons:

• If you are a Christmas in November kind of person you will have to find other ways to decorate the house until you can get a real tree.
• It can get expensive buying one every year especially if you get a large one.
• The. Mess. It’s hard enough to keep up with the needles but the sap never leaves once it is in your house.

Fake Christmas Tree

Pros:

• Set up can be in September if you want! No needles will fall and it will look just as good Christmas morning as it did when you set it up.
• You know what to expect every year. No bald spots, it will fit in your living room, and you know exactly which chairs need to be moved to fit it all in.
• It’s just sitting in storage so you can set it up at any time and start decorating.
• The lights are already on it so you can skip that step and get right to the fun decorating part.

Cons:

• The fluffing takes forever. After sitting in a box in the basement all year it takes so long to fluff it all out and those branches are sharp!
• You have to store it and those boxes aren’t small or light.
• There is no smell. Of course you can add the scented pinecones or other artificial smells but it can’t beat the real thing. (OR… Dissenting mama says get a real wreath for a fraction of the mess, great smell, and a tree as long as you want!)

Share your thoughts!

Hop in to the conversation on Facebook and Instagram and give us your opinion!

Looking for More?

Christmas is a magical time of year, and we’ve got a lot of posts on the topic! Here are a few to get you started:

• Why we love experience gifts
• How much Christmas is too much Christmas?
• Going minimal this holiday season
• When to decorate

And be sure to visit the complete list of Alberta Mamas’ Christmas posts!