Real tree or not, does it depend on your childhood?

That’s exactly what used to be in my stocking, Mamardoit, and I carried on the tradition with my own children. Though I always had a big toy and annuals as well and my children had slightly more.

Not everyone bothers with a tree. My sister has what I can only describe as twigs with lights and other lights around the room and in vases. They look lovely and she switches them on all through the winter.

I remember asking my grandma about her childhood Christmases. They lived very rural and gathered holly and ivy from the woods. They didn't have a tree but hung a bare branch from the ceiling. They decorated that with fir cones, ribbons and sweet things. Her favourite was a pink sugar pig. They had stockings (their own socks) which appeared on Christmas morning filled with a new penny, an apple, an orange, nuts, sugar mice and pigs. If they had a toy it was handmade.

Grandma70s

I don’t see the point of a fake tree. It’s the living green in midwinter that is significant. From childhood onwards I’ve always had real ones, and real holly. I can’t manage a real tree now, so I won’t have a tree at all. Nobody is visiting because of the virus, so no-one will know!

Basically the point for me is there are expectations from first kids then grandkids that there will be at least some sort of tree. Left to myself I'd have none, and I certainly don't want the hassle to cleaning up needles and disposing of it. This year there will be none, as we're not seeing anyone

I hought I'd commented on this thread but there was another one recently
www.gransnet.com/forums/christmas/1287759-Real-or-fake?

You'll find more interesting stories there. (I mean additional stories, not "ones that are more interesting")

I'm still chuckling over 'powered harps'.

We always had a real tree when we were children and I usually plan to have one each Christmas but I have a couple of artificial ones as well. I bought a pre-lit, bare branch style one in a garden centre sale one year but the lights are so bright we couldn't be in the same room as it! That one works OK in the conservatory where we can see it through glass without being dazzled! This year I've had my other artificial one up since the 1st of the month. We needed the cheerful lights really early this year and I don't think a real one would do well for so long with the central heating blasting away for a month. The photo in daylight doesn't do justice to the megawatt brightness of the lights.

When I was in hospital 41yrs ago having given birth to our 1st son, I arrived home after the 7 day confinement to an artificial tree, decorated with our Christmas baubles. Throughout my childhood and up until our son was born we had always had a real tree.
However, the tree was beautifully shaped and a decent height. 48yrs later we still have, and still use the tree, decorating with the decorations bought in Germany 48yrs ago.

As a child we always got sent a tree from the country estate where my sister brother and cousin were evacuated during the war. (They were very lucky there!) My husband a Scot doesn't really have that Christmas tradition as a background but he has embraced everything Christmassy since he moved to England. We have had a real tree -for all of our nearly 50years of married life. When we didn't have a car we carried it home home from the greengrocer between us, later it went on the pram. When they were older our children loved going to the forest or our local stately home to buy the tree, choosing exactly the right one was part of the ritual. Even when we were really hard up we always put aside money for a real tree even though some years it was a very small one. For the last 3 years we have bought one from ALDI, beautiful fresh Nordmans (£14.99 this year.) No one is coming this year because of the pandemic but we have still bought a tree. It'll be featured on our Zoom family Christmas meeting.

I don’t see the point of a fake tree. It’s the living green in midwinter that is significant. From childhood onwards I’ve always had real ones, and real holly. I can’t manage a real tree now, so I won’t have a tree at all. Nobody is visiting because of the virus, so no-one will know!

Real tree for me always - Christmas tree smell was all part of the festive atmosphere as a child. husband brought an artificial tree with him and after great debate ( and a modicum of stubbornness on my part...) we agreed on usual placement of the real tree and artificial one in dining room and so both happy!! Just had major surgery so was worried this may hinder the trip to get real tree but greater love hath no man as he purchased one for my homecoming

My mother always described me as "lazy" and much as I hated it at the time, she was right. She used to get a real tree and make her own xmas cake, mince pies, sausage rolls. As soon as I left home it was a fake tree for me and shop bought goodies!

Had an artificial one as a child but have had many real ones. Some looked fine in the field then needed top chopping off when we got home. Have also had a live tree growing in a pot which one of the cats decided was a good second litter tray!!!! Now stick to a small artifical tree on one of the cabinets to avoid cat destruction!!

A very small fake tree that looks (from a distance) quite real. When I was little, during WW2, there was, apparently, a shortage of Christmas trees and my Dad brought in a big branch of privet instead, Well, why not? It's evergreen after all! Later we always had real trees until my sisters and I left home and then our parents got and artificial one

Only year I had a real tree the pines got damp somehow and turned my cream carpet green, never again cannot deal with finding pines still in the Spring.

I don't remember fake trees when I was young- we always had a real one. I soon gave up on that when I had my own house & was picking needles out of the carpet in July!!
The fake ones are so good now that I see no point in getting a fake one - plus the cats would climb it (they try with the fake one as it is).I got a beautiful fake tree a couple of years ago in local garden centre's January sale- it is lovely.

Born in the 50’s and we had an artificial tree. Tbh as a child I thought real Christmas trees were just things we saw on Christmas movies. Families going to the snow covered tree yard and selecting a big tree and tying it to the roof of the car.

Ours was a green 2 ft tree that sat on the sideboard. A string of cone shaped lights that caused much anxiety when the tree plunged into darkness. Dad would work his way round all the bulbs giving them a little twist in the hope they’d light up again. If they didn’t it took more detective work to identify and replace the dud bulb. When all the spares were used he’d set off on the bus to Woolworths for more.

Looking back, the thick branches of the tree resembled toilet brushes. But I can picture myself now standing by the sideboard gazing into the tree and it was a wonderful sight. We couldn’t have been any happier if it had been a real tree that reached the ceiling.

Always real tree with real candles

My parents had a real tree and realised that, as a two and a half week old baby (it's my birthday today), l was highly allergic to it (still am) so bought an artificial tree in that highly fashionable sixties silver tinsel. It was about three feet high and had the indoor decorations. We had a long porch and a real tree with lights was put out there. My grandparents always had a small artificial tree too. Needless to say we have always had artificial ones here and they are much more realistic these days. We have a big one in the conservatory and a small one in the living room. I would have been happy with just the small one this year but was overridden by the rest of the family.

Always real but no tree this year, as we are moving house next week!

Always had a real tree. When I was a kid we had real candles too. This year however, chose not to have a tree, but a branch with lights. No watering no needles dropping everywhere. I love it.

I grew up with real trees, don’t remember anyone having fake back then.
Stuck with real all through my two marriages but now I’m on my own I have a fake tree. Apart from the expense of a real one every year I began to think it’s not very environmentally friendly to grow and chop down trees every year that end up being shredded after a couple of weeks. My fake tree, although not very sustainable when new, after ten years and still looking as good as new is surely better. Besides, fake trees are so much better now and a really good one looks very convincing. The smell of a fresh tree goes after a couple of days. I fake that too, with a Christmas diffuser.
I alternate my tree with a tall branch of twisted willow dressed with lights and little feathered birds some years, just for a change. The branch is real and lives in the garage the rest of the year.

I grew up with the same very small artificial tree every year. My Mum kept that tree for about 40 years, it was almost bald by the time she died!

When DH and I married we had a real tree for our first Christmas which was then planted in the garden. When the children came along (and pets) we opted for artificial. But each time we moved house we had a real tree again for our 1st Christmas and then planted it in the garden. One of them grew taller than our house!

We currently have a lovely and very natural looking artificial tree with two sets of lights on it so that we can have a sparkling but not OTT effect or full on Disney/Hollywood glamour which the GC seem to prefer. I really love the smell of a real tree in the house but don't want the needles everywhere.

We always had artificial trees as a child. I have never had a real tree as I prefer artificial ones. I bought a lovely tree last year and added some nice decorations to it. I love my tree

Artificial tree when growing up and artificial now. I bought a real one once as I like them but it must be in a pot with roots that can go in the garden afterwards.

Always an artificial tree when I was growing up although we did have a real tree one year. Mum was mortified when the needle dropped off all over the carpet but it smelled lovely when she vacuumed them up!

I'm presently decorating our tree and having a big debate with OH over the lights etc, as we always do! Off to the shops tomorrow for yet more lights as ours look ridiculously sparse! I've a hankering for a real, rooted tree but unicorn poo is easier to find in Nottinghamshire!

We had a real tree with candles which were lit for a little while on Christmas eve and also on Christmas day. My mother was German so we had presents from her family on Christmas eve and the English ones on Christmas day. We still have a real tree, but I put it up quite late, always had it up in time for DDs birthday on the 19th. Cats can be a nightmare at Christmas, I had one that used to kill the mini-crackers on the tree, caught another one running away with some tinsel which would have entailed an operation if she had swallowed it! My stepdaughters puppy are a glass bauble a couple of years ago and needed surgery!