The Great Christmas Tree Debate

Growing up, we always had a real Christmas tree.  I remember going to the tree lot and trying to sift through all the trees to find the perfect one with my dad, sister and brother.  I actually remember one year where we drove out to the country to cut our own tree down.  Yah - that ended up being just a cold day with a not-so-nice Charlie Brown tree.  When I got married, we continued the tradition of having a fresh Christmas tree in the home until one fateful year.  The year that our tree smelled horrible!  Our neighbours bought their Christmas tree at the same store and their tree also smelled.  Out went the tree (and every needle that was on that tree)!

Debate #1 - Real or Fake?

It was that next year that we decided to get a fake Christmas Tree.  As much as I dreaded going that route, part of me was looking forward to not  vacuuming up all the needles.  I knew the size and shape would be picture perfect and I also knew that there wouldn't be such a mess to clean up when Christmas was over.  That was a total 'score' moment for me! What I would miss (and continue to miss every year) is the fresh tree smell.

Debate #2 - Placement of the Tree

While one can debate the merits of a real tree versus a fake tree, our family tends to have a friendly conversation as to where the tree should go.  Should it go up in the bonus room (above the garage) so that people driving or walking by can see it or should it go in our main floor family room (adjoining the kitchen) where we can see it every day?  Our choice was to put it in our main floor family room where we can enjoy it every day.If you were to Google Christmas Tree Placement, you most likely will get many articles around Feng Shui tree placement. We happened to choose the upper left-hand corner of our home so here's to great Feng Shui in our house!

Debate #3 - Decorating the Tree

White lights vs multi-coloured lights vs one solid colour of lights?  There are so many choices when adding lights to a tree.  We were extremely lucky as the fake Christmas tree we bought has options because the lights are already on!  We can have white lights or multi-coloured lights.  We can have them solid or have them flash AND we even have a setting that will have the lights fade.  Whatever suits our fancy.And lights are not the only decorating.  There are ornaments, ribbons, bows, etc.  How crazy you go depends on you and your style (and quite possibly your family situation).  When my kids were young we hung all of their crafts and handmade ornaments.  This year, when my daughter decorated our tree, she barely hung up anything.

Does It Really Matter?

 In the end, does it really matter that your tree is real or fresh?  Does it matter where the tree is in your home? Or better yet, does it matter that your tree does or doesn't look like something Martha Stewart put together for you?  For myself and my family, our tree is just a symbol that reminds us that Christmas is coming.  It's a symbol that we get to spend extra time together as a family (with many game nights already planned) and a time to spend with extended family and friends.Here's to all the wonderfully decorated, and maybe not so wonderfully decorated, Christmas trees out there!   First Image courtesy of Suat Eman/ FreeDigitalPhotos.netSecond Image courtesy of markuso/ FreeDigitalPhotos.netFeature Image courtesy of  samuiblue/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net