The sweet, nostalgic, woody smell of the festive annual Christmas tree. For some, this smell of a real Christmas tree is something traditional, for others, the fake tree alternative is a tradition. But what really trickles down this Christmas tree discussion is the decision on whether to buy a fake or real Christmas tree this holiday season.
Growing up, the real Christmas tree was the tree my family and I bought every year for Christmas.
Memories like trying to strap the tree to the roof of the car– anxiously waiting to see if it would fly off and hit the car behind us– were ones that filled my childhood holiday nostalgia.
Trying to bring the big tree up the stairs was truly a struggle, needles poking my face and sap getting all over my hands as I struggled to help my parents carry the tree. Smelling the fresh pine aroma as the tricky pine needles fell all over the ground after setting the tree down in its stand was a cherished moment.
Now, the Christmas tree I put up every year is a fake Christmas tree with no fresh pine smell, no sap, no tricky pine needles poking my hands and dropping all over the floor. This artificial tree is something that doesn’t require me to drive to a Christmas tree lot, tie it to the top of my car, and carry it all the way up the stairs.
Setting this tree up can be easy: assembling all the parts of the tree and then fluffing the fake pine needles by separating them. It can take a while, maybe even the same amount of time as it would to go to the Christmas tree lot and to buy a real tree, but in a matter of minutes, there’s a Christmas tree!
Decorating the tree with lights, garland, ornaments, and the star atop the tree, the building of a plain old tree into a real Christmas tree is the real transformation of a real or a fake tree. But the most important part of the enjoyment of having a Christmas tree isn’t the tree itself, but Christmas morning.
Waking up to open Christmas presents laid out around the festive tree, to see the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree and the ornaments all looking jolly, nothing can get better than that.
In that moment of joy, does the wonder of having a real versus fake Christmas tree really matter? Does the coziness, the love, the excitement of the holidays and Christmas really revolve around a fake or real tree?
The debate between buying a real or fake Christmas tree is indeed just a trivial debate. Some can argue that one is more expensive than the other or that buying a
fake tree is more environmentally friendly.
At the end of the day, when you’re opening up presents next to your Christmas tree, all that truly matters is the love and care that came with its presence.
