How Fake Trees TOOK OVER Christmas
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- Опубліковано 12 гру 2023
- The Christmas tree is a tradition that’s provided joy and meaning for millions of families across the globe over the course of centuries. Today, most people celebrating Christmas are doing it with a fake tree and the trend is only getting bigger.
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For further reading, check out the sources for this video here:
docs.google.com/document/d/e/...
Script: Holly Maley
Editor: Sam Askew
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand
Want to work with Future Proof? Suggestions? Hate mail? Get in touch with the project manager, Lu: contact@befutureproof.ca
The story should really be, if you are going to buy a fake tree, make sure you are picking one that you'll be happy to have for decades. If you are getting a real tree, pick one that is local and well sourced and recycle it when you are done.
The thing is, most of this channels audience already knows over consumption is bad. This video seems redundant.
Yeah, but it was much more fun to watch this while I sip my peppermint Christmas latte and eat my spiced orange slices on my lunch break!! 😂
That is the story 👍🏻
Ive had the same fake tree for 10 years and counting.
@@saranunes4151 Same, though its light-up core no longer works it still looks good as a tree. I have LED lights on it which are in their second year of use & I love them!!! Let's see what Future Proof has to say about the lights...
Its absolutely wild that people replace their Christmas trees yearly. My family's Christmas tree is literally older than me.
I thought the whole point of artificial trees was to keep reusing them.
I had no idea about that. I thought you have one and keep that b forever
My family go a real tree with root ball, thing is still going strong, grew bigger than the cedar
Same, my family have been using the same tree since forever.
I had no idea why people would change their plastic tree every year, we had ours for 15+ years and only now as it's starting to look its age have we started considering to switch it.
My family has kept our plastic Christmas tree for 20 years. My aunt's family has been using their for 10, but their built in lights aren't working anymore, they are still using it with regular string lights.
My family has had the same plastic tree for over 20 years too 😅
The one at my house was passed down to us from my grandma before I was born, I don't know exact dates but it's definitely older than 30 years at this point
Same here, my family has had theirs for going on 30 years
We’ve used the same tree since the early 90s!
My dad worked for a company that made aluminum containers so we had an aluminum trees for years (they got them in the early 60s). They started out with the big one, but when I was born, I was attacking the ornaments so they got a small one that they could keep up out of my reach. Later we put up both. It was kind of cool. It had a rotating base, and rather than lights it used spotlights, so it rotated and sparkled the the reflections on the silvery branches. As little kids, we just like to lay under it and watch it Old Timey ASMR, I guess.
My family has literally kept the same plastic and metal wire tree for over 20 years that my dad inherited from my grandmother who used it for over 10 years before that lmao and it’s actually still in decent shape
That's incredible
nicee :)
My mother's Christmas tree is from the 80s possibly the late 70s it's big and heavy but it still looks really good. Mines only mislead 10 years old, it looks exactly like the day I took it out of the box if not better considering it was not fluffed then. I truly do not understand why you would spend the amount of money it costs to buy a nice looking Christmas tree and not keep it for years.
Same. My family,s fake christmas tree is about 20 years old and my grandmother,s fake christmas tree is even older, 30 years maybe. 😄 But what i do miss is that real christmas tree smell.
@@mangotail6808 omgggg I couldn’t agree more that real tree smell 😩 whenever I go into anyone’s house around the holidays and smell that real pine I get so jealous bc I’ve never had that lol
I've always thought the plastic tree was more environmentally friendly because my parents have been using the same tree since before I was born and I'm 28.
Some of us don’t really have a choice. I suffer from allergies, and I used to struggle every single Christmas when the Christmas tree came into the house. That is why we eventually invested in an artificial Christmas tree many years ago, and now I function much better. That was definitely the best choice for us.
Me, too. I’m allergic to everything even pine trees. Fake trees is the only option I get,
yep my family got a fake tree when we found out my brother had leaf mold allergies. Allergist said to stop getting a real tree. My parents still have it, it's been over 20 years!
We used to have a real Christmas tree and spent a lot of money and effort each year getting it set up. Now I have had a fake tree that comes in a mere 3 pieces and is pre-lit and I've had it for years and years. It takes 5 minutes to set up and looms amazing. If the lights go out, I'll just use string lights. I don't see why we would get rid of this tree for the foreseeable future, I might even pass it on to my kids at this rate lol
My parents used to get real pine trees because of the smell. The smell wasn't overbearing and filtered across the whole house. It was nice. One year, any of the pines they could find just lost the smell completely. These were precut, but year over year it was the same thing, no smell. They then switched to a fake tree and never looked back. I often wonder what causes them to lose the pine smell like that. I imagine it's some biological mechanism.
I buy Frazier Fir every year and it fills my whole house with its fragrance.
@@SarahGreen523 For whatever reason, my parents are steadfast about getting pine if using a real tree. I bet a fir would be fine but they're stubborn.
I got a permit and went out to Frasier, CO a few weeks ago to cut down my first Fir from a forest by the Frasier River and it was an awesome experience. Now I have have an actual Frasier fir FROM Frasier…. It helps if you live an hour away :)
Same happened to us. We would get OG trees because of the smell and it was traditional ever since I was born we always got all natural. But that changed when they wouldnt smell and became super expensive for a tiny tree, it wasnt worth it anymore.
My mom used to hate the sap getting stuck in the floor
Plastic trees can last a really long time if you take care of them properly. My parents have a plastic tree that is 20 years old that we bought when I was a child and is still going strong. The tree I have at my house right now is around 15 years old and I "inherited" it from my grandmother, who no longer wants a big tree and prefers one of those tiny 40cm tall ones.
I feel like christmas trees and christmas traditions and decor help with SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. It can really make winter feel more lively instead of dark and dreary.
Honestly, I embrace the grim conditions of winter. When you live in darkness, light can be quite garish.
Yeah, could do without the shopping. Pretty sure they just know i dont wanna go anywhere when its cold.
I used to feel sad from Thanksgiving to after New Year because everyone had a family to go back to but me. I never had a tree. Over the decades I saved a dozen ornaments from gift decoration and found objects hoping one day I’d have my own tree. This year I finally bought a 32” table tree, my first one, to celebrate my retirement and the purchase of my first house. It’s been many decades of not having my own holiday tradition. I hope my remaining earthly years I can properly celebrate holidays with twinkling lights, holiday wreath, tree, and decoration.
I think that is why the holiday was started in the first place, along with Halloween
Yes, in pagan cultures, evergreens were brought into the house because it was the darkest time of the year. It helps with my SAD, but after Christmas and New Year's, I suffer a huge letdown.
i'm a houseplant girl so we have a potted norfolk island pine that we're using as a tree and will put it outside to grow for the rest of the year. hoping we can see it grow with us over the years. 😊
what a great tradition! kinda like having a friend over for a month long sleepover lol
My husband and I have been using the same potted evergreen for 3 Christmases now and still going. He’s healthy and well taken care of, so we’ll be seeing him again for sure next Christmas 🤗🎄
My family kept a potted evergreen (it wasn’t a spruce or a pine, I think it was some kind of more tropical evergreen that still looks quite spruce-like) all year round and we used it as a Christmas tree for over ten years. That’s honestly the best solution.
My husband and I bought a potted evergreen as well and so far this little guy has stuck with us for three Christmases. We almost lost him because our cat almost destroyed him the first Christmas we had him, but he pulled through and we love him. He’s charming in his own way. And we’re determined to take care of him for our next Christmas. I feel like our new tradition with our evergreen is totally on par with the spirit of Christmas. 😊
>>. . .a potted evergreen . . . That’s honestly the best solution.
@@eponymousIme Why not put up a line and hang the ornaments across that? They have indoor retractable laundry lines that would do that job perfectly.
@@user-rc2yf8kt7i >>@eponymousIme Why not put up a line and hang the ornaments across that? They have indoor retractable laundry lines that would do that job perfectly.
Christmas in the southern hemisphere is weird. It's insanely hot and we decorate our houses with snowy stuff and with plastic pine trees when pines aren't even native to our land. We should celebrate Christmas in June.
Where do you live? Australia?
Yeah that must be annoying! I think celebrating in june would be a great idea. I feel lucky to have real snow and the sun go down by 3pm during christmastime
Why not decorate your tree with whatever is seasonal and local where you live? When I still had young kids living at home, we used to do a small Easter tree and a Valentine's tree -- basically, any holiday was an excuse to load stuff onto a tree or wreath. Sometimes the "tree" for these holidays was just a collection of interesting small tree branches in a vase or pot.
I basically started doing this when I moved to NZ. There's no point trying to cook a big Turkey dinner in the middle of summer and all the other traditional northern hemisphere traditions feel pretty hollow too. So I switched to celebrating the winter and summer solstices. Most people I know in NZ do something like this anyway. They go to the beach and have a barbecue and eat ham with strawberries and cherries for dessert because they're in season. Then in June I go skiing and spread some holly sprigs around the house, donate to charity, volunteer at the shelter and do a big roast for the winter solstice. I haven't had a Christmas tree since I moved here because it just doesn't seem worth the hassle. There's a few live trees that have spectacular blooms here at Christmas time (pohutukawa, southern rata and feijoa) and that's all the decoration I feel like I need.
Here where I live in Norway you are not allowed to just go into the forest to cut down a tree (mostly protected forest all around my area) 🤷♀️ I bought a fake tree 10 years ago for about 120Dollars. A real tree costs about 60Dollars per tree. So yeah, it saved a lot of money by now 😅 While I love the pine scent of a real tree, the dropping needles are a pain. We tried also trees in a pot, but they always died anyway too. Even when we finally had a yard to plant them in 🤷♀️ A real tree for me is just a waste of money. Maybe if I lived more rural and could just go into the forest to find a tree, I would go back to a real tree again 🤔
I’ve also tried the potted tree option for two years and the two years it died. It was so sad! But when talking about it, I haven’t heard one success story from a potted tree. If anyone has one, please let us know and bring hope back!
My neighbours run a small plant nursery and they tried - with some success - a non-lethal alternative.
They used their own farm-grown Thuja trees. Potted in the autumn, so that the pot can be easily extracted from the frozen clay in December. In due time they lift the pot and move it into the heated house. One week later they return it - not to the open field, but to a kind of trench near the house, where it's always warmer than the field and the shade protects trees from sunburn in the spring. They said that over many years two trees did not survive the wake-up, and the others recovered. But then the recent years were abnormally warm (thank you Greta!) and who knows if these seedlings will survive a proper -30 winter.
@@94rome check out how to take care of a bonsai tree and you will understand why it died. Some factors can be, being indoors, low sunlight exposure, too cold or too hot, too much water or too little.
@@94rome Haha yeah it's difficult taking care of one. My parents had no luck one year, but another the tree took really well and while small at time of buying, it's now well outgrown me. My grandparents have even more luck though and two of their trees survived and are doing so well in the garden, after however many years they managed to cut off just the top part of one of them and use it in their tiny living room again. I've had no luck yet with growing any evergreen and have in between using my tiny fake tree I have since as long as I remember, but the real tree with its smell still makes it that much more charming for me for Christmas, especially when carefully decorated together with people I care about.
I really love our yearly real tree but i just wanted to chime in that te real smell only lasts a couple days :) so i supplément with evergreen essentiel oils haha!
My mother is allergic to the "real" christmas trees so we ended up getting a fake tree second hand from her colleague. We used it for like 13 years ourselves and then donated it to a family member after we stopped putting one up entirely. That family member has been happily using it since. No idea how old that fake tree must be at this point but it should've offset its environmental downside at this point. No one in my family is religious so but we liked it simply as a decoration not unlike other stuff people put up during christmas.
Same! I'm extremely allergic to pine. Christmas time is a strange time of celebration with a constant threat of death. I hold my breath long before I enter a store (the pine trees are usually kept out front), I need to call ahead to restaurants and ask friends if they have a "real tree/pine" up. My work is aware of my allergy but one coworker this year didn't realize I was "THAT" allergic and brought in a bunch of real garlin bc Christmas spirit! Yeah my throat began closing up immediately as I raced out of the front office area. Weather it's candles, chopped wood for the fire place, or even foods that have pine nuts or lingon berries. I do enjoy Xmas, and my allergy is only ever an issue during this specific time of the year, but boy do I enjoy when the holiday is over and I'm not constantly worrying if a standard shopping trip will result in my inhaler being used, or if I'm going to need to sneak across the boarder for another EpiPen, bc who can afford $600 bc a random coworker didn't realize he just turned the front office into a death zone.
@@millersam07I'm so sorry to hear you have to struggle like that! People can be SO ignorant about allergies, people seem to understand peanuts but anything else is treated like an 'intolerance'.. I love Christmas but could never imagine endangering a coworker over some damn decorations. My nephew is deadly allergic to red meat and dairy and the amount of times he's nearly been given something with milk because people assume it's just his mum 'forcing' him to be vegan (even tho he eats white meat and fish 😭 )
I'm allergic and was ill every Christmas until a doctor tested me when I was 10..
Same!! My mother too! Me and my siblings would have to wash our hands after playing outside to be able to hug or touch our mom! Still have our plastic Christmas tree they bought right before I was born!
I'm almost 40 and have never had a real Christmas tree, growing up there wasn't much money so the same fake tree that I remember growing up is actually still in use at my parents house. After moving out at 18 I have also had the a fake tree that has lasted really well so far, it saves money you don't need to spend, Christmas is an expensive season, whether that's a good thing or not it's the reality and saving money where you can is essential for a lot of people.
Gen z here, as a kid I thought getting real Christmas trees was only a movie thing.
(although, I am British. Getting a real tree isn't much of a thing here as far as I am aware)
@@htsunmiku Yeah, I grew up on 17 forested acres over here on the east coast US. We had chainsaws, but it was tradition to take my great-grandfather's axe out and pick and fell our Christmas tree. We did it every year until I was around 18-19.
My grandfather had a fake tree that my mom is still using. That thing is at least 40 years old :-) My own tree is now getting close to decade. I changed the lights on it, but the tree stays. On the subject of lights, I think those have way bigger environmental impact than fake trees. Those lights bought in big box stores can survive 1, maybe 2 season tops. Once they are dead it is almost impossible to fix them (or not the worth the effort), so people just go and buy new ones :-(
I was sixty five when I’d had it with getting fresh trees into the holders, getting sap in my hair. Both kids were grown but whined over ‘no real tree’ but it had gotten too difficult to do alone. I paid the same price for a fake, pre lit tree, and Love it. I probably will stop dragging it down from the attic though & box it up and put it another bedroom.
I keep seeing people complaining abt ther christmas lights and I just wonder why they're produced like that. I've had the same lights for 5+ years and they're still working like they used to when I got them. Idk, but maybe IT depends on where you but them? (Yes I have them out every season)
9:39 "Ten years" - good thing that our family used the small plastic tree that my grandfather bought in the early 50s for like 60 years, and the tree we replaced it with is now at least 10 years old. Radiohead can cry all they want.
So my entire life out family has had fake trees. My husband was the opposite. Since I already had a lovely fake one, he "converted" now he misses the smell, but he does not miss the dropped needles, surprise bugs, constant watering and chasing the pets away. We've had the current tree 10 years. I have no plans to get a new one any time soon. My hope is to keep it 30 years or more.
Look around for stuff that can bring that pine smell back. There's bound to be products and air fresheners that can give a fake tree the same wonderful smell as a real one.
And if it isn't already a thing, I'd actually love to see scented garland that could be wrapped around a fake tree to give it the realistic smell for the holiday season. It probably would need to be disposable, at least if you want to have it smell nice the next year, but could certainly be a better compromise to give the best of both options.
LOL!!! Love it!
You can always add the lovely smell of greenery with a fresh garland or wreath indoors. They're lots easier to put up and dispose of, and likely won't have the bugs. Bonus: they, too, can also be adorned with ornaments or decorations if you're so inclined.
I grew up with a fake tree but got a real tree later in my 20s and honestly fake trees seem kinda sad compared to a real one. I don’t mind sweeping needles, watering, and I’ve never gotten bugs.
It’s more expensive but I’ll probably stick to real trees for the most part.
It’s funny because for me it’s the opposite. I’ve been using a fake tree for as long as I can remember and one year, we decided to try a real tree, and I found it extremely tedious. I love putting together my artificial tree every year and I like its convenience. When I moved out of my mothers house, the first thing I did was buy a new tree. It’s now in its fifth year.
Good for you!!
There's a big movement for "Living Trees" happening now. My local Home Depot has hundreds of them in different sizes and species. I think this could be its own video. I'd love to start a tradition where I buy a living tree, and then sometime around or after New Years, I take it somewhere it can be planted. Maybe a local forest or mountain or something.
Totally! Initially my husband requested I buy a potted evergreen. And we were going to replant him somewhere but we ended up just keeping him. And he’s been around for 3 Christmases. ☺️
Anyone who has had a particularly determined cat understands why the upside-down tree might be necessary 😂
hahaha those lil rascals
Or a wall half-tree:)
Whe have a fake one and my Cleo doesn't care. Whe reinforce the base in any case but I don't think she likes how the wire pines poke her.
Lol mine wouldn't care if upside down or not. It's a tree? So I can climb it. Crazy furball!
I placed a few soup cans full of pennies in my tree branches. The first time one was shaken loose, my cat never touched the tree again. I've trained 7 cats that way.
It was so weird coming to New York City from a rural area and realizing that most people didn’t have trees and those that did all had fake trees.
It’s a bit hard to get a real tree these days.
There's quite a few benefits such as no need to water, less firehazard, and less hassle. The tree my family uses is over 20 years old. It's a yearly tradition to assemble the tree and dismantle it
And it's stored with all the Christmas decorations in the basement
Christmas tree sellers would set up shop on the sidewalk every year in dense Manhattan/Brooklyn/Queens neighborhoods. I used to live in Astoria/LIC, saw them every year.
We tend to go away around christmas time to visit famil, so we often wouldn’t be able to water a new tree.
Especially this year. The majority of Christmas trees in NY come from Canada, and with the wildfires happening there over the summer a lot were wiped out.
We have always had fake trees for one simple reason… allergies. Last tree we bought was unlit and put our own lights on because our previous prelit tree’s lights died. We payed a couple of hundred for a good quality tree and plan on having it for a LONG time.
This!!! I was on 3 different allergy meds to try and be able to have a real tree and I was still miserable. I now have a fake tree and use it every year again and again
We have our Xmas tree for 20 years already and it’s still awesome. I remember I was 4 when my parents brought it home, and it still reminds me of that time 💗
I've gone on the whole gambit. A child, I remember going out in horse and slay to get our Christmas tree. I'm now 75 and have 5 plastic trees. All former owned trees, including 3 snached from garbage on the curb. Each tree has a theme like: Santa, snowman, angels, nativity, memories (ornaments from special places, people, or times). We like our trees; the memories, struggles, victories, and fath that they represent. I miss the smell, so I just trim a limb from our fur tree outside. My wife wanted a new tree for the front yard. She put a pole in the ground, stacks a whole bunch of tumbleweeds around the pole, does a lot of tieing and staking, and throws on lights and other decorations. Big new Christmas tree.
For us, it was a cost thing. We found a fake tree at a yard sale for $30. That was about 7 years ago.
It’s not the best (I joke that it loses needles like a real Christmas tree) and I looked at new fake trees, but I can’t justify the $400 price tag (for one that doesn’t shed). So, we’re choosing contentment and using it until it looks like Charlie Brown’s tree. 😆
Think of the tree as only a base for holding all the garlands and ornaments and lights. If you load it up enough, the balding branches won't even be noticeable! 🙂
Rentable live trees is a great idea. One of my teachers in high school always used to buy a live tree. After Christmas, he would carefully transition it to the outdoor temperatures by keeping it in his garage for a couple of weeks, and then he would carve a special ornament for that year with the date and some kind of message, and the tree would be planted on their property. So every Christmas with his family was memorialized in a yard full of trees. I've always wanted to follow his example, but I've never lived somewhere where it would be feasible yet.
I prefer the fake tree. I used my childhood tree well into adulthood and loved it. That tree was used for over 30 years. But I eventually upgraded to a newer taller tree that included lights. I used it for 8 years but then needed a smaller tree after moving to a new home. We got a new prelit tree and used it for 8 years. We loved that tree so much that when the lights died just 4 years in I took 4 hrs of my life to cut them off the tree. We then strung lights on it till we moved again and needed an even smaller tree. Now this is the second Christmas for the smaller tree. I love it and I will probably use it till it falls apart. I will never buy another prelit tree again.
Not seeing anyone else defending your model of a tree farmer, ironically you’ve chosen Dave Brandt, one of the pioneers of regenerative, no-till, soil health building, cover crop champions. We lost a good one when he passed away.
@@Eet_Mia #peopleincorrcectlycorrectingotherpeople
In the video, tree farms are (i believe correctly) portrayed as a largely monoculture, environmentally harmful, fossil fuel burning industry. Then artificial trees come along with their allegedly smaller environmental footprint. “Good news for the environment, bad news for the (environmentally careless) farmer”. Cut to image of Dave Brandt, arguably one of the most environmentally responsible, public advocates of regenerative, soil building, fossil fuel reducing, carbon sequestering agriculture. Irony: portraying farming as largely harmful to the planet, and using the image of an environmental hero to represent environmental harm.
My parents have been using the same plastic tree since the 1990s and it still looks amazing; before that they used a hand-me-down plastic tree from the 1960s which you had to assemble branch by branch - haven't seen one like it since
My parents Christmas tree is like that you put the bass on and then like a Central piece and then you put all the pegs of branches around. A little more tedious to assemble than modern trees but really structurally strong and looks good too.
I just got my first artificial christmas tree this year. Its a little 4 foot tree and I have plans to store and use it for the rest of my life. Decorations are to be used every year storing memories and love and life within them to bring out every year. Even when I eventually get a larger one when I have more space, this one will be brought out and decorated along with everything else for the rest of my life.
Growing up, my family always purchased a permit and drove a half hour into the mountains to get a tree, and then gave it to my aunt's goats when we were done with them. I'm not big on Christmas decoration now but a naked, fresh tree with a simple ribbon garland is the way to go for me. I like the idea especially of a live tree in a nursery pot that can live outside once Christmas is over, but of course that's only feasible for folks with space/land for that. I don't know what "the answer" is, but live trees (or previously live trees) will always be the ones in my home.
We just have a potted tree that we take in doors once a year. Never drops its needles and we get to enjoy having a fir tree year round. Its a pain to lug it into the house and it cannot be as big as a cut tree but the pros easily outweight the negatives... and it cost us about £5.
In the Philippines, I don't think anyone got real trees. My family bought a fake tree about 15 years ago and we've been using it ever since. It's one of those things that you can disassemble into segments so it stores pretty nice and neat and compact. Same with the Christmas lights and ornaments.
Yeah, I don't think Pine trees grow here in PH.
Same in the Caribbean as well. Those types of trees don't really grow in the tropics, so fake is the only option to get the look.
There's actually a tropical pine tree native to Philippines. They grow on the highlands! And also some shorter ones you can buy on pots but yeah, it's not that affordable to most folks
Same in Brazil. I don't think I ever saw a real pine tree in my life
I'm lucky to live near multiple areas where the forest service sells permits for trees. So we go cut one down every year, it's wildfire prevention. And then we drop it to be mulched for the community.
I’m really lucky to have grown up in Colorado where you can get a $10 permit to romp through the snow in the Rockies till you find the perfect little tree. It’s really a win all around too because it really helps with fire mitigation and thinning out overgrown areas from years of fire suppression and the fee goes directly back into the forest service. It’s something I really miss now in my adult life. We did always have kind of Charlie Brown looking Douglas firs that seemed so thin compared to fake trees these days, but they had so much character and meaning. It was always one of my absolute favorite family traditions (even though I never was the one to find the winning tree 😂).
Part of your historical lesson is accurate: Christmas trees were actually 100% pagan and in fact we're used not just during the Winter Solstice but Jul or Yule the original scandinavian version of the winter holiday that we all get most of our traditions still from it. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, was from a Pagan region that still practices Yule which is why he brought back so many cool things thar have become modern Christmas traditions because queen victoria was just to the absolute trend setter
The tree rental thing is actually pretty cool - you get all the benefits of having a real live tree, but you aren't just wasting it after the month is over. It goes back to the tree farm and put back in the ground to grow some more. I think I read that when the trees get too big to fit in living rooms anymore they take them and plant them in the forest.
I hate plastic greenery of any kind but unfortunately its what I usually have to go with. Almost ready to ditch the whole christmas tree thing altogether and just hang ornaments on my houseplants. lol
What? A tree's roots are almost as big as the branches. Cut them off to move it and I don't care how well you line it back up, that tree is not going to grow more. Unless we're talking little teeny hydroponically grown trees, this sounds like grade-A BS to me.
Don't get mad at me, I didn't invent it. lol
@@FuckGoogle502
@@FuckGoogle502 we've planted our christmas trees for the past 27 years. once we found the type of tree that did best where we live, we had a pretty high survival rate. it is important to keep it inside for no longer than a week and water it with ice cubes.
When my grandma passed away, we took her mini Christmas tree that she would put up every year. She passed when I was 6, I am 34 now and we still have the tree and put it up every year. We have 3 trees in our home, all fake. We have a 4ft tree in the livingroom which is 10 years old and the newest is the one my mom got for her bedroom. I also thrifted a wooden tree that someone hand made that we put out as well. Thrift stores are great places to buy a secondhand tree. I see them all the time and they are very inexpensive (like $20 for a full size tree!). They also have lots of decorations too!
I’m inspired to make some unconventional holiday trees that are similar to heirloom furniture. An art piece that resembles a tree but can be stored easilly
After my dad got a needle in the eye from carrying the real tree up the stairs, our family decided to get a fake tree. We kept it for over 20 years. I didn't have another tree until this year, which I found on the curb last month. It's a wee little guy at 30cm, but I'm pretty happy with it.
Also Levi didn't know what Pagans are?? His sarcasm is really hard to gauge.
I think upside-down trees are good for those who have cats.
Some people literally worship a rock the desert, but call every other belief besides them pagan. There sure is room for confusion.
Glad you found something nice on the curb. You can poke your eye with a needle from an artificial tree too. Mine has hard needles.
@@zyxw2000 Yeah, I was gonna say, our fake trees all had way pointier needles than the real ones we used to use. The fake ones would kinda hurt your hands while you were arranging the branches and decorating.
I got a purple tree, it permanently stays up and gets decorated based on whatever holiday is near, shamrocks on st Patrick's day, hearts on valentines, skeletons and ghost in Halloween, and xmas stuff on xmas etc it's the coolest thing ever :D It's about 6 years old now (minimum)
We treat our tree like a family heirloom...my granddad ordered it from Sears in 1965 and we still keep it in that original box from '65. It still looks great and doesnt shed too badly we make sure to throw the needles in the trash and not in the compost or outside. We use evergreen trimmings as decor on the mantle and table to bring in some nature and the fresh holiday smell. Just a super cheap 2 cents.
Iv'e had my fake tree for 5 years, still good so Ill still use it. If you take care and store your fake tree properly it will last.
I absolutely love fake trees; you can keep them up year round and I get very sad thinking about cutting actual trees down. My family had our big fake tree for 20 years, our last one was only 5; so make sure to buy from a good place :) unless you don’t care about the lights. Thats the only reason why they got rid of them
You can always put new lights on a Christmas tree. You just buy some nice strings a lights and you string it up after cutting off the old ones.
My family have always a fake Christmas tree, we are all allergic to real ones lol
Being allergic to conifers and some types of tree saps is a valid reason to use a fake one. It ensures you can celebrate Christmas safely, and if it's not life-threatening allergy for you and does not usually result in anaphylaxis, it helps to have a Christmas without coughing, sneezing, and several other things.
Same here!
We have had the same artificial/plastic tree for over 25 years (I'm only 20 so it's older than me!)
My Dad is allergic to most real Christmas trees, if he touches them, so we've always had a fake one. Although some may say its less environmentally friendly, I think 25 years is pretty good going and the alternative is NO tree! We use pretty much the same decorations each year and I love the mismatch of decorations from our travels! Great video!
I love the real tree. I’m the only person in my family who does it every year. My parents, grandparents, and sisters all have a fake tree. There’s nothing like the smell and visual beauty of a real tree though.
I always buy my tree from the local tree garden at the farmers’ market. I’m assuming they get them locally. I’ve never thought to ask, but I assume it since it’s at the farmers’ market. The whole ritual of choosing the tree with my friend, taking it home in/on the car, hauling it up the stairs, and then decorating it, and also watering it every day, just brings me joy. A fake tree just doesn’t do that. Not to mention, I don’t have anywhere to store a fake tree during the rest of the year in my tiny apartment.
I have cats so real trees are a no-go at my apartment 😅 My plastic tree lasted 4 years so far and it still going strong tho 😊
You call it a christmas tree, but that doesn't mean that is is christian. Pinetrees were used in prechristian cultures long before the 'chrismas tree' - for exaple by the old norse. The christian church was actually against the use of these trees, because the rightfully saw them as heathen symbols. Later the church adopted the tree, but that doesn't mean that is was or is chritian.
In Scandinavia they are not called christmas trees, they are juletræer. I have always had a real juletræ - it's standard outside and with it's roots in the ground and getting bigger year after year.
A fun nice side of this is harvesting local pine trees for your Christmas tradition. Each year we drive 30 minutes up the hill and always find trees in clusters groves (in California you can get a permit to cut down Christmas trees). Our approach helps thin crowded forests ideally, lessening the chance or impact of wildfires. Yes we use gas to drive there, but at this point it's also a great family outing in the woods AND we happen to get a tree out of it.
We just recently changed out family plastic tree. We had the previous one for well over 10 years. But I've always wondered what it would be like to have a real tree inside the house.
Awesome video!
I've always had a real tree. It wasn't always the tallest or straightest, sometimes it was a potted Norfolk, but it's always been real. I love the pine smell and the pagan in me wants to dance around it as I adorn it with ornaments. I'm not sure whose tradition you are quoting with the December 4th date. In the olden days you didn't put it up until Christmas eve. I think it's more of a do it when you want to now. I know people who leave them up all year.
You and my husband are the same. I was about to buy a fake tree and my husband shared his disdain for fake plants. Any. So we agreed that we’d buy a potted evergreen and replant it somewhere. But we ended up keeping it and using it for the past 3 Christmases. I do agree about the smell. I grew up on a farm in Oregon with my grandparents and we would go out on their 28 acres to find a tree to cut down. I miss that smell permeating throughout the house 🎄🤗 The first time I was ever exposed to fake trees was in the Philippines. And I’ve just been using them up until I met my husband of course haha. So I have him to thank.
@@WoWGirl6 Well you had the best experience of going out with your grandparents to cut down your own tree! I think that is the ultimate Christmas fantasy! But there was some magic in piling into the station wagon and heading to the tree market that popped up every year to pick out our tree. Good childhood memories!
My guess is December 4th coincides with the start of Advent this past year (December 3rd being the first Sunday of Advent). But you're absolutely right that the longstanding tradition has been to put up a tree on Christmas eve.
@@lukemwills Yes, of course, Advent! I remember my mother (a very devout Anglican) put up her tree the Saturday before Advent. I'm getting old and memories are fading I'm afraid. Thank you for reminding me!
My family doesn't celebrate Christmas so when my daughter got married she let her husband decide what kind of tar to get. Even though his family always had artificial trees he decided on a real one so he wouldn't have to store it. That lated one year. The needles dropping, worrying about the tree drying out and getting rid of it made him decide it's easier to store one.
Really interesting. Growing up we always had a fake tree. My mom hated the needles everywhere and having to water it and all that. I remember my first real tree when I had my own place. It was fun for a few years but ultimately I decided fake was better for me. I think you really hit the nail on the head. It's really all about consumerism and what Christmas has come to be. For about the past decade we have had a small 4 foot tree that we decorate mostly with the same ornaments every year and have chosen to focus more on family and friends and NOT how huge our tree is or how many gifts are under it. Speaking of gifts, I wonder if people think about the waste of wrapping paper. We tend to use a lot of gift bags and honestly I do try and reuse the tissue paper 😊.
I’m in my early twenties and, my family has had the same one fake tree for about 10 years now. It was $200 came with the lights already on it and it looks fabulous. The only reason why it’s not older is because about halfway through my life we move contents and a Christmas tree isn’t exactly on the top priority for what was added to the shipping container lol. But rest assured that first tree my family had went to my grandparents who didn’t have one and it is still loved to this day.
I grew up with a plastic tree that looked real enough to me, and every year we would put it together because it came as a multi tiered pole with holes that you put the branches into, and they're heavily layered to look real. we probably got it at Home Depot because my dad worked there at the time. I think my mom still uses it, but I can't afford a real or fake one. I got a $3 single foot tall plastic one at Target because we can't afford anything else, and don't have any space for one in our apartment
The idea of renting a live potted tree is freaking amazing and something I wanted for decades. Will def have to look into that for next year.
I’ve had my fake Christmas tree for 22 years and it still looks great and it has been a family tradition to build that Christmas tree that I indeed to keep alive
I have two artificial trees. One is 43 years old now and still going strong. The other we bought in Brazil during a stint of expat work/ life, I'm not sure if its made of plastic as it feels a bit more papery.... Its lasted 22 years so far :)
We've had around 4 actual trees in between and those are now planted in our garden, surviving well - the tallest is over 30ft :D
So, some things you failed to mention:
1. WATER! A lot of trees are grown in areas that are now facing water conservation efforts. This means they really shouldn't be growing non-essential crops like... Christmas trees.
2. Fires. Yeah... Wildfires are bad. One thing we can do to eliminate them? Reevaluating monoculture crops that burn way too easily.
and then there's what happens when you bring a natural tree home. They're not great for pets, so if you have a pet in your home? An artificial tree is a *way better call.* Especially if you have cats. In addition, plenty of people have some degree of Christmas Tree Syndrome. Why? Well, along with people being allergic to fir pines, anyone with mold allergies are likely to be set off by the suckers because they're known to harbor some *54 different types of mold.* They're also likely to set off dust allergies. So, if you plan to have people come over around the holidays? Probably not a good idea to have a live tree.
My 35 year old Christmas tree goes up on the first Sunday of Advent and comes down in February 1st. Most of the ornaments are hand made and it brings me great joy to put them on, remembering the store attached. It helps me remember that Jesus is the reason for the season, a light to the world. Bob, a septuagenarian.
My family’s been using the same artificial Christmas trees for at least 15-20 years, it never even occurred to me that people would throw theirs out and buy new ones regularly
My first and second jobs were at K-Mart and Wal-Mart respectively. I feel like those years with those companies have given me so much retail PTSD that even though it’s been more than 20 years since I left retail jobs, I am still not ready to welcome a Christmas tree into my home. Those Black Fridays of those years long ago were not only awful to work but serve as a reminder of humanity at its worst. While I have nothing against trees real or fake, I do enjoy them in other people’s homes and public spaces. Every year I ask myself if this will be the year I decide to get one and for 20+ years it’s been a hell no.
Pagan is short for Paleo-vegan. Somebody who only eats prehistoric nuts and berries
They must be starving.
I have never once bought a tree in my 50 something years on this planet nor will I ever.
"Tradition" is just something that someone else started that people are too lazy to do anything different with.
WHY do people still play Bing Crosby EVERY STUPID XMAS ?!!? It was once a brand new song but now it gets played on endless loops
with the justification that it is "Tradition".
So instead of cutting a tree down for 5 minutes of pleasure people now display a petroleum based imitation and think that is better.
Humans are just so dumb.
You can't beat the smell of a real tree.
I don't know nobody who plays bing Cosby.... 😂😂
I buy a tree every year because it brings a bit of green nature into my home which reminds me that this dark, cold winter will not last and that Nature will return in the spring. It gives my eyes something beautiful to alight upon and my heart the warmth of hope. I play Bing every Christmas because his voice is part of my dearest memories of the season, but to be fair, I listen to his music throughout the entire year, saving the holiday songs for the holiday. His songs bring me joy and remind me of what I value, home, family, love for human kind. People choose their traditions for personal reasons. I'm sure you have chosen your own traditions, even if they aren't Bing or a live tree, I'm sure you savor the reunion of some holiday routine that brings you joy. At least, I hope you have. Peace on Earth, good will toward man.
Some people play old songs because it gives them nostalgia, comfort, or makes them happy. Really weird to just say "we play this because it's tradition but it's stupid"... traditions are not compulsory. When people hate traditions they don't enjoy, they stop doing them. Therefore people must enjoy it. We don't stop listening to classical music just because it's old, because age or newness does not dictate value.
I can understand not getting a tree because it doesn't vibe with your values. Complaining that other people's traditions of the yule season are stupid simply because the traditions are old is... well, ... stupid.
@@jermainec2462 -- Soooo...no one has ever sang or played Jingle Bells when you were around ? -- Biiing Crosby comin at ya -
When tree farms in my area started charging $140-$210 for a PRECUT TREE, we stopped supporting, went to Balsam Hill, and for 60% off got a beautiful Vermont white spruce that should last for 20 years, for not much more than the real trees.
I love that this video talks about both sides of the debate. I find it hard to find videos that do that anymore.
Fake all the way! Have had mine for 17 years!
If you have outdoor space and can manage a little bit of gardening you can get a slow growing conifer/pine in a pot. If you can keep it alive for the rest of the year and you're able bodied enough to transfer it between outdoors & indoors (depending on how many steps you have to into the house this may be the deal breaker part). It probably will need replacing when/if it grows too tall to fit in your home but at that point it can hopefully be planted outside.
We've had a small ish plastic Christmas tree for about 30 years, we bring it out every year and still love it! It doesn't take up that much space and real trees are hard ish to come by in Spain
A huge reason for getting fake trees is apartment/condo living. Real trees are a major fire hazard with incandescent lights, so landlords banned them. That meant anyone who wanted a tree had to get a fake one. I've had the same fake tree for 15 years and just this year tried to get a new one, but couldn't find one I liked, so it's getting put off a year.
How about with led lights?
Lots of old couples in my rural area own Christmas tree farms. Love the vid!!❤
11:13 Here in Washington state they actually sell "Tree tags" basically a hunting tag but for trees. Specifically it gets youthe ability to cut one tree from a state forest. The money goes to the state forestry department and by removing a tree you help with thinning the density while it is still controlled to prevent excessive thinning
We have bought a tree in a pot from a local nursery and planted after Christmas. We dug it up and got 2 yrs out of it and now if grow in the front yard.
We used little rosemary plants before that. We were given a fake tree, and use it now.
My mom gave me a Christmas tree as an encouragement gift. We kept it for over 20 years. We only used it 7 consecutive years. Our small place is to small. Since, I didn't pick it out, I didn't like it in the first place. I am so very Thankful for the one we just got. It is about ¼ the size, dose not prelite, has a dash of white a sprinkle of red berries, and pine cones. We will probably keep it for abou😂t 15 years. We have a tiny one that we have had for 10. We were using a broken one my college student got 6 years ago. She bought it used and we were greatful for it. She graduated and so did we. We also have had a living tree outside for 3 years, and 4 smaller rosemary one. Our garden is tiny for that many Christmas trees.
I've had my 4ft tree since 1989. It's so old, the box says Made in America on it! I keep thinking of getting a new one because the branches are looking crushed from being shoved back into the box every year, but I think I'll just ride out the rest of my life with it. That, and my most sentimental ornaments.
I grew up that my family had a fake tree for Christmas time. My father did put the tree up, put lights on, and even garland on,too. My sister and I with our mother to put up the ornaments on the tree. In Illinois it was in a gold decoration and it looked so pretty in the living room. We had another house with a tree in the window in Wisconsin. That was our vacation home. We used to put another tree in our Illinois home in the family room as I remembered. I liked the artificial tree because don’t have to water them.
My family had my childhood fake tree for almost 25 years. We only had to get rid of it because of severe water damage where it was being stored, otherwise we would still have it today. If you're going with a fake tree just be sure to pick something you will like for decades.
I use those rosemarry trees as a christmas tree. Takes up less space, smells great and grows way faster than a traditional xmas tree. Plus I can plant it here in texas when the season is over.
I have had my artificial tree for over 12 years, but this year i have gone back to a natural tree, and i am looking into potting my own tree and bringing it inside/out every year
i had no idea that tree renting was a thing, but it serves as a good example
my artificial tree is still with me, now sits on my porch as part of my computerized light show instead, and i have no intentions to dispose of it
We always use real trees. They can essentially be carbon neutral if you get them from al local source. We also use all decoration until it breaks (some of the decorations are now older than 15 years)
There was so much faulty information in this video, I have no idea why I enjoyed it so much. Buying a second hand fake tree though... best Christmas advise ever! Love it!
Here in Argentina I've never seen anyone buying a real Christmas tree. Pines themselves only grow in certain areas and I don't think they're up to sale that easily, so everyone just has a plastic tree. Those who celebrate Christmas, which are the majority of the population, decorate their trees on December, 8th
My family has had the same plastic tree for over more than 15 years
This year is the first time in my life I ever bought a tree, a 32” fake one in a burlap sack base. After fixing the branches, it doesn’t look too skimpy. I put it on a small folding table and wrapped lights around. The decorative balls will arrive Saturday. A fake tree is easy to handle, store, decorate. I live in a retirement community. Almost every resident I know uses fake trees.
Our family used to use real trees, but eventually shifted to fake trees. However, we made sure to ride out those trees until they were basically unusable. Our last tree came from a thrift shop and lasted a solid 20+ years (on top of how many years it was in use prior) before the branches finally started breaking and top portion couldn't hold itself up, the one we use now is on its 5th or 6th year I think, and still in plenty fine shape for many more years. We don't get that nice pine smell sure, but it saves a tiny bit during one of the most expensive seasons on a yearly basis.
i live in a place where these types of trees don't grow, so the majority of people has a plastic one that's reused until it's completely broken. There's also the folks that but christmas ornamets and lights to decorate the houseplants, wich is a pettern i've seen growing more and more
We've been using the same artificial tree for at least 8 years now, and it pulls double duty because Mom is an elementary school teacher, so she sets it up in her classroom, and then the last day of school we bring it home and put it in the living room. Shockingly, it's as full and beautiful today as when we first set it up (and it's pre-lit so we ust have to add decorations).
Wife and I have been using the same fake tree since she moved up North; it’s very nostalgic for us and we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of her having it next year!
The upside down tree is an actual traditional thing, in a way. In Poland(and some other slavic countries, i gather) before the german tree became popular, there was something called Podłaźniczka, and it was usually a decorated top of an evergreen tree (or some branches) hung(upside down) from the celing above a table. Some people still do this thing. Though i doubt those commercial upside trees actually took inspo from a somewhat obscure slavic tradition.
It was used in Austria as well in the 1800's, "standing" trees at home didn't become normal up towards WWI
I love my 4- foot artificial tree I purchased over a decade ago for $10. I wouldn't dream of throwing it away only to purchase a more expensive tree. Excellent video, you made some very good points for pros and cons. Great Christmas tree history.
I purchased a small (30-40cm) pine tree and keep it in a pot outside until Dec. At Christmas time, I put it in a nicer pot and decorate it like any other. Eco and will last years as long as you prune it up.
I originally bought a fake tree because I lived in an apartment building where real trees weren't allowed (considered a fire hazard), but I have continued using one because I have depression and I have found that having my tree up is really helpful to me during the dark days in northern BC, so I often will leave it up for quite a long time. If I did get a real tree I would follow my Dad's tradition of cutting one from under the power lines as that's one of the places it's legal to cut trees on public land in BC (and they are trees that will be cut at some point by BC hydro anyway).
We’ve had a fake tree since I was a small child. Held up very well. We also had a little Norfolk Pine called Noelle, that we would put Christmas earrings on for decoration so that we wouldn’t hurt it. She lived for years.
In Australia there is a trend to use a woolly bush trimmed into a Christmas tree shape. It’s a native bush that grows very easily, is hardy and grows fast
I've been using the same fake tree for over a decade now. The assembly can be a bit of a hassle but it's more convenient than all the maintenance of a real tree. My biggest issue with the real trees is how messy they can be plus my dogs might take an interest to it whereas they'll ignore a plastic one which doesn't have undesirable critters around. One day I might try out a real tree but it'll be an outdoor one I can display on my patio, if I had the motivation to actually decorate outside my house.
i bought my fake Christmas tree as an after Christmas clearance and paid $40 for a $300 tree and have had it for 13 years now and it's still going strong. I plan to have it for at least another 10 years
There is no record of people collecting Christmas trees until the 1300-1400s in France/Germany.
Great watch as always 🙏🏿👊🏿
*And coming from a country that doesn't do the whole tree thing it's always fascinated me. Coz we celebrate Christmas but moreso just as a holiday for family to get together so we took that part of the tradition and the gift giving just not the santa and trees part 😂
Actual environmentalists-not random internet people who passively care about the environment but generally don't know what they're talking about-should tell you that neither fake trees nor real trees are the best answer.
Grow a live tree (in the earth or in a pot, instead of cutting one down each year), or make a tree out of recycled junk, or draw a tree on the wall, or just have no tree and spend your time/energy/money on genuine meaningful interactions with the people you love.