The argument for fake trees – Ryan Degnan
Christmastime brings many things for all who celebrate. For those in school, winter break is one of the highlights of the year. Gift giving leads to stronger relationships, and spending time with family brings that feeling of homemade cheer. However, for many, Christmas also means spending money.
The financial burden of Christmas year after year can put a strain on budgets and make the holidays feel like a chore. Getting multiple gifts for friends and family, buying new decorations, and keeping up with the trends year after year isn’t financially sensible, and Christmas trees are one component of this overspending.
Annually purchasing a new Christmas tree every year leads to problems. According to Home Depot, a real tree can cost as much as $170. Spending additional hundreds of dollars every year is not a smart way to celebrate. The ideal alternative is to buy a fake Christmas tree, which, according to Balsam Hill, cost roughly $400.
Buying a fake tree comes with multiple benefits that blow normal trees out of the water. For one, they will save you money over time. Within 5-10 years of purchasing, you will have saved more money on trees than you spent on the fake tree. Another reason to buy a fake tree is that one avoids the mess. Normal trees drop their pine needles, and cleaning them off the floor is a nightmare. Fake trees avoid this issue. Finally, you can buy the fake tree customized, so it will fit your house perfectly. While buying a real tree may be more common, the benefits that come with a fake tree vastly outweigh those of real trees.
The argument for real trees – Ben Behr
Christmastime is the season of love, of happy families, warm fires, the smell of pine in the air, and a beautiful tree to cover the presents. To break that tradition, to offer up a cheap plastic alternative to the evergreen constant found in homes, can be seen as nothing short of laziness. An unwillingness to give yourself to the holiday cheer, a removal of one of the simplest and most quintessential parts of Christmas.
The Christmas tree is the heart of the holiday, the symbol of Christmas. A tree whose leaves fight the cold remaining green through the darkest months, not because they are plastic and fake, but because they represent nature’s strength. The evergreen tree withstands the dark and cold, and is a harbinger of the light that is the Christmas holiday.
The joy of cutting down these trees also adds to the holiday. The journey with your family. That wonderful feeling of finally finding that perfect one, of learning to swing an axe with your father, of seeing that mighty tree stand in your home knowing it was your handiwork that brought it. Not some cheap factory made piece of junk. These trees carry memories of good times, mixed with the intoxicating smell of the leaves.
You may put a price on tradition, but you can’t truly make your Christmas special if you aren’t willing to put up a real tree.
