As much as we love the holiday season, it’s a time filled with competing priorities. We want to have a home filled with jolly decor and inviting aromas, but we’re also busy balancing our time between the trays of Christmas baking and to-do lists that are as jammed as an Imperial cookie! So when it comes to Christmas trees, we’re left with a choice: would we rather save some extra time by cutting out the tree maintenance, or are we dedicated to the tradition of a live tree?
Artificial Trees
Artificial trees, or as we like to call them, Lifelike trees’, have evolved considerably over the years and today’s models are available in a variety of sizes and colors! With the wide selection available, it’s easy to find a style that perfectly matches the scale and palette of your decor, while also fitting into your budget. Here’s what makes them so great:
Convenience – Nothing beats the low-maintenance and minimal cleanup of an artificial Christmas tree. The best artificial trees have needles created out of a high-quality PVC or PE material that imitates the shape and color of real branches and needles, with no fallout and no mess. Pre-lit trees help us save even more time and are available in a beautiful range of lighting shapes and colors!
Customization – Some decor themes simply aren’t well suited to the appearance of a real tree, so artificial Christmas trees allow us to let our imagination run wild. For instance, pastel-toned garlands and ornaments pair better with bristles in matching colors, rather than the traditional deep green tones. We can also opt for decorative touches, like flocking, ornamental pine cones, or metallic effects!
Durability – Even the most well-maintained cut trees won’t survive the winter! While a high-quality lifelike tree is a bigger investment than a live tree, we can enjoy them for many seasons to come if we take good care of them.
Live Christmas Trees
For some of us, there’s no settling for anything but a real, live Christmas tree. Whether choosing the tree is a family tradition that you’ve come to look forward to, or you just crave that alpine fragrance, there are many reasons why real Christmas trees are still wildly popular.
Aroma – Most of us who prefer a real tree feel the way we do thanks to the one thing a life-like tree cannot replicate: the scent. It’s said that memories are more closely linked to scent than any other stimulus, so for many of us, the aroma of a real Christmas tree immediately puts us into a festive mindset. Like all other houseplants, live trees also release more oxygen into our homes, which improves overall air quality as long as the tree is living.
Texture – For those of us who have a strong attachment to plants and gardening, there is an unmistakable tactile difference between living and lifelike trees. If our Christmas trees are more than an ornamental statement, but rather an opportunity to bring a dose of life into our homes during the winter months, we may feel more drawn to the tree that simply “feels alive” as we decorate it.
Biodegradability – While lifelike trees may last many years, they do not easily decompose. Real trees absorb carbon and release oxygen when alive, and then quickly decompose once they’ve expired, making them the more environmentally-friendly option. In the meantime, to stop them from fading away, we can use a product like Wilt Stop by Bonide. It’s an all-natural and non-toxic spray that will extend the life of cut evergreen trees and boughs by locking in moisture. Once the tree eventually perishes, we offer tree bags for easy disposal. Choosing live trees also means we can responsibly enjoy a new tree each year, experimenting with different species, scents, and sizes.
No matter our tree preference, any tree we choose is sure to be the star of the show on Christmas morning! For all your real or lifelike tree needs, visit us online or in-store today!