Real or artificial Christmas tree--cost?

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

There seems to be a consensus that real and artificial trees have little environmental difference between them. Are artificial trees cheaper in the long term?

[lizzzi]

I guess you would have to take a look at what size and type of tree you like...both real and artificial...and do the math going forward. My husband and I bought an artificial tree--a nice, green, unlighted six-footer in an after-Christmas sale for $40 (it was half-price) in 1997. We used it through 2010, when it just became too ratty. So 14 years...it cost us $2.86 per year.

If I went out today and bought some huge, gorgeous, pre-lit tree for $700 (not that I would...cannot believe what you can pay for an artificial tree...might as well buy a used car)... anyway, at that price for 14 years I'd be paying $50 per year...maybe for that price I would just go out and get a nice real one every year. What I actually do is buy a real four-footer...just pick one up at Home Depot or whatever--don't spend much...certainly not $50.  So it's big enough to have in a stand on the floor, but not so big that I can't wrangle it around from car to house and put it up myself. After the holidays I take it out back and throw it in the brush so animals and birds can use it for shelter if they want.

[Le Dérisoire]

This year, I bought a used artificial tree with all the decorations for 20$. It will last many years.

A real tree would probably cost something like 50$? Without decorations.

[startswithhome]

I think the price of the real trees might vary by region. More tree farms, close proximity. Also, I've found the prices go down closer to Christmas. Environmentally, at least if grown locally, I think they win. I also appreciated the space in my small apartment of not storing the big box all year. But, I found out I have allergies to such trees when in confined spaces and don't feel like taking allergy medicine daily, so fortunately...
I found an artificial tree on the side of the road during college-student-move-out-season. Prelit. Writing on box claims it works, so I took their word for it and threw it in the trunk. Maybe ask around or try freecycle?

[GuitarStv]

Used artificial tree is the way to go.  We picked up ours used from people who were throwing it out because they got a different looking one.

Total cost: 0$ (you need room in your basement/garage to store it though).  Environmental costs: nil.

We're going to put it up for the fifth or sixth time this year, and I expect it to last another 10-20 or so.

[libertarian4321]

You can buy an artificial tree after Christmas for about 1/3rd the cost of a "real" tree.

And it will last for years.  Maybe decades.

Probably lower "environmental costs," too, because you won't be burning gas driving every year to buy a new "real" tree.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I see the sense in buying used--will see if there's anything available. Obviously, I want to put something up, y'know, this weekend or next, so waiting for a post-Christmas sale is not a viable option!

[cpa cat]

We had an artificial tree for a long time. I bought it day after Xmas one year. It was large and prelit, but most of the light strands stopped working within 5 years. It was around for about ten years. A couple of years ago, I was taking it down and imagined how much easier it would be to take it to the curb instead of packing it pack up and lugging it down to the basement. So it went to the curb.

We spent last year without a tree. This year we got a potted Norfolk Pine for $25 and put it on a coffee table and we're going to put a few decorations on it.

My track record with houseplants is not great - but I'll try to keep it alive. Growing up, this was all we had for Xmas. My mom didn't have a car and we lived in apartments, so a potted Norfolk was the best she could manage. She kept it alive for 20 years and finally had to give it away because she was moving cross country. By then, it was about 5 ft tall (she had repotted it into larger pots several times).

[TrMama]

Depends on the cost of real trees in your area. Surprisingly, here on the Canadian side of the PNW real trees are about $50. Despite the fact that pine and cedar trees grow like weeds. Plus, there's no curbside pickup. So then you have to pay again after Christmas to get rid of it.

We have an artificial tree.

When we lived back east, real trees were $20 and were sold on every corner. We bought real trees there.

[etotheix]

There seems to be a consensus that real and artificial trees have little environmental difference between them. Are artificial trees cheaper in the long term?

For sure, but the small delta is no reason to kill Christmas!  We pay $40 here in the PNW for an average sized tree from a local U-Cut farm, worth every penny.

[deborah]

We have neither. It is cheaper than either option, and better for the environment.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

We have neither. It is cheaper than either option, and better for the environment.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what Mr. FP says and we did without our own for years. First year in my entire life I haven't gone home for Christmas? Two preschoolers? I'm putting up a damn tree.

[lbmustache]

I think an artificial tree is cheaper if you keep it for a long time, no? I had one for years and when I moved out I left it in my parents garage... and my dad threw it away!!! What a waste.

I would just buy a pine scented candle (bath and body works has a good one that smells even when not lit) to have that "real tree" scent around.

Since my dad threw out my tree I have been buying real ones. I only buy smallish trees, around 3-4'. I bought one today for $30 with a stand included which was a good deal (15% off original price!). The holiday season is my favorite time of year so I don't really mind the small expense.

I would probably have a different mindset if I were buying a tree $50+.

[cavewoman]

We never had a tree at my house growing up. In college, when I moved out of the dorms my roommate and I would get a real one. This was east coast and I do remember it being pretty cheap. Haven't had one since then, but I do plan on buying an artificial cheap after Christmas for next year. I need all the trimmings, so it would be expensive to get right now.

[mrpercentage]

Yes they are. Go into a Dillards or Macy's the day after Christmas and buy one for next year. Make sure you take it out and test it before you put it in the attic. You can probably get a 3-400 tree at half price and never have to string or unstring lights. It will not go up into an inferno that can burn your house down in 3 minutes, it doesn't throw needles everywhere, get sap on your furniture and you don't have to find out how to get it home every year.

[I'm a red panda]

My artificial tree is 10 years old and cost $50.  Without a doubt, cheaper than new- plus no need for allergy medicine in the winter since I didn't put a tree inside.

[Kitsune]

I live in a small town on the Quebec border, and was talking to a neighbour of mine who runs a Christmas tree plantation. He tells me that, this year alone, they cut and shipped 90 000 trees to the US. What I can tell you:

1) most of those trees were cut in October or early November, and wrapped up, and MAYBE kept in water. You know how flowers dry out after a few days in water? Same with trees. Being kept freezing slows that process down, but this year, temps around here weren't freezing until early December, sooo... guys, y'all are gonna have pine needles all over your floor within 3 days.

2) if you can get a local, affordable, recently-cut tree, you'll get a good month out of it before it dries out, starts dropping needles, and becomes a fire hazard. (We're going out to the back field to cut our tree on Saturday. Price: free.) If you CAN'T, and are lugging dried-out trees from Canada into your homes (a bunch of those trucks are headed to Southern states where trees sell at 80$ easy), you're losing, big time. Evaluate accordingly.

3) If you care that much about the smell, get a few candles or burn a few pinecones. And admit that if you live in Arizona, you're not likely to get a decent quality fresh tree anytime soon.

4) If you've got the yard and field space, keep the dried-out tree on the fire pit until summer and you can have a FANTASTIC bonfire. Sparks everywhere, really gorgeous. :)

[GuitarStv]

4) If you've got the yard and field space, keep the dried-out tree on the fire pit until summer and you can have a FANTASTIC bonfire. Sparks everywhere, really gorgeous. :)

I forgot this.  The best part about a real Christmas tree is lighting it on fire, they go up really nicely.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Mr. FP spent $48 and got a real tree at the grocery store. Not what I would have done, but I was at work.So far it seems to be in reasonable shape and is drinking water very slowly.

However, backyard bonfires are probably frowned upon here inside the Denver city limits!

[HPstache]

Bought a real tree in the PNW this year.  $5.50/ft, 7.5ft tall, it's a no-compromise subject for the DW and that's not the hill I am choosing to die on :)

[Money Badger]

We received a 6' artificial tree from my inlaws as they downsized and used it the first time this year.    It is entirely Mustachian.   No driving required to pick up and dispose if tree.   Even if we bought one (unlit basic tree), it pays for itself easily.  No water consumed.   No plastic netting used for shipping to the landfill.   No gas consumed chipping up the tree after the holidays at Home Depot/Lowes/wherever.     Echo the pine candle idea for ambience and call it done!

[vhalros]

I ended up getting a 4' artificial tree at Home Depot yesterday. It was $22 dollars, after a discount for taking the floor model. I brought it home via bicycle, so no gasoline was consumed at far as transportation from the store to my house goes :)

[lizzzi]

I just came back from Home Depot with my 5'6" real tree. They are giving away their real trees today, at least they are at my local HD.  So, free!

[Mr.Tako]

We got our tree from the local Buy Nothing group.  $0.

[Tom Bri]

Ten years ago I bought a tiny 1-foot-tall live tree, and kept it in a pot. Every spring it goes out in the back yard, and every winter it comes in and gets itself decorated for Christmas. Last year it was about 7 feet tall, and didn't survive the winter indoors.
Last week my daughter and I went to the local supermarket and bought a little 'Lemon Cypress' and brought it home. With luck it'll last us many years.
Cheap, and 'environmental'.

[davidw]

We got a nice, if somewhat scraggly tree this year for $5, and had fun doing it:

Here in Oregon, some of the national forests let you cut your own tree for that price.  We drove up to the Deschutes national forest outside of Bend, and cut own down with a hand saw, and hauled it back to our car.  It was cheap, and made for a fun and memorable outing with the kids, since we spent the afternoon sledding not far from where we got the tree.

[GuitarStv]

Depends on how much snow you get.  When I lived deep in Northern Ontario we would cut down our tree by driving along the highway until my mom saw one she liked.  Then we would hike through a mile or so of waist deep snow, take one swing of the axe at the tree, all of the snow would fall off and reveal a hideously demented looking tree beneath.

One year we got the tree back to our house before noticing cocoons on it.  Then the cocoons started making ticking noises after warming up for a few days in the house . . . so one morning just before Christmas and we had to do a very fast de-decorating and evacuation of the tree from the living room.  :P

[HelinaHandbasket]

We don't have a basement/garage/attic so storing a tree isn't an option for us. We bought our living tree in Ikea again this year. It's a ten minute drive away (and my inlaws live in that neck of the woods, so double duty!)
Any size tree was €25, but you get instore credit for €20 with it. Plus you can take the tree back to them to be mulched into fertilizer for next years crop for no additional cost, save the drive there (to spend your instore credit :) )

[fitfrugalfab]

We have a 4ft artificial tree that cost $40 that according to reviews should have only lasted a year or 2 and we're going on 5 years with no issues with assembly. Plus we don't have pine needles everywhere or the stress of picking up and disposing the tree.

[Delancy22]

For anyone interested in the environmental impact of artificial vs. real Christmas trees, according to a study done by Ellipsos, real trees are the best way to go. The article is referenced here http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/faqs/holidays/green-christmas-trees/ which says that you have to have an artificial tree for over 20 years before it becomes better than a real tree.

The reference for the study is
Couillard, Sylvain, Bage, Gontran, Trudel, JS (2008) Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of artificial vs. natural Christmas tree, ellipsos, 91 p.

I have not read the full study but I think about it every year when I put up my fake tree, which was purchased before I started thinking of my environmental impact. I've had it for 7 years and keep it up for at least 2 months every year, so I'm making as much use of it as I can. And it's a very high quality tree so I can see it lasting a long time.