Artificial Christmas Trees?

[robin19871]

I got my 9 ft tree at Lowes after Christmas for $50.00 6 years ago.. Yes, it is pre lit and very easy to set up.. As for the pine smell, I have also bought "Scentsicles" for my tree.. They work wonderful and smell as close as you can get to a real tree..

 

[tvguy]

Yup, 7 years is the average that I have heard. I do believe that most people keep them longer. I think my mother in law's is over 20 years. But the age doesn't matter much since they sit in landfills for decades after use.

Okay, I Googled average life of an artificial Christmas tree.......and I found this 107 page study on Natural versus Artificial Christmas trees. 107 pages! This report assumes a minimum use of 9 years before people decide to get a new tree.......and it assumes most folks old tree is continued to be used by someone else. Did I mention, this report is 107 pages.

http://www.christmastreeassociation.org/pdf/ACTA Christmas Tree LCA Final Report November 2010.pdf

 

[Swimalie]

Okay, I Googled average life of an artificial Christmas tree.......and I found this 107 page study on Natural versus Artificial Christmas trees. 107 pages! This report assumes a minimum use of 9 years before people decide to get a new tree.......and it assumes most folks old tree is continued to be used by someone else. Did I mention, this report is 107 pages.

http://www.christmastreeassociation.org/pdf/ACTA Christmas Tree LCA Final Report November 2010.pdf

Wow, who paid for someone to do a study that lasted 107 pages?! And it "assumes" a lot.

 

[tvguy]

Wow, who paid for someone to do a study that lasted 107 pages?! And it "assumes" a lot.

I assume the Christmas Tree Association paid for it.

 

[Swimalie]

I assume the Christmas Tree Association paid for it.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Okay, I Googled average life of an artificial Christmas tree.......and I found this 107 page study on Natural versus Artificial Christmas trees. 107 pages! This report assumes a minimum use of 9 years before people decide to get a new tree.......and it assumes most folks old tree is continued to be used by someone else. Did I mention, this report is 107 pages.

http://www.christmastreeassociation.org/pdf/ACTA Christmas Tree LCA Final Report November 2010.pdf

Like I posted above - you can find Christmas trees at yard sales and thrift stores. People who get rid of their old one rarely just put it in the garbage; they forward them on.

(It's like mobile homes, I think. I had a friend who was totally against them, and I didn't understand why until I questioned her about it. She just didn't understand that mobile homes aren't just tossed into landfills when the first owners get rid of them; that they are sold down the economic scale until they are completely and totally worthless, and, at that point, are usually cannibalized to shore up the previous occupant's or landlord's new used trailer, with the metal pieces parts that are left going to recyclers!)

When someone gets rid of a $400 Christmas tree, it would be a bit careless not to put it in the yard sale for $20 to $40 bucks or donate it and take the tax credit!

 

[tvguy]

(It's like mobile homes, I think. I had a friend who was totally against them, and I didn't understand why until I questioned her about it. She just didn't understand that mobile homes aren't just tossed into landfills when the first owners get rid of them; that they are sold down the economic scale until they are completely and totally worthless, and, at that point, are usually cannibalized to shore up the previous occupant's or landlord's new used trailer, with the metal pieces parts that are left going to recyclers!)

Mobile homes are funny, and it may be regional. A friends 75 year old mom got a reverse mortgage on her 5 acres that she lives in a mobile home. That fact that there was a mobile home on it reduced the mortgage by $10,000 to allow for the cost of hauling away the mobile home at such time as the property is sold. It was a beautiful double wide 33 years ago when they bought it, and they kept it up, but time is just harder on mobile homes than on stick built ones.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Mobile homes are funny, and it may be regional. A friends 75 year old mom got a reverse mortgage on her 5 acres that she lives in a mobile home. That fact that there was a mobile home on it reduced the mortgage by $10,000 to allow for the cost of hauling away the mobile home at such time as the property is sold. It was a beautiful double wide 33 years ago when they bought it, and they kept it up, but time is just harder on mobile homes than on stick built ones.

That's crazy! Somebody will make a killing on that mobile home when she passes! Even if no one lives in it after it's hauled away (I doubt this, honestly. Country slum lords, ahem, landlords to low income rural people, will snap up any mobile home that's still liveable and put them out in places where there's no zoning) do you know how much the recyclers will give for all the metal pieces parts in a mobile home?

OTOH, I've noticed that unless you're dealing with a local S&L or a land bank or Green Tree or similar, a lot of people in banking and realty don't have any clue about the economics of rural existence. For example, we left a mini-tractor at a home once as a gift to the new occupants. They didn't want it and wanted us to pay $1K to get rid of it. Our realtor and bank were in total agreement with this. I went on Ebay and sold the tractor as a bargain for 1K to a main 2 states away within 20 minutes for pickup the next day!

 

[wallskm]

We bought our (not pre-lit) tree 9 years ago at an after Christmas sale for $17. It is still going strong!

 

[tvguy]

That's crazy! Somebody will make a killing on that mobile home when she passes! Even if no one lives in it after it's hauled away (I doubt this, honestly. Country slum lords, ahem, landlords to low income rural people, will snap up any mobile home that's still liveable and put them out in places where there's no zoning) do you know how much the recyclers will give for all the metal pieces parts in a mobile home?

OTOH, I've noticed that unless you're dealing with a local S&L or a land bank or Green Tree or similar, a lot of people in banking and realty don't have any clue about the economics of rural existence. For example, we left a mini-tractor at a home once as a gift to the new occupants. They didn't want it and wanted us to pay $1K to get rid of it. Our realtor and bank were in total agreement with this. I went on Ebay and sold the tractor as a bargain for 1K to a main 2 states away within 20 minutes for pickup the next day!

Well, I am in California, and there are zoning laws EVERYWHERE here. No matter how rural. So strict in fact, that traditional mobile homes are forbidden some places (unless they were there before the zoning changed). They do allow manufactured homes, but they are just basically stick built houses built in a factory, moved on site, and they can't be moved again once they are in place.

 

[GagesMama]

Very true. And artificial trees never break down in landfills and most are kept only 7 years. Real trees are gone but replaced and will break down once done. As for fire hazard, we use non-heat generating lights and have for over 10 years with the same strands. No problems and always had a real tree in my 43 years.

A more environmentally friendly solution would be to get a gate around the tree to keep her from eating what drops on the floor. Something like this http://www.target.com/p/superyard-xt-play-gate-by-north-states-industries/-/A-541446?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C541446&CPNG=Baby&kpid=541446&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=541446&gclid=CLLd1YGb1boCFTBnOgodZHYASw

This is the exact same gate we have and love it. It is so versatile. Last year my son was 13 months old at Christmas. I put the tree in a corner, and I put 6 sections of the gate together around it. Worked great!

The tree classic website is great. Those are very nice, high quality trees. I have a similar one that my parents bought when I was young. They passed it to me, and it's still in great condition. I really believe you get what you pay for.

 

[Leshaface]

Thanks tvguy for that link! That's craziness. Thanks for summing it up in one sentence for me

I definitely plan on keeping it for a very long time. And definitely re-gifting it later on down the line if I ever feel like it.