If you have an artificial tree...

[Disneylover99]

We try to get a different one each year.

Do you mean you throw them out after you use them?

 

[Hikergirl]

My dad and stepmom did real trees. My task in my pre-teen and teen years (when my step-mom entered my life) was....watering the tree cuz that's so exciting for a 10-16 year old

I must say other than getting stuck by the needles it was really nice. The artificial pine smelling stuff can't hold a candle to the real stuff IMO.

I love the smell when I open the door to the house, but the last 2 real trees we got did not really smell strong and they dried out quicker than before. I was sick of watering and vacuuming around it everyday too. My dh and dd were never okay with the idea of an artificial tree but last year I said I refuse to take care of it, and they will have too every day. Dh said "ok, go out and get a fake one" LOL

 

[MSLRAC]

We've had ours for 4 years and it's going to be replaced after this year because it sheds so many pine needles every year that it's starting to look bare in places and I'm tired of constantly vacuuming around it. I'm hoping to get something taller and fuller and better made this time.

 

[StephMK]

We finally bought a new artificial tree the year before last. I was sentimental about the old one but branches were falling off and it was a pain to fix the pins holding them in place. No pre-lit here. DD loves to string lights. Sadly though, she does not like to unstrung them and I get stuck with that!

 

[ronandannette]

Well, it was my grandma's, and she has been gone for 21 years....

I grew up in a remote, rural community where everybody just went out to their own back 40 and chopped down a spruce tree for Christmas. Fake ones were pretty much unheard of. My DGrandma (who was a little quirky but loveable) got it in her head that having an "everliving" tree would be the height of elegance! She got one from the Sears catalogue probably 50 years ago (before I was even born). It was hideous - like it was made out of green baby-bottle brushes (really similar to the picture below), but she absolutely CHERISHED it. I wonder where that thing went...

 

[RedAngie]

I grew up in a remote, rural community where everybody just went out to their own back 40 and chopped down a spruce tree for Christmas. Fake ones were pretty much unheard of. My DGrandma (who was a little quirky but loveable) got it in her head that having an "everliving" tree would be the height of elegance! She got one from the Sears catalogue probably 50 years ago (before I was even born). It was hideous - like it was made out of green baby-bottle brushes (really similar to the picture below), but she absolutely CHERISHED it. I wonder where that thing went...
View attachment 206985

We had one of those circa 1969-73. My father called it the toilet brush tree.

My current artificial tree is about 6 years old.

 

[klacey1]

I bought mine last year for a steal on Amazon. It's 6 ft and full--perfect size for a corner of my relatively small apartment. It thankfully is a breeze to put together (a stand and three pieces), and I like that it's not pre-lit.
It doesn't seem to shed too much and I hope to have it for a few more years at least!

 

[ronandannette]

We had one of those circa 1969-73. My father called it the toilet brush tree.

My current artificial tree is about 6 years old.

Yup, that's exactly the right era! She still had it put up for her every year until her death in 1996. I was never back in her house after that but I can close my eyes and see it there in front of the window. Good memories! Did your folks also hang Christmas cards on string around the top of the walls? She would start when the first one arrived in November and hope to have the entire perimeter of the room covered by Christmas!

 

[Bluestars]

We had one for about 10 years before buying a new one with built-in lights last year. We love it.

 

[Mizzoufan]

Do you mean you throw them out after you use them?

No, we donate them or sell them on Facebook groups. I like different trees each year, Next year the plan is what I call a skinny tree,

 

[OnceUponATime15]

How long have you had it?

We've had the same tree for about 20 years. I think I'm long overdue for a new one!

20 years! You should def treat yourself to a lovely new tree .

I have 3 trees but only put one up each year. one pencil pine prelit 12 yrs old, one 7.5 foot flocked prelit fir 6 yrs old & this year a new 7 foot unlit spruce that I will add the lights to myself.

Canadian Tire has a line called Canvas by Noma - they are very, very lifelike. Lots to choose from too! Spruce, Fir, Pine, mixed greens & even a snow covered flocked pine. They have decent discounts right now & will again Boxing Day

 

[RedAngie]

Yup, that's exactly the right era! She still had it put up for her every year until her death in 1996. I was never back in her house after that but I can close my eyes and see it there in front of the window. Good memories! Did your folks also hang Christmas cards on string around the top of the walls? She would start when the first one arrived in November and hope to have the entire perimeter of the room covered by Christmas!

I specifically remember the lifetime of our toilet brush tree for two reasons. My parents bought it at Korvettes* in 1969. We also bought some type of astronaut first man on the moon ornament. We moved in the summer of 1973, and put up that tree in our new house. By that time, the tree was a PITA. Each individual branch had to be inserted separately, and some were wobbly. My father had to attach wires to other branches to hold them in place. And it was very difficult to put on the lights. My mother said "no more" and they got rid of it after the holiday season.

For Christmas cards, I remember in the old house, my mother hung them on the spokes of the staircase and the wood part underneath the steps. Similar to this. Not with ribbon, just taped to the wood.

At the new house, she hung them on the door in the family room which led to the basement.

Again, not with ribbons, just taped to the door.

*Korvettes--a long gone discount department store in the mid-Atlantic states. Closed about 1981.

 

[MrsDuck]

This Christmas it will be 3 years. We got our tree from Costco and love it!

 

[Disneylover99]

20 years! You should def treat yourself to a lovely new tree .

I have 3 trees but only put one up each year. one pencil pine prelit 12 yrs old, one 7.5 foot flocked prelit fir 6 yrs old & this year a new 7 foot unlit spruce that I will add the lights to myself.

Canadian Tire has a line called Canvas by Noma - they are very, very lifelike. Lots to choose from too! Spruce, Fir, Pine, mixed greens & even a snow covered flocked pine. They have decent discounts right now & will again Boxing Day

I remember we got our 20 year old tree for $75 at Zellers. It was on sale for half off. I couldn't believe the price back then. It was top of the line too. Ahhh, the good old days.

The one I want is at Costco. It's 7 and a half feet and costs roughly $400.

 

[focusondisney]

1 week!

We had an old tree that you had to put each branch in & fluff for about 25 years. Got tired of that & after being tempted by a prelit, lights stay on if 1 goes out, easy assembly Mr Christmas tree on QVC for 2 years, we finally bought one 3 years ago. Which got recalled by QVC the less than 1
year later for a possible defect in the on/ off switch. We had to cut off & return the switch for a full refund. DH rewired it with a new switch. We used it for 2 years that way but the lights did NOT all stay on if 1 went out. At least 3 times last year we had whole sections go out when 1 bulb went out. Spent tons of time trying to find the bad one.

So we started looking for a new 1
a few weeks ago. Everything we found around here looked cheap & sparse. DH found one online at tree classics. Just came in last Friday. We assembled it last weekend so we could decide if we like it & make sure the lights would stay on. So far so good. We'll decorate it next weekend. It did need quite a bit of fluffing each branch but I hope that was just coz it was brand new. The QVC 1 spoiled us coz those branches just fell out on their own. I won't like it too much if I have to spend 1/2 hour fluffing each year.


Oh, and we tape our cards to the basement & hall doors too. I'd do something else, but my DH won't budge. He insists we do everything the same way every year. Gotta love him.

 

[willowsnn3]

I've probably had mine around 10yrs??
Bought it at Family Dollar the day after Christmas for $10, lol.
It is a 6ft. white tree and I love it. My kids laugh at me because I only use clear lights (and lots of them), clear, white or crystal ornaments. Looks like a white cloud all lit up, lol.
Last year the day after Christmas at Family Dollar I bought two 3ft prelit potted trees for $5 each. DD is trying to talk me out of them for her front entryway.
DD has a very tall tree that a friend gave her over 10yrs ago that reaches the ceiling. A bit of it is getting pretty ragged but she just puts that side in the corner, lol.
Youngest dd always get a real tree but this year her teenage son asked for an artificial one because he doesn't like having to fool with the tree stand, lol.

 

[Annadesu]

We've had ours about... 6 years? We got a white one, because my husband is Jewish. We decorate it blue/gold and call it the "Jewsmas" tree. lol

 

[disneychrista]

24 years. Every year I would look at the newer one and then being "frugal" couldn't make my self spend the money on one, when the one we had was perfectly usable. We stopped putting up a tree about 3 years ago when we stopped "celebrating."

 

[ronandannette]

*Korvettes--a long gone discount department store in the mid-Atlantic states. Closed about 1981.

Oooooh, did it have a lunch counter? There were 2 discount chains from my childhood like that - Woolworths and The Metropolitan. They were very similar to one another and had a "smell" - like cheap rubber shoes, but sitting on one of those revolving round stools at the lunch counter is another one of those memories that is so strong (and good!!).

 

[RedAngie]

Oooooh, did it have a lunch counter? There were 2 discount chains from my childhood like that - Woolworths and The Metropolitan. They were very similar to one another and had a "smell" - like cheap rubber shoes, but sitting on one of those revolving round stools at the lunch counter is another one of those memories that is so strong (and good!!).

I don't recall Korvettes having a full-fledged lunch counter. I think they had a snack bar with a few tables. There was a large multi-floor Korvettes in NYC; perhaps they had a sit down lunch counter or cafeteria.

Korvettes had a GREAT record & tape department, large selection and good prices. I bought most of my albums there.

A lot of Woolworth's had sit down lunch counters. Some larger ones had tables as well. And others had cafeterias with separate entrances from the street or parking lot; you didn't need to go into the store to access them.