I sold out

I will fully admit that I am a Christmas tree snob.

We always had a real tree growing up. And not only was it a real tree, but it was a tree from Talbot's-- the local tree farm, where the elder Talbot was known to treat, paint, etc., trees so that even kids with allergies-- like me-- could have real Christmas trees in their homes for Christmas.

But let me explain a little further. This snobbery isn't all my fault. It's inborn. Growing up, we always got TWO real Christmas trees-- because you need one for the living room, AND one for the dining room. My grandparents have vaulted ceilings and always get at least a 14-foot tree. My parents now have a vaulted ceiling in their family room, and always get a 10-11 foot tree. My aunt has vaulted ceilings and also gets extremely tall trees. My cousin built his house with even higher ceilings so that he can have the tallest trees of anyone in the family.

And it's not enough to just have a real tree. It has to be a fraser fir. They smell the best, feel the best, look the best... in my opinion, of course. (Balsam firs are similar and also pretty, but they dry out much faster.)

But anyway, I sold out this year. We bought an artificial tree.

I think this was a change that has been in the making for a while. When K and I were first married, we lived in West Palm Beach-- and you didn't exactly go out to the local tree farm and get your tree. S we ended up at Home Depot. So, strike the "tradition" element of getting the tree.

When we first moved back to Illinois, we went back to Talbot's for our tree. But that is too far for us now. Strike another "tradition" element of getting the tree. (Besides, now that the elder Mr. Talbot has passed away and isn't there chatting over hot cider, somehow it just doesn't feel the same...).

Tree farms in our area don't grow fraser firs. So, for the last couple of years, we have ended up back at Home Depot.

We've been tossing around the idea of getting an artificial tree for a few weeks. My parents purchased a GE tree last year, and it looked SO REAL. We even had one picked out online a couple of weeks ago, but when we went to look at it in person, we weren't impressed.

But then a couple of days ago, I got online and looked at Home Depot again. And it had SLASHED its prices on GE trees. So a tree that was out of our price range before Thanksgiving was now $120 cheaper. And we went for it.




Don't get me wrong. I am VERY excited about this tree. It has 1200 (!!!) clear lights, a great warranty, a foot pedal to turn on the lights, and it looks real in person (although we are still waiting on ours to come in).

But I am struggling just a little with the guilt. Somehow I think it makes me less Christmas-y to have a fake tree. As if that is what Christmas is about.

On the other hand, I am thinking of all of the benefits. An artificial tree means K isn't outside in the cold, cutting the bottom inch (and branches) off and struggling to get the tree in the stand. It means Moses is less likely to impale himself (or poke his eye out) while playing with ornaments. It means no needles on the floor for small children to step on (or eat). And it means more FAMILY time. We can put the tree up whenever we want, and not have to worry about scheduling a time.

But I still feel like I sold out. Is that normal???