Fake tree

Ending+the+season+long+debate%3A+which+is+better%2C+real+or+fake+trees%3F

art by Sathvik Manam

Ending the season long debate: which is better, real or fake trees?

Courtney Clark, Editor-in-Chief

It’s cold outside and November has come to an end; it’s officially time for Christmas. So pour the hot chocolate and pull out the decorations because the whole house can’t wait to get into the spirit.

And there’s no need to wait or plan a day to set everything up, it can be in a complete spur of the moment because you have a fake tree. No need to stand out in the cold wandering aimlessly through a field of identical trees until you find the “perfect” one, because a fake tree takes away all of those inconveniences.

During the holiday season, I never had a real tree since my sister is allergic to pine. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

Real trees are a hassle, and at least in my family would cause a lot of fights. Whether it be not agreeing on the tree or the hassle of picking up the fallen needles, a fake tree just solves every and any problem.

For one, our tree is always perfect. The perfect height, the perfect width, the perfect structure, it always fits nicely and looks beautiful. There’s just no aesthetic flaws on a fake tree.

Besides the functionality of a fake tree, it also just makes more sense for the safety of your home. When lights are strung on a tree, and pine needles start to dry out, it creates a potential fire hazard.

Also, when having pets, you have to constantly watch a real tree to make sure they don’t ingest any pine needles or the water. And with my family being gone for the majority of the day, I just know we would have to take a trip to the vets: holiday edition.

And of course, I get that picking out a tree could make a great holiday tradition as well as helping local farmers. But the simplicity of a fake tree is hard to beat.

There’s no care taking, no trips to the dump, or the need for multiple trees in one season. A fake tree requires a one-time assembly that you can forget about from the end of November all through December, or even January if you don’t get around to taking it down. 

So all together, there is a clear conclusion to the annual real vs. fake debate: fake trees are simply just better. For the families with pets to the ones who are constantly on the move, fake trees just take away an unnecessary stress to the holidays.

And if you have a real tree, there’s nothing wrong with it. Just don’t judge my family for having a tree that works better with our needs.