I live in an area with a LOT of tree farms. Oregon leads the nation in Christmas tree production (Go Oregon!). Tree farming is a sustainable industry, and supporting it by buying a fresh tree keeps money in my local economy, too. My husband and I have seriously discussed the prospect of owning a tree farm at sometime in our lives. The garbage company has a deal where after Christmas, you put your tree out on the sidewalk on a given day and they come pick it up to make it into mulch.
Given where we live, we could do the whole U-Cut thing, but we don't because my husband's former Boy Scout troop sells trees at a tree lot near our house. It's the troop's big fundraiser for the year, and any tips the kids earn go towards having spending money for a ski trip they all take every winter (my husband asks every year: Are you still doing the ski trip? and then slips them some money). We go down there a few weeks before Christmas. We generally buy a Noble fir, because its limbs are strong enough to hold up all of my heavy ornaments. We have a lot of ornaments.
Here are some pictures of our tree:
We got LED lights for the tree this year after our big strand of regular lights finally died on us. I'm getting used to them still.
I couldn't not have a Christmas tree. It went up Dec. 5th and that felt late to me. My tree will be up until Jan. 6th (Twelfth Night) and hit the curb Jan. 7th.