Christmas Trees
 

ok...so the new trend in non-living christmas trees seems to be buying one thats already lit. I dont like that

I lost my non living tree in my divorce, it was 16 years old and still in fantastic shape...I paid all 35 dollars for it. Now I KNOW prices would have gone up some in the last 16 years, but good god I cannot find one around here thats not unlit, 7ish feet tall!! PLUS all the full 7 footish tall lit trees are around 200 dollars!!

grrrrrr

This may not be mine and Daves 1st christmas together, but its our first in our own place and I REALLY wanted to go all out with my decorating skills, but hell I cant afford a damn tree. Anyone have any ideas I am not thinking of (and no I dont want a "table top" tree)

Ok, vent over...discussion point since its coming up to "that time"

IF you put up a tree, when do you put it up and when do you take it down?

I generally like to go Christmas Tree "Hunting". Go to the local BLM, or National Forest office, and pay the $10-15 for a permit to cut down a tree. They point you to a proper area to cut (they generally do research on what areas need help with fuel reduction). I make a day of the day, get all bundled up, go trudging through the snow with family and friends till you find that perfect tree, then come home, and heat up hot cocoa and setup the tree. I usually do this a week or two after Thanksgiving. I try to get rid of the tree by mid-January.

I might start doing what my parents do, buy a live potted tree (3-4 feet tall), and then plant it after you're done using it as a Christmas tree.

The new fake trees seem to be much better looking an intricate than the old ones. We have one that requires you get pretty close to see its not real. With that quality comes a higher price tag. It is slightly early (in most places) to be christmass tree shopping, but a lot of major stores will soon have out a lot of trees and there are bound to be cheaper ones.

http://www.amazon.com/Slim-Noble-Tre...&s=home-garden

Is $50 on amazon and doesn't look bad.

I dont know about where you are, but everywhere here already has the halloween stuff on clearance and the christmas stuff out (its been out for about 3 weeks now) and that poor tree you linked looks sick, and isnt tall enough.

I know Im fretting and Im sure I'll find one eventually, I just couldnt BELIEVE how expensive they'd gotten

I really dont want a live tree, I have my fill of them growing up, my mother would rather die than have artificial. We have christmas tree farms around here and used to go cut every year....Im just not interested in trying to keep it alive for over a month, having to dispose of it, and finding pine needles in my stockings in MAY lol

The best time to get a reasonable price on an artificial Christmas tree...is December 26th. They practically give holiday decorations away after Christmas. That's when Mrs. O'Rights restocks the giftwrap supplies. That $200 tree that you're looking at? It'll go for around $30.

Of course...that's not much help for you now, is it? :(

yeah thats when I usually buy stuff too...I've Id known LAST year my ex was gonna be a prick when we moved out and keep the tree I'd def have bought one.

*sigh*

I don't like artificial trees, no matter how intricate and real looking. We get real trees and those too have gone up a LOT. Every time we shell out $60, we think maybe we'll go fake, but there's something 'magical' about a real one.....
Christmas stuff goes out about 100 days before the holiday, so about Sept.17. So dumb, but I found out a reason for it and why we see winter coats in August: At the turn of the century, season-centric items, particularly clothing, were ordered by catalog and generally shipped to the local general stores, where they would then be picked up. Because of the manner in which these items were ordered and shipped, it took a long time to complete the transactions. Despite the advancements, the 'custom' of having things ready a full season before they're needed simply hasn't changed and has become a tradition instead.
/end threadjack:D

Cool history lesson NG.

Man, I haven't had a tree in years...*sad story*

But generally, it would go up around Thanksgiving weekend, and comedown a few days after New Year.

*sigh*

I am not a fan of the prelit trees either. Then, I like real trees so I don't really pay much attention to the prices of the fake trees. I know that in the long run a fake tree can save you money but it just doesn't seem like christmas without a real tree.

I've never cared about Christmas trees. Use that money for better gifts or food. :)

Hmmmm...interesting. And here all this time...I thought that it was just plain simple greed. :D

Although...and it could just be my selective nostalgic memory...but, I don't recall seeing Christmas stuff out in September, when I was a kid. But...that was before Christ, so I guess it stands to reason. ;)

I am a big fan of all things Christmas. My home would be decorated in October if Grancey wasn't so scandalized by such behavior. When we walk through department stores and the Christmas stuff goes up in September, I have to walk through smiling and biting my lip as morons around me feel it necessary to do the obligatory "Christmas already?" whine. Bah!

We used to go with real trees until about 10 years ago. Our main two trees (living room and TV room) are not pre-lit and they're both fairly old, but in great shape. However, I do put pre-lit trees up in the yard and on the porch simply because it's convenient and no one can see them that closely. Every year, we hit all of the Christmas Clearance sales and load up on artificial trees and lights for the next year. I think the last time I counted, we have 14 artificial trees of varying size that we put up in various rooms and in the yard.

My outdoor lights will begin going up right after Halloween (when I take down the outdoor Halloween lights) and it'll take me about three weekends to get it all finished. The indoor stuff will go up after Auburn-Alabama game (Nov. 18 this year).

Some of the craft stores such as Hobby Lobby and Michaels start putting the Christmas stuff on sale before Christmas. Also, if you look you can find printable coupons on their online sites.

As for when we put up our Christmas decorations, I prefer shortly after Thanksgiving through 2 or 3 days after Christmas. If it was up to Red, the trees and lights would already be up. But then they would conflict with his Halloween lights.

Hobby Lobby has a 40% off coupon right now, but I have to get over there to see what the prices are, Im thinking they will be less than Michaels, cause right now their "sale" is 100 dollars off leaving the prices starting at 199 for the size I want (Same as the current Garden Ridge sale)

I wish I had enough money left after christmas to buy all the stuff I'd like to....Santa tends to leave me a little broke

Hints for keeping a cut tree alive longer:

When you bring it in the house, do it gradually if possible. Start out somewhere slightly warmer than the outside temperature (or at least protected from the wind). Keep it there for 3 or 4 days. Then move it into a cold part of the house (basement, etc.) for a few days then into it's final location. Trees need to adjust to the temperature.

As soon as possible after cutting (if you're doing it yourself), put a damp cloth or paper towel on the base to continue the sap flowing. If you're buying a cut tree, have them cut the bottom inch or two off the base, then put the cloth on. Make sure to tie it securely for the trip home.

For the first watering, use warm water and either powdered sugar, corn syrup or "flower food" (comes in packets with floral bouquets). Make sure that it is disolved well. Warm means 80-85 degrees.

Do not under any circumstances let the tree run dry, especially if you bought it pre-cut. If you cut it yourself, dry won't cause immediate problems, but a dry pre-cut tree will almost immediately start to shed needles.

Different species have different shedding habits. Scotch pine tend to hold their needles better, but balsam shed quickly.

Personally, I prefer live (ball and burlap) trees that I can replant in the spring. Keeping them alive in the garage afterwards (my garage has several south-facing windows that get lots of light) isn't much of a challenge, and we've added several trees to the parkway in front and our back yard. This year's may get donated to the neighborhood garden.

There's also a strict rule in my house (imposed by me) that Christmas decorations and music aren't allowed until all the Thanksgiving dishes are done. Without that rule, I'd already be having a "Holley Jolley Christmas" before Halloweeen.

I hate christmas with a passion. As a tree hugger I never did live trees but!!!!! I have a solution Miss Shani!

eBay girlfriend! A friend of mine found a fabulous 6 footer for 15 bucks! Unlit!

All she had to do upon receipt was pick off a few stray icicles from the previous use and she was off and running!

Shani, if you want, I can talk to my Dad into donating his non-living xmas tree. He brought one few years ago but ever since he's been remarried, his wife insist on getting live ones and hasn't used the fake one since then.

Then again, I'm not sure if he still has it.

I hate pre-lit trees too...I want to decorate my own tree, thank you very much. Plus, the majority of them are in white lights...I like colored lights.
I like real trees...they smell so good, but they make such a huge mess. Plus, I love not spending money on a real tree every year. :D

I usually put ours up just after Thanksgiving, and take it down whenever I get sick of looking at it.

Shani, I looked online, but didn't see anything that seemed to much of a "savings", even though most of it was already on sale. I hope you can find something that works!!

lol me too...and although I thanked feelgood for his offer, somehow I dont think his dad would be very happy if I accepted lol

Ebay doesnt have anything I cant buy at the store for the same price cept for one 6' (which is too short) and is in the UK

I've got a few weeks....I just really wanted to get one before my surgery so I didnt have to deal with it during recovery....looks like the good old budget isnt going to all that...damn sticker shock hehehehe

Silly...I'm older:lol:
Don't you remember getting the Sears Wish Book just after school started?
Two full months at least of making lists out of that book:D

We get a live tree because my boyfriend was an Eagle Scout with a troop here in town that does Christmas trees as a fundraiser, so as long as he goes to cut trees every year, we get a free live tree.

The tree goes up whenever the Boy Scouts go out to cut trees, and comes down just after New Years.

Growing up, the tree went up Thanksgiving weekend--we would go out Saturday or Sunday and hunt up the perfect tree. In the PacNW, U-Cut tree lots are a dime a dozen, so Christmas trees are cheap and easy to get compared to everywhere else. The tree would be decorated right away, and stay up until Three Kings Day.

*wonders how much shipping would be on a tree...*

My mom has a collection of 18 full sized (at least 5 feet) non living trees - most of hers were given to her, or she finds them at garage sales. The tallest one we have is 9.5 feet.

We're both allergic to pine so fake tree and fake garland all the way. Only real stuff we have is a real pine wreath on the front of the house OUTSIDE.

Try looking up freecycle http://www.freecycle.org/ to see if anyone has a fake tree in your area that they're tired of storing and putting up every year. You might get one that's not as easy to put together but for your first year it's a start. Get a better one for next year after this season is over. You can find those $200 trees for sometimes $75 or less depending on how lucky you get and how long you wait till the end of clearance.

DUH...freecylce I didnt even think of that and Im on the stupid lists for my area lol

thanks for reminding me of that Raeanna....I've now got 3 offers of 7 1/2 foot trees that have never been used lol

We usually put up the tree the day after thanksgiving and leave it up thru new years. I put a lot of work into making my house look pretty for the holiday, so I make sure it's up plenty of time!

for 1 month. 2-3weeks before. and 1 week after . :) by the time it's back to school/work, around the 5th or so, the tree is down. and it's a fake tree of course! i wouldnt want a real!! takes way too long to grow just to die in my living room. fuck that.

Can I put my tree up now? Will somebody ask Grancey for me?

(I know how you feel, when I got me free tree home I resisted putting it up for all of an hour, and only because I was fixing/eating dinner lol)


Grancey can your hubby please put up the christmas tree!!!!!!

I take it you didn't like the 6' tall non-lit one I found on amazon for $50?

well....I liked the free 7 1/2 foot unlit one better!!! (plus yours was a slim and I wanted a full)

As long as you find one you like its all good.