Oh, Tannenbaum..........

[Jim French Stepstool]

I did this years ago on another board with some pretty entertaining feedback so I thought I'd try it here.

Do you rock the artificial Christmas tree, or go with a real one? Or maybe no tree at all? Also, any funny /interesting Christmas tree stories? For example, years ago the family of a former GF had their tree attacked & knocked down by their cat. He ate the tinsel & the residue in his litter box had a silvery tinge for the next month.

[hawing]

Oof! I've read that the tinsel can slice up a cat's intestines, so that cat you cited dodged a bullet. 

We haven't had a tree in our house for 20 years, for a few reasons: (1) space, as in what furniture do we have to store in order to have floor space for a tree; (2) cats, who also like to chew on needles and drink tree water; and (3) we're never home on the 24th/25th, so why not enjoy the trees at our holiday destinations.

When we did have a tree, it was always real.  We didn't want to contend with the storage space for a fake. 

[BrewerFan]

On 12/7/2025 at 1:47 PM, Jim French Stepstool said:

I did this years ago on another board with some pretty entertaining feedback so I thought I'd try it here.

Do you rock the artificial Christmas tree, or go with a real one? Or maybe no tree at all? Also, any funny /interesting Christmas tree stories? For example, years ago the family of a former GF had their tree attacked & knocked down by their cat. He ate the tinsel & the residue in his litter box had a silvery tinge for the next month.

We used to go up North and find a tree and cut it down every year. That's when my Grandparents... Uncle and Dad owned land. 

I've since bought it and there are trees all over and that used to be fun. And it was fun for a few years for my own Christmas. And then it was just... 6 hours driving up there. It's like a high of 9 degrees up there, it'll be up to 18 during the week. 

I could just buy one but I just put up a fake one now. It looks REALLY good and it comes with lights, no fire hazard and it just comes part and goes in a box. Nobody seems to miss the good old days as long as there's still fun stuff under the tree. 

[NeedMoreFans]

We've gone with artificial since my wife and I have been together.  Our current tree is a hand-me-down from my parents that was a pre-lit tree and some of the lights stopped working.  My dad painstakingly took out all the lights and gave it to us, and I just put my own lights on it.  My parents stopped getting real trees because they had one fall down twice within a couple of days.

Even though I have fond memories of getting trees, we stuck with artificial because the cost of a real tree seems excessive (though pre-lit artificial trees are as well).  The worst part of the artificial tree is that somehow, it can collect dust in the offseason even though it's kept in a bag.  A few years ago, I got tiny little cuts on my hands when I was fluffing it, which created a severe allergic reaction from the dust.  It took a few weeks (yes, weeks) and many medicines to get it cleared up, so now I wear gloves when fluffing it. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

We used to go up North and find a tree and cut it down every year. That's when my Grandparents... Uncle and Dad owned land. 

I've since bought it and there are trees all over and that used to be fun. And it was fun for a few years for my own Christmas. And then it was just... 6 hours driving up there. It's like a high of 9 degrees up there, it'll be up to 18 during the week. 

I could just buy one but I just put up a fake one now. It looks REALLY good and it comes with lights, no fire hazard and it just comes part and goes in a box. Nobody seems to miss the good old days as long as there's still fun stuff under the tree. 

I like the fake trees that look real; we've done that for years with the exception of a few years ago when we decided to go 'old school' just for the heck of it. Made me remember why I stopped--the needles, keeping the thing hydrated, sometimes having an issue with fitting it into the stand. Ours doesn't come with the lights though, I still enjoy trimming it from scratch.

My sister & her husband still go out & harvest a tree each year. I give 'em credit.

Six hours---that's UP NORTH alright😐.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, NeedMoreFans said:

  It took a few weeks (yes, weeks) and many medicines to get it cleared up, so now I wear gloves when fluffing it. 

Ours doesn't collect dust when stored; but thanks for pointing out the possibility of the tiny cuts. It solves the mystery of the gloves that came with our tree. I thought to myself "why do I get a pair of batting gloves with the tree?" The thing isn't very old & still pretty supple. Maybe I'll need the gloves down the road.

[CheezWizHed]

I took my family out into the wilderness to cut down a Christmas tree, but forgot the axe, so we just dug it up and brought it home.  But keeping it hydrated was a chore.  My uncle was smoking a cigar near it and the whole thing went up in smoke. 

Thankfully, I had an evergreen in the yard that served as an emergency standin.  But when I did bring it in, a squirrel came with it and it chased the family around the house for a while (we all suffer from an odd fear of squirrels - sciurophobia ).  

But it is Christmas with the family that counts. 😉

[CheezWizHed]

But seriously... I grew up with real trees that we'd find on my parent's land.  My wife and I only did artificial ones (she grew up in Iowa where trees are an invasive species) until a few years back when we bought one real tree.  It was nice, but the clean-up was more a headache than the benefits.  So we are back to artificial trees. We have a place under the stairs where we store it so we don't have to put it away totally (just cover it with sheets - minimal fluffing).

[LouisEly]

I used to have a small fiber optic tree.  The tips of the "needles" were fiber optic lights that changed color.  The motor burned out, but my friends thought it was the coolest thing.

Now I just have a 7' lighted palm tree.  It's out year-round.

[nate82]

I get stung by a scorpion every year I bring my artificial tree out.  Also some how a scorpion got inside of an ornament and it is now permanently stuck in there.  

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, LouisEly said:

I used to have a small fiber optic tree.  The tips of the "needles" were fiber optic lights that changed color.  The motor burned out, but my friends thought it was the coolest thing.

Now I just have a 7' lighted palm tree.  It's out year-round.

I've seen those; they ARE really cool. Not surprising that the motor would go belly up eventually.

[madbad2000]

Artificial.  I bought ta really nice, realistic tree once I got out of the army and wasn't dragging my belongings with me all the time.  Bought it post Christmas on a mega sale and been going strong for 11 years now.  I trim it completely and we make it an event with the kids.  I play christmas music and we reminisce about the memories of the ornaments and where we got them.  We make it a habit to get an ornament from our major travel trips each year, do the annual family picture ornament and have accumulated some nice German ornaments over the year for the cultural tie in with my wife being German.

Growing up we did a real tree one time and never again.  Such a hassle to acquire, install and upkeep.  I also much prefer to see the trees growing in nature instead of a one time use being cut down and drying out in my living room.

Thankfully we have not had many mishaps.  Our little cat made a run up the tree her first year, but she is so small nothing happened.  The commotion that came with getting her out probably scarred her from doing it again, even though she does love hanging out under it.  

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 hours ago, madbad2000 said:

 

Thankfully we have not had many mishaps.  Our little cat made a run up the tree her first year, but she is so small nothing happened.  The commotion that came with getting her out probably scarred her from doing it again, even though she does love hanging out under it.  

Never had an animal-related mishap with one of our trees. But this reminds me of a time as a kid, it was a cold winter & the family dog developed a habit of running out the back door, doing what he had to do, and quickly rushing back in. When the tree was put up he stared at it longingly. In a fit of paranoia my mom yelled at him, "Don't even think about it!!!" Fortunately he didn't.🐶

[BrewerFan]

On 12/9/2025 at 12:34 AM, Jim French Stepstool said:

Six hours---that's UP NORTH alright😐.

Yeah... not my idea, but for some reason my Uncle went from Chicago to a place that didn't have a neighbor(or even a town) within 15 miles and then my Grandparents bought the place next to them and then my Dad bought land.

Then when my Grandparents died, nobody really wanted to sell it out of my Uncles, so... they just let me buy it for... 30 cents on the dollar. Nobody wanted the hassle. The trip sucks though. Especially if it's a 3 day thing, but it's like a different world up there. 

There's an old joke about how you can travel 20 years into the past. Just visit Kentucky? Well... this is a lot like that.

I'd have picked... Buffalo County or somewhere near Lacrosse.

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, BrewerFan said:

Yeah... not my idea, but for some reason my Uncle went from Chicago to a place that didn't have a neighbor(or even a town) within 15 miles and then my Grandparents bought the place next to them and then my Dad bought land.

Then when my Grandparents died, nobody really wanted to sell it out of my Uncles, so... they just let me buy it for... 30 cents on the dollar. Nobody wanted the hassle. The trip sucks though. Especially if it's a 3 day thing, but it's like a different world up there. 

There's an old joke about how you can travel 20 years into the past. Just visit Kentucky? Well... this is a lot like that.

I'd have picked... Buffalo County or somewhere near Lacrosse.

Land in Buffalo County is expensive (I lived there 12 years).  BC is the #1 county in the US for Boone and Crocket rated bucks.  I saw a 16+ point atypical buck on someone's tailgate at KwikTrip during one hunting season.  

10 years ago (when I lived there) people would rent out their hunting land for $1000/week/person.  But a very nice place to live.  LaCrosse area too. 

[BrewerFan]

19 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Land in Buffalo County is expensive (I lived there 12 years).  BC is the #1 county in the US for Boone and Crocket rated bucks.  I saw a 16+ point atypical buck on someone's tailgate at KwikTrip during one hunting season.  

10 years ago (when I lived there) people would rent out their hunting land for $1000/week/person.  But a very nice place to live.  LaCrosse area too. 

Yeah, I just had 3 friends who wanted to buy 120 acres and a really nice Cabin there. It was nice, clean, well maintained. They asked if I wanted to go in and I just couldn't' justify it. I don't hunt. I like having people up for hunting season, but I don't actually like hunting.

If I was moving there... going to live there, It'd definitely be near Lacrosse or Buffalo County. 

[CheezWizHed]

27 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

Yeah, I just had 3 friends who wanted to buy 120 acres and a really nice Cabin there. It was nice, clean, well maintained. They asked if I wanted to go in and I just couldn't' justify it. I don't hunt. I like having people up for hunting season, but I don't actually like hunting.

If I was moving there... going to live there, It'd definitely be near Lacrosse or Buffalo County. 

I moved up to the Twin Cities for family reasons, but am considering moving back after retirement. 

[Baldkin]

I am 47, single, and a Christmas curmudgeon due to being forced to listen to Christmas music for 4 months a year (Halloween until Valentine's Day) when I worked customer service. 

 

I don't decorate. I celebrate. 

 

 

[hawing]

On 12/17/2025 at 12:53 AM, Baldkin said:

I am 47, single, and a Christmas curmudgeon due to being forced to listen to Christmas music for 4 months a year (Halloween until Valentine's Day) when I worked customer service. 

 

I don't decorate. I celebrate. 

 

 

You had Christmas music into February?! 😧

The radio stations around here that go "all Christmas" cut off that spigot at midnight on December 26.  For me that feels a little early - I would run it through New Year's Eve - but past January 1 is just nonsensical. You have earned your curmudgeon status. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

I really prefer the old-old-OLD school practice of putting up & trimming the tree a handful of days before Christmas & leaving it up through the 'Twelve Days". I practice the latter, and try to wait until the week after Thanksgiving to haul it out.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, hawing said:

You had Christmas music into February?! 😧

The radio stations around here that go "all Christmas" cut off that spigot at midnight on December 26.  For me that feels a little early - I would run it through New Year's Eve - but past January 1 is just nonsensical. You have earned your curmudgeon status. 

Agreed. Stations should refrain from starting Christmas music before the halloween candy gets stale, and run 'em through til the end of the year.

[TURBO]

38 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Agreed. Stations should refrain from starting Christmas music before the halloween candy gets stale, and run 'em through til the end of the year.

Christmas music should NOT start anytime before thanksgiving imo.

The day after thanksgiving until New Year's Eve is fine, anymore than that is overkill.

[AKCheesehead]

2 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I really prefer the old-old-OLD school practice of putting up & trimming the tree a handful of days before Christmas & leaving it up through the 'Twelve Days". I practice the latter, and try to wait until the week after Thanksgiving to haul it out.

Wow, if you leave it up for 11+ months, that tree's gotta be drier than a popcorn fart by the time you haul it out. 

 

Kidding, JFS, I know what you meant.  

[Jimbo]

Last night, I heard Mariah Carey twice in fifteen minutes.  I'm good for 2025.

 

[NeedMoreFans]

It's become an annual tradition that someone in my family is sick.  We had three years in a row where someone had a stomach virus, several of us got sick over Christmas on a trip to the Dominican a couple years ago, and now this year one of my kids has a fever.  If it's not Christmas, it's Thanksgiving (another stomach flu one year, pink eye, random fever)...