”MADE IN CHINA” Ping.
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Posted on 12/01/2007 6:50:28 PM PST by JACKRUSSELL
(LONGMONT) — For anybody selling artificial trees, it’s a merrier Christmas every year.
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 9.3 million American households bought a manufactured tree last year. That’s up from 7.3 million in 2001.
And while real trees still have a three-to-one edge in sales, the long life of an artificial tree means that plastic is slowly crowding its way into the center of the Christmas card.
Five years ago, a nation-wide study found that 60 percent of the homes that put up a tree chose to go artificial.
“People will lie to you, but artificial trees have kicked real trees in the butt,” said Kenneth McCoy, who runs more than 30 Christmas tree lots along the Front Range, including two in Longmont. “They bring in shiploads of artificial trees from China, and you just can’t compete on the price.”
Ironically, though, people who purchase artificial trees want realistic-looking ones.
“Our most popular ones are the ones that most resemble trees from around here,” said Dan Gust of Ace Hardware. That means not a deep-green plastic pine but a yellow-green one, like many evergreens that grow in mountain soil.
Of course, those who want a little variety can easily find it. In Gust’s store alone, black trees, rainbow trees and even an aluminum tree with a reflector light — the sort of tree that caused Charlie Brown’s despair — are available.
“You’d have to be into nostalgia to want that tree,” Gust acknowledged. “But if you’re into nostalgia, it’s great.”
The most popular trees tend to be about 7 feet high, though he sells about a dozen 12-footers every year, and they’re slim enough to be an easy fit, even if placed in the foyer, he said.
But even a forest of choices has limits. As pre-lit trees grow in popularity, unlit trees are getting harder to find.
“I wish I could get more, but manufacturers just aren’t stocking them,” said Gust, who uses a pre-lit one in his own home for convenience. “We get a few customers who want to do their own lights, but the demand is not very great.”
For those who want to go artificial, Gust suggested the following tips:
• Never buy a tree you can’t see. If there’s not a sample on the floor, avoid it.
• Decide how much decorating you plan to do. If you want to load five years’ worth of ornaments on the tree, choose one that’s not very full. If you just plan to do lights and tinsel, a fuller tree can work.
• Decide if you want to put the tree in front of a window. If so, pick the fullest tree possible, to keep light from leaking in between the branches.
• Take your time. A good manufactured tree can last 12 to 15 years these days, Gust said.
Next on my to-do list, don't chew on the fake Christmas tree.
We bought an artificial tree when we lived in Japan because real trees were hard to get and expensive. It still looks good so we still use it.
Do I get carbon credits for using an artificial tree?
Our tree is at least as old as our daughter, so it’s about 15 years, possibly more. I think it’s still our first tree, so it’s as old as my marriage.
When I lived in Los Angeles, I never got a tree because I was never home and was afraid my cats would attack it. 2 years ago, when I moved my mom in with me in KC, I bought a cheap $30.00 fake tree from Ace Hardware thinking that if my cats destroyed it, it wasn’t much money down the drain. The tree looked GREAT and my cats didn’t give it a second thought. Now, I have 2 puppies. What to do, what to do.
I LOVE real trees. Can’t beat the smell- BUT...
Down here in LA, they have been cut weeks before we get them. I like to leave my tree up till January- or longer! Real ones just aren’t fresh enough to last that long.
But- my BIGGEST problem with real trees is— they are all trimmed to be too blasted triangular! I want a sweeping, layered tree like you always see in movies. A tree with spaces between the branches for my glass ornaments. Don’t ever see those unless you’re looking for a 20 footer for a business place or something.
Fresh trees here are always too full and too trimmed- they look like solid green cones. The ornaments lay on the outside of the branches instead of being able to dangle. The last real tree I bought was 2 years ago- a Fraser- and I got the hacksaw and cut a ton of branches out of it to give it the ‘open’ look I like.
Another thing about real trees- they start at $30-40. I spent $65 last time. That’s a LOT for something dead that won’t last much past Christmas day.
Yes..yes, I realize most people toss theirs out Christmas evening. Not me. January 6 is the last day of Christmas, we have Reveillion. I’ve been known to leave my tree up till Mardi Gras! If I had room for more than one tree, I’d have an aluminum one too!
Every year we go to a farm and pick out a tree. They cut it down and we haul it home. And we are talking about a 7-8 footer. $16.
LOL!
Bought one in Singapore, upgraded to a larger pre-lit one in the US, been “fake” ever since.
I LOVE live trees - the artificial tree was the first fake one I’ve bought. The only problem with real trees is they become so dry and prickly when it’s time to dispose of them. Also, I live by myself and they are too heavy for me to carry or put up. I’m just a mere weak woman. :-)
Three foot pre-lit tree. Went in the closet still decorated last year, came out a week ago and went on the table, no fuss.
I figure when we’ve been married a few years and have kids we’ll upgrade to a “real tree”.
I am not a big fan of pine, as a wood. Trees are not generic things, they very widely by species. So just “planting trees” isn’t enough.
America used to have extensive hardwood forests. They take longer to grow, but they produce much better wood. Instead of just planting pine everywhere, some thought should go into planting forests that won’t be of much use for 50-100 years.
Granted, we won’t be able to make money from them as fast as with “superpines” that grow in just a few years. But eventually, our descent will again have fine furniture made from trees like cherry, that are now used only for fruit, and a lot of tangible benefits from having more diversity in our forests.
Sure, there are lots of places where only pine grows well. But if you can have other trees, they have a multitude of other uses as well.
Bought a 6’ blue spruce today. It is situated in the tree stand with a fresh 1/2” of trunk cut so it can drink the water.
The tree smells wonderful, full and now with the lights on it darn near magical. We bought one with a strong top branch to support the angel and wide bottom to fill with presents. The limbs are sturdy to hold the ornaments collected over the years.
Thanks to that tree, this year’s Christmas celebration at our home will be greatly enhanced.
I wish I could have a real tree. I LOVE them, and always swore I’d never have a fake one. I haven’t had one since a few years after we got married. (18 years in January) My husband is allergic.
Turns out it is a good thing, since we discovered that our son is severely allergic when he went to spend the night somewhere. We had to pick him up in the middle of the night, and he was having trouble breathing.
“Now, I have 2 puppies. What to do, what to do.”
Put a waterproof skirt around the base of the tree, and whatever you do, DON’T put the presents there.
I sorry to hear about the allergies in your family. Good thing you figured out the source as soon as you did.
Christmas is not about the tree anyway, or the presents, or the 50” Panasonic Plasma with 1080p resolution.
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