One of the best and most iconic examples of a Christmas tradition in this country is the whole family loading up in the car and going to pick out a Christmas tree. Heck, the teamwork involved in bringing your tree home and then finessing, cramming and sometimes willing it to fit through the door is a family bonding experience in itself! But for many families, that is a tradition of the past. It’s been replaced with the tradition of climbing into the attic and carrying down rubbermaid tub after rubbermaid tub full of artificial tree parts. 

“Do we go with a real tree or an artificial tree this year?” 

Each year leading up to December, we’re faced with the decision to either continue buying a real tree, or continuing to use our fake one. For many of us TEAM REAL TREE die hards, it’s a no-brainer and always will be. On the flipside, many people prefer to go the artificial route, mainly for the ‘pay once, enjoy forever’ aspect. Although that is an attractive selling point, how realistic is it? Especially when you consider the fact that, on average, people use their artificial tree for 6 years max.

Understandably, many households choose the artificial tree for the convenience.  Afterall, you can just light a couple Christmas tree scented candles, prop up the artificial tree and BOOM! You can have your fake cake and eat it too. 

The trend toward real Christmas trees has picked up steam in the recent years. People crave authenticity these days – they want things they know are REAL. There’s also a desire to return to the ways of simpler times with a focus on family and traditions. You’d be hard pressed to find a tradition that ticks those boxes more than taking the family to pick out a Christmas tree, taking it home and decorating it together. It’s a family activity that pulls family members together, and away from their devices. Because of that, the demand for real Christmas trees will certainly continue to climb.