What did you pay for your Christmas tree?

couldn't tell you, haven't had a real tree in years, haven't actually put up any tree in about three years now that i think of it

I don't think I've ever bought a Christmas tree.

Mo thinks they're groovy so I might do one this year -- especially if I get one that I can plant in the yard.

We have a pine tree -- about a 50 foot pine tree - in our yard and my neighbor and I have considered lighting it for the holiday. I have some gigantic ornaments that I used to use to decorate my photo studio for the holiday that would really be kind of in scale to the size of the tree.

That might be kind of fun.

If you buy a tree you should get one that you can plant in your yard. Not only would that be cool(specially if you did that every year or so, cause that way you could be like.....yes this tree is from christmas of 2000, 2001, 2002, etc), but it's also better for the environment. So many trees go to waste after christmas, piles of them everywhere.

Hey there sufp.

Here the trees are recycled into compost.

They have big collection bins at the city parks.

The garbage guys won't haul them away so you really don't have any choice but to take them to the recycling bin.

I assumed that was pretty common.

Hmm, well thats awesome that they do that. I on the other hand am from a small town where recycling isn't a common term for most. Here there is a drop off place for the trees, then on one of the winter fest nights they have a huge christmas tree fire.......yup, thats us hicks for ya....

Thanks for the info though, perhaps i'll suggest something like that to some folks around here.

Yep, we have that too (compost).

We get a Christmas tree every year, love 'em.

Looked at some the other day while getting greens for miscellaneous stuff. (I love Christmas trees, ADORE fresh greens -- frasier fir, juniper, boxwood, all kinds of good stuff. Use them for wreaths, swags, etc. My house is smellin' GOOD!)

Anyway, the one I really liked (but didn't get, too early, dry by Christmas) was $42. It was a good-lookin' tree.

This year, for the first year ever (and as I said to E.G. I've been wanting to do this since I was like 5), I put lights on our uh what did littlek call them? conifers? They're vaguely Christmas-tree-ish and evergreen. Two of them, at a distance from the house, near the street. They looked absolutely gorgeous, but then the lights stopped working. :-? Haven't figured it out yet. Maybe tomorrow.

we're not there yet - way to hectic around here

If you buy a tree to plant in your yard... double check it is (if you wish... native to your area) and is the right size at maturity for your yard. Isn't famous for some disease, etc. I.e., look at your local good nursery, not, er... home depot or the local chain drug store..

Haven't bought a tree in a couple years, but the last time I did, Home Depot had a really good selection and they started at $10--tho I wouldn't be surprised if they've gone up, cause they used to compete with a chain that's gone under. Got there late Xmas Eve one year, because I wanted more lights, and they'd closed early and put all their left over trees out for free. I had a 2-seater sports car with a hatchback and stuck a 9-footer out of that, about five feet beyond the end of the car, thinking, by god, we're going to have an indoor forest. My girlfriend at the time was not too pleased to see me showing up with ANOTHER tree for the cats to run up and down.

By the way, sozobe, don't know what kind of lights you got, but I'd steer clear of the LED ones they're pushing this year, which are low energy users, but seemingly very fragile. I bought some strings last year when they marked everything down after Xmas, since I really like lights in a lot of different configurations, but the strings fail quickly, or ;arge portions of them just stop lighting. They're a good idea in theory, but from my experience they seem to still have some bugs, cause they're new. Don't know if that's what happened to you or not.

Thanks, username. Nope, not LED lights. Just the regular indoor/outdoor ones, all white. (SO pretty when they were working...)

It's rained a fair amount since I put them out, wonder if it's that. I also got, er, a little extension-cord happy, might be that I overloaded the outlet. I'll go down in the basement and see if I can do something with the breaker box (or whatever it's called) that would help.

Indoor forests rock!

I bet the CAT was happy, anyway...

(Haven't said that I LOVE the idea of giant ornaments on the giant tree.)

We usually buy ours from Home Depot and we've never paid more than 30.00.

It's nice to do a tree when children are young. Mo is a good age to do the tree thing. See if you can find a "cut your own" farm, they tend to be family business' and often sell cookies and apple cider along with the trees. Kids usually love to pick out the tree and help saw it down.

A pre cut tree is usually about $30-$60, cut your own from $15-$50 and a 4-5' ball and burlap live tree is about $100-$150. Live trees are very heavy, bring strong help if you want to go for it.

Don't feel too guilty about the environmental issue. Tree farms tend to be low spray and the Xmas profits often pay the taxes for small farms. Yes, big tree farms do exist, but as an industry go they are not making environmental problems.

If they don't mulch trees in your area, just drag it to a corner of your yard and birds will use it as winter shelter.

I just bought one today, ca. 8 feet high, paid $ 60.00 including delivery charges, and they put up the tree as well.

I like how you've dressed up your avatar CJ!

She looks great, huh?!

I'm with you there! There's nothing like having a Holiday (hehe, stirring the pot) tree that comes out of a box every year.

I think we paid about $60 about 10 years ago. Still as good as new and as good as the real thing! :wink:

We have a gajillion cut your own, small tree farms around here! Most of the farms near the city are small, family operations.

A live tree would be nice and I have a spot in my backyard that could use a lovely tree. I have been thinking apple tree though...

On the coast here and in Texas you could haul your tree down to the beach -- it helps build dunes.

The bird shelter is a cool idea.

It sounds like trees are not too expnsive this year.

I haven't bothered with a christmas tree in years...the last one was an artificial one and even it was too much of a pain to keep watered

I personally do not like the idea of cutting down a tree just to beautify my home for a few days or weeks and then tossing it out. That said, every few years I do put some decorations on the Fraser fir that sits near the property edge between me and a parking lot. (it is on my side of the wall so I get to decorate) and I do not put lights on it, nor do I call it a Christmas tree.

(darned tree is some 50 feet tall now...anybody got a ladder I could borrow? Or maybe a construction crane.)