Real Versus Fake

I know I could be talking about a variety of things (real versus fake) but in keeping in the season, I’m talking about Christmas trees.

I’m a “real” girl. Ever since I could remember we had a real Christmas tree. It’s funny but all of these years later I can’t remember actually shopping for a tree though I know we (obviously) did. There’s no way my dad would have gone somewhere to chop down our Christmas tree. 

And we never went in for those flocked Christmas trees that were pink, white or blue. Nope – my family was strictly the forest green type of people. 

I do remember that after my dad died (in 1977) and my sister and I married, my mom got a much smaller tree. She would bring in a small round wood table from the backyard, shroud it in a Christmas tree skirt and place a short (maybe three or four foot) tree atop the table. Thinking back, it looked nice. 

Growing up, Steve and his family actually had a Christmas tree lot. For a couple of years he’d be out there with his brothers and dad, selling trees and hauling them onto people’s cars. Now that’s a magical job! I do remember, though, that one Christmas season was particularly hot and windy, drying out the trees. Yuck!

Since Steve and I set up our own house, we’ve always had a real tree. I remember one year buying it on Christmas Eve like they do in one of the movies we watch every year. What a disaster that was! Not only did we not get a discount, but putting it up and decorating it on Christmas Eve was a pain in the neck! That is not something I want to repeat.

In the early years when fake trees were coming to market, they looked artificial. First, there was no smell; I love the smell of a real Christmas tree. Second, they looked fake. Many of the early ones were made of aluminum – not exactly conducive to the look of a real tree. Fun fact: did you know that the first, early Christmas trees were made in Germany of dyed goose feathers? I can’t even imagine! 

But artificial trees have come a long way since those early days of feathers and aluminum. Today’s trees have evolved from aluminum to plastic and there are even fiber-optic ones. We have an artificial tree outside our office here at CV Weekly and it brings me joy to decorate it.

Who knows? Now that the boys are gone maybe Steve and I will explore the world of artificial trees…