Pros and Cons of Artificial Christmas Trees

We've talked about how great real trees are and yes, I have mostly trashed the fake ones. Case in point - see my post about Pink Christmas trees. However jaded I may be about plastic knock-offs, I can see certain advantages to them. In the spirit of fairness, I have come up with a personal list of pros and cons of artificial Christmas trees. If you are more open-minded than I am about them, you may have even more for the 'pros' side.


The Pros of Artificial Christmas Trees

• Saves you having to go out to find and purchase the "perfect" real tree
• More economical - buy once, use for many years
• Predictability - you always know how big it will be and what it's going to look like
• No needles to clean up
• No worry about watering
• The cats won't likely climb the trunk
• Easy to get rid of after Christmas, no dragging through the house and out to the curb
• No worry about placing too close to the heat vent because it won't dry out
• You don't have to worry about or buy a safe tree stand
• You can shape and place the branches to sit where you want them
• If you have the room, you can store them decorated for the following year

The Cons of Artificial Christmas Trees

• You must store them properly to keep them clean and uncrushed
• They can be time consuming to assemble
• The branches can get badly bent out of shaped or flattened
• Initial outlay can be costly if you want a very large or spectacular tree
• They don't look smell like a real tree
• The tradition of family outings to get the tree is lost
• You may become bored with the same tree every year
• Cheap artificial trees look very fake - you can usually see through to the centre

Well, there you have it, my personal list of the pros and cons of artificial Christmas trees. I have a feeling that I'll be adding to this list. Meantime, check out a few of the artificial trees that Amazon is offering this year.

     

Christmas Tree Stands Should Be Safe as Well as Functional

Christmas Tree Stands - Think safety

Are you one of those Canadians who prefers to still have a real Christmas tree? Perhaps you're a true die-hard, trudging through waist-deep snow in the wilds or at a tree farm to find the 'perfect' tree and chop it down with your own, bare hands.

Anybody besides me thinking about Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation?

There's no question, the smell of a real tree is wonderful but there are different things to consider when setting it up that don't pertain to artificial trees. Like Christmas tree stands. Sure, they're necessary for holding up the tree but they should be safe as well as functional.

When trying to chose from the available selection of Christmas tree stands, there are a few things to watch for, from a safety stand point:

• Think about a big bottom. For the stand, I mean. The wider the bottom, the more stable it will be. This is particularly important if you have a cat or two that likes to climb the tree.

• How easy is it to see the water level and refill? We all know that when a tree gets too dry, bad things happen, like the needles fall off, getting hopelessly stuck in the shag carpeting and your beautiful Christmas tree becomes a fire hazard. By the way, your stand should have a 4 litre capacity.

• If you have my mother's old Christmas tree stand then it will have metal legs. Mom's had 3 and was quite tippy, it's a wonder that we didn't continuously knock it over. When thinking about using a stand with legs, make sure it is very sturdy to avoid accidents, such as an anxious child falling into it and spilling water all over the gifts beneath. It wasn't me.

• Speaking of old Christmas tree stands with 3 legs...mom's had three or four metal screws to hold the tree in place. Invariably, we would spend about an hour trying to get the thing to stand up straight, we always managed to get it crooked initially. We'd tighten the screw on the left, the tree went too far; tighten the right one, it leaned too far the other way. We'd fool around like that forever until we either got it or gave up. If your stand has screws, it's really important that they be made of metal. You need them strong enough to take the weight and pressure of holding that trunk up until you take your tree down. One broken plastic screw could cause you a big problem when your tree falls over and spills water all over the gifts. I've heard that can happen. :-)

If you are sticking with the wonderful tradition of going with the real thing this year, I wish you much luck in finding the one that's perfect you and your family. It will make the holiday extra special for all.

Just please remember: Christmas tree stands should be safe as well as functional.

Unwind with Prelit Christmas Trees

I remember when I was little, watching my mother string large, colourful lights onto the Christmas tree. She'd wind them around and around until she either reached the top or ran out. If she ran out, then she'd have to unwrap them from the tree and start again. Today, my mother wouldn't have to go to all that trouble, thanks to nifty little inventions called prelit Christmas trees.

I'm not sure which benefit of having an artificial prelit Christmas tree I like the idea of best. I mean, sure the lights are typically all of the mini variety and usually clear but hey, I happen to like the clear mini-lights. Besides, the trees usually have a ton of lights on them for a fully, pretty look. Naturally, the best thing of all is the fact that I don't have to put lights on the tree because it's already done and done well at that.

Pre-lit Christmas Trees

As with most kinds of artificial Christmas trees, the prelit variety is available in a myriad of sizes, colours and features.

These are just a few that are available on the market today:

• Prelit Pull up Christmas Trees
• Collapsable Christmas Prelit Trees
• Pre-Lit Flocked Alaskan Artificial Tree
• Prelit Silver Laser Tinsel Artificial Christmas Tree - Clear Lights
• 7.5' Slim Green Pencil Pine Artificial Christmas Tree6 foot Slim No. 2 Pencil Artificial Christmas Tree with Clear Lights

Some of these are pretty funky. Check out the pencil tree. I'd never seen one of those. Think I still prefer a fuller one myself.

If you're one of those purchasing prelit Christmas trees this year, I know that you're going to love not having to wind lights around branches anymore.

Outdoor Christmas Tree Decorations - Homemade Ornaments

Homemade Ornaments for Outdoor Christmas Trees

Well, yesterday I told you that an outdoor Christmas tree would be a nice decoration for your yard, deck, porch or patio. In that post, I mentioned that I would try to come up with some ideas for homemade ornaments that the kids could make, or at least help with, to feel more involved in the process.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

• Pine Cone Ornaments - Use as is or paint/spray paint and hang using yarn, string or strips of plastic. Naturally, if your pine cones need a hole drilled, an adult will have to assist.

• Bird Food Hangers - The large seed bells, suet hangers, etc. Makes a nice Christmas gift for your feathered friends and you don't have to do anything but hang them. There are also several online articles about how to make decorations for the birds. Just do a search and choose the ones that you want to try creating yourself. This is a nice family activity and Christmas tradition that you can start with your kids.

• There is a whole page of ideas for kids crafts on the AllFreeCrafts website. Click on the link then scroll down the page to the Christmas Crafts for Kids section. Not all of them are suitable for outdoors but some are and the rest, your youngsters can make to decorate the inside of the house.

You truly are only limited by your imagination when it comes to homemade ornaments. Why not make something completely unique? Why not give it Canadian theme? It's a great opportunity to come up with new ways to recycle. You might even create something that you'll be able to sell.

If you have photos of your outdoor Christmas tree decorations, feel free to send them in for inclusion in a future post.

Have fun!

Make Your Yard Festive with an Outdoor Christmas Tree This Year

Do you have your lights and decorations up outside yet? If you plan on decorating your house and/or yard, now's the time to do it, before bad weather sets in. Setting up an outdoor Christmas tree may be something you want to consider when deciding how you want the finished product to look. It's probably unique to your neighbourhood, not many people have them, and they look really cool on a porch or patio. Heck, you could even set one up in your carport, if you want to.

If you go this route, it gives you an opportunity to be completely creative. Give your tree a theme and set up the surrounding area to match, if possible. Canadian House & Home has a nice example of that here. They show a picture of a decorated tree on a porch laid out with a Muskoka cottage feel.

Preparing your tree is the same outdoors as indoors, with a couple of exceptions - make sure that your lights are for outdoor use and your ornaments can take snow, rain, wind, etc. Find a level spot, set up your real or artificial tree and start decorating. The kids would probably love to help you, too. It might even be a nice way to show off ornaments that they can make out of weather-proof materials. Come to think of it, I'll see if I can't come up with some ideas for that.

A note about going the artificial route for your outdoor Christmas tree: some may hold up against the weather and weight of snow better than others. If your tree is not in a protective area, you may be taking a chance.

Whether you use the real thing or a faux tree, have fun with it. Think how nice it will look in gently falling snow at Christmastime.

Free Christmas Music Downloads

Now that Hallowe'en is over, everyone's mind is shifting to the Holiday season. I was out on the weekend and the stores are already starting to get pretty busy.

For me, music is a mood lifter and enhancer. To get into the spirit of things, usually all it takes is some appropriate music. I love Christmas songs most all, they work better to put me in the right frame of mind than any other kind. It just works for me.

There are probably a million places where you can get Christmas music, much of it you can listen to for free. If it's just for the personal pleasure of you and your family, you're probably good to go on any site offering tunes at no charge. Just take care that you don't download a virus and if you plan on downloading then uploading to your website, be sure to check the copyright license.

Here are some websites offering free Christmas music downloads that I found.

• Incompetech - I'm sending you directly to the Holiday page. You'll have to scroll down just a little to find the songs. It mentions in the FAQ that while the music is free, a $5 donation is gratefully accepted if listeners so choose to show their appreciation financially to Kevin MacLeod, site owner and musician.

• Christmas with the Swirrels - The kids will absolutely love this one! I'd be willing to bet there won't be a young child who can resist singing along.

• Feels Like Christmas - Once again, I seem to be boasting a (sort of) competitor site but you can't beat free legal downloads, can you? Most of the songs here are performed by independent artists.

• Christmas MPFree - A source of traditional and original, free legal Christmas music downloads.

• EZ Tracks - This site offers up free carols, hymns, orchestral, and kids music by well-known names and in a variety of genres. You can even download your favourite song as a ringtone - for free.

Well, that should be enough to get you started. Now, you can compile your family's best loved Holiday music in preparation for the season. And it won't cost you a penny.

Hope you enjoy your free Christmas music downloads!

Christmas Tree Ornaments - Where Have the Canadian Ones Gone?

Is it just me, or is the world in short supply of uniquely Canadian Christmas Tree Ornaments? Maybe they're out there and I just haven't found them, I'm not a huge shopper and usually stick to online purchases. That is perhaps, the problem.

Last year, I found a few crazy Canuck ornaments, some of them are even still available through Amazon. There were silly, of course, but they did had a distinctly Canadian theme. Not that I would hang some of those on my tree but I'm trying to stick to the blog's point of a Canadian Christmas.

Anyway, I did find a few decorations dedicated to our country. On Amazon, of course. I'll refrain from calling them tasteful.
Hmm, okay not a few, just one. The rest were either repeats of the ones that I posted last year or were American sports ornaments (what??). At least this little guy is cute. They refer to him as a Canadian boy. We grow 'em hairy here in the north. :)

If memory serves me, last year I suggested that you skip the country-specific decorations and use the Gingerbread cookie recipe and decoration instructions to make your own ornaments. Well, I'm giving you the same advice this year. Not an original tip perhaps, but a better looking end product.

For those of you already getting into the spirit of all things Santa, have fun preparing or shopping for your Christmas tree ornaments this year. If you find or make any that scream Canuck, please do let me know.

Pink Christmas Trees - Not Just for Barbie Anymore

Pink Christmas Trees - so Barbie-esque!

Okay, let's have a show of hands - who doesn't love pink Christmas trees? Uh-huh, that's what I thought. My hand was up, too.

Although that much pink makes me think of Barbie and taffeta, there are people who just love the colour on their tree, apparently. I've heard rumblings and rumours that pink Christmas trees are making a come back, I just haven't been able to fathom why yet. I'm not saying they're not pretty, just mentioning that they don't put me in the traditional Christmas spirit. Rather, I get the feeling that little ballerinas in tutus are about to jump out and start performing Swan Lake or something. They truly do make me think of Barbie every time I see one. That's just me, I guess.

Believe it or not, pink Christmas tree sales are on the rise. I've tried imagining a family sitting around fluffy pink boughs, digging out gifts from Santa. I'm usually pretty good at visualization but I just can't pull this one off. If you happen to have a picture of something like that, please send it to me and I'll post it on here.

Actually, I can see a very good and practical use for these symbols of femininity. They would be perfect for brand recognition in the corporate offices of Mary Kay Cosmetics or at a Breast Cancer Awareness function, for example. I can picture the Barbie-esque trees in those situations, just not my (or anyone else's) home.

Just in case, you love pink Christmas trees, here's a few for you to look at:

   

A Buy Nothing Christmas

Some people might think I'm nuts for doing this but I'm going to plug another site here. I came across it while searching for a different Christmas topic and was intrigued enough to go and read this 'A Buy Nothing Christmas' Alternatives page. Just click on the name, it's linked and will take you to where I'm talking about.

There are quite a few suggestions for making low or no cost gifts, adopting an animal species on the brink of extinction, recycling and bunches more, all for Christmas gift giving. The point obviously, is to avoid buying the traditionally expensive presents that have become synonymous with the season.

So many of us suffer overwhelming consumerism at this time of year. We buy stuff nobody needs and that we can't afford. That's not always the case, certainly, but sometimes it seems that things have spiraled out of control. I just think that it would be nice to step back a little and give more from the heart than the credit card. Gee, that sounds a little cynical, doesn't it. Guess, I'd better dig out my Santa hat and start getting into the spirit more myself.

Meantime, check out the site. You might find some ideas that are perfect for the people on your list this year without having to spend a fortune. It's fun to make personal gifts or to give something totally unique and extra thoughtful. The recipients will love it, too!

3 Months to Go Until Christmas...Again, Already!

Wow. Yesterday, I was wearing shorts and tank top in the hot sunshine, here in my little part of Ontario. This morning, I wake up and realize that it's only 3 months to the day until Christmas. Again. Already. Maybe it's me but it seems that it comes around a little faster each year.

Regardless of my perceptions or feelings about the fleeting passage of days, it's time to start gearing up for Santa's annual visit. In the days and weeks to come, I'll be scouring for Christmas ideas, gifts, decorations, crafts and anything else I can find that will hopefully help you get excited about another Christmas in our beautiful Canada.

Here we go!