A real - NOT AN ARTIFICAL - tree (well, he actually got it for me earlier this week).
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This year, the real Holiday dilemma was the Christmas Tree. Last year we had kind of made the decision it was our last time to cut down mother earth for our own Holiday joy. (Do you think sap is like, tears of joy or sadness?)
So I was on the search for a fake tree. (I wasn’t very motivated.) Fake trees are expensive – even at Costco! And they don’t smell good; and where am I going to store the thing I use one month out of the year? And they’re “all”…. Well fake! I spent enough of my teenage years being fake – I don’t need anymore superficial things in my life. I’ve been trying to feng shui in my thirties.
By the way, the other Christmas ornaments (outside of those for decorating our tree) have disappeared. That’s right -- stockings, our Christmas CD's and the little silver Santa and snowman we’d place on the mantle to hang said stockings – AWOL. I find that a little odd. But back to the tree dilemma.
So I’m at the Yoga studio on Monday, and Marta -- the front desk gal -- asks me if we’ve got our tree yet. And I tell her how I’m dragging my feet because we’re trying to be eco-conscious (Suite family tradition is usually to get the tree on the Friday after THXgiving and decorate all day Saturday while listening to the Muppets & John Denver Christmas)…and I haven’t really found a tree that we like, and they’re so expensive, and I want pine needles, but it’s a no-go. . . blah, blah, blah, blah.
And so she gets totally excited and tells me about how it’s actually more green to get a tree from a TREE FARM than a fake one because of the PVC’s and carcinogens.
“…fake trees are made with polyvinyl chloride (or PVC, otherwise known as vinyl), one of the most environmentally offensive forms of non-renewable, petroleum-derived plastic.” --From ask.com
And then there’s the lead concerns, the production in China, etc, etc. Apparently a lot more people knew this than moi… Even our renters knew about this – and they’re Republicans! ;) What can I say? I’m a late bloomer on the issue. But enlightenment is a process, eh? ☺
Oh and btw, if you have an artificial tree, this is absolutely not a judgment…merely a statement that my personal desire for an evergreen in my living room is a Christmas dream come true (sans the guilt!!!). And in the interest of full disclosure, if we were super-hippie tree huggers, than we’d buy one that’s still planted with roots, keep it for just 4 – 10 days (because that’s about as long as they last indoors apparently) and then replant outside in our yard. Apparently that’s the greenest thing to do… but we’re not quite there yet…
Happy Holidays.. Here's a shot of Danny and I taken after the Zions National Real Estate Christmas Party Friday night.
And here's me infront of our "Christmas Village." It's actually Danny's. He said his grandma gave it to him for Christmas when he was like 10 or something.
For more info on the great Christmas Tree debate, here are some world-wide-intraweb sites to check-out:
For more info on the great Christmas Tree debate, here are some world-wide-intraweb sites to check-out:
4 comments:
I expect you are going to plant a new tree for each one of those pine needles that you have just murdered.
We got a real tree too, but not from a tree farm- so does that make it worse or better than a plastic tree?
I am planning to strip down the bark after the holidays and make some diapers.
I read Danny your comment, and he said he thinks your as funny as Andrew Dreschel... which I think is pretty hilarious.
But he doesn't really get Andrew's humor (he didn't "get" Royal Tennebaums either), so I don't know how much he can be trusted. ;)
What if I keep my artificial tree for 15+ years? Thats 15 trees that I've saved. Think of the compounding effects that 15 trees can have on the environment. I'll stick with the artificial.
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