I keep going back and forth on which is better to have. For me, there are pros and cons of each:
Pro of real tree: has that wonderful smell, every year it's a fun challenge to see if we can "top" it as the best tree ever! LOL, can find a great tree for under $40, looks real because it is real, don't have to bend it into shape, don't have to store it.
Cons of real tree: the mess it creates bringing it in and taking it out (even with those disposable bags), have to keep it watered daily, can't handle heavy ornaments, long run more expensive, dealing with all those lights yearly, have to take it down in a timely manner to avoid a BiG mess, droopy branches and falling ornaments if it starts to dry out.
Pro of fake tree: can take heavier ornaments, lights are already on, not messy, long run is less expensive, don't have to water it, have a consistent tree - same shape, no drying out or droopy branches, can put it up earlier and take it down later.
Cons of Fake tree: short run more expensive, have to store it yearly, have to shape it yearly, no tree smell, doesn't look "real". They are getting close, but unless you spend a FORTUNE, they still look fake, no surprise or 'wow" factor to "isn't this a great tree this year?"
There aren't allergies to think about with us either, so which is better? Even environmentally they are both bad - one is using trees and depleting soil nutrients and it just seems so wasteful to have MILLIONS and MILLIONS of trees thrown out and recycled every year. But fake trees clog landfills and are plastic and release toxins while manufacturing.
Which to do???? What do you all do? Fake or real and why?
Melissa
I have two artificial trees, one 7 feet tall, one 4 feet tall. I live in a two story apartment, so I put the taller one in the living room window, and the shorter one on a tall stand in the upper story window.
I use artificial trees because I do not have the time for the maintenance of live trees. My apartment is very dry during the winter, and I would end up watering and sweeping needles every day.
They are both long-needled trees, which I believe look more like live trees than the short-needled ones.
I also use lots of lights (over 1000 on the 7" tree), so I definitely needed to artificial, with flame retardancy a purchasing factor (read the box carefully - if it does not say that it is flame retardant, do not buy it!). A real tree would not be able to take the weight or heat of all those lights.
Theresa 
Isn't that funny, I think the long needled fakes look obviously fake! LOL I guess that's why they make all sorts. The new molded fake trees are REALLY great. The needles are actually real tree needle replicas, so they are short and long and rounded, etc just like real trees. Now, if they could just make the trunks more realistic!!!
Melissa
Last year we bought a fake tree for the first time. I liked that I didn't have to move all the packages to water but I missed the smell and stuff.
My husband swore to me that the one we picked out would fit in front of the window where I always put my real ones but when I got it home I discovered that it was too tall without the angel. I have a vaulted ceiling so I was able to find it a home but I was annoyed.
I liked not having to clean the carpet but I don't like the fake tree trunk.
I also prefer the short needles.
Well, my son made the decision for me. (He's ten). He really wants a real tree. So it looks like we will have one real tree for the homemade ornaments and a fake one for the "pretty" tree. Now, which fake tree to get? a tall skinny one in a pot (but I wouldn't be able to use all my ornaments). Or a standard tree, but will be pushing my space limits (and dh's! LOL)
Melissa
Well, I'm for sure going to Michael's since I have $345 on a return card....
Can't wait to put it up! I Love trees!
Melissa
I saw this really cute pink christmas tree that I want to get my daughter next year when she is bigger but I love there trees even though a little bit pricy. But I have the 7 1/2 foot tree and its very nice and prelite and comes in 3 peices easy to put together and easy to take apart and no worring about puting lights on.
Home Depot is having a 6 ft Pre-lit tree with white lights for sale on BlackFriday for $29.99 plus you get a $30 Home Depot gift card when you send in a mail in rebate.
You know.... when I was a kid, I remember that our trees had incredibly sharp needles. I remember getting them stuck in my feet. When they fell out, they were usually V shaped and behaved like a wishbone.
However, now I see that most trees have soft needles, even when they fall off the tree. Even when they are CRISP, they aren't sharp - these are firs. I think we had pines as kids. I think if I had to deal with sharp pine needles, the choice would be obvious, but I have soft needles and the tree stays moist from Dec. 10 to Jan 8 (watered daily with the bottom cut off right before putting up the tree. I don't even lose that many needles. It's only getting itout of the house that it gets wedged in doorways and never fits quite right in their disposable tree bags.
I would be really surprised if our cat could hurt himself on these needles... so glad to not have those sharp needles any more!
Melissa
I think the fake I got will look pretty real. The tips are molded from a real tree. The smell won't be there, so that's why we're deciding now between having which tree upstairs and which downstairs? We spend more time upstairs - so should that be where the real tree is? Or downstairs where it's cooler and will be easier to take in and out of the house?
The fake tree is REALLLLLLLY heavy, so I don't know if I would want to carry that upstairs every year! So, maybe that should go downstairs...
It's a tough call, but at least I don't have to decide on which tree as I got the last tree yesterday after trying two stores. I guess they were flying out of the stores because this particular tree looked so real!
Melissa
Real Trees: trigger my asthma.
Fake Trees: yucky plastic, but that's what we have to use.
Cheers, from
SwampWitch
I'm a huge fan of real trees. One of my fondest childhood memories was going to the tree farm with my parents and sister each year in early December and searching for the "perfect" tree. I remember we'd always find at least 10 "perfect" trees before we found "the one". 
My husband and I go pick out our tree every year and I can't wait to do the same thing when we have kids. 
Always a real one for me. I love the smell and look. I don't have a problem with needles dropping. I always spray with the stuff that's supposed to stop needles dropping. i use a proper tree stand thats filled with water. I only have to top it up every 2 -3 days. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a real tree
We do the "perfect tree" search too, though we don't cut our own any more, but we make an afternoon of it at the tree lot! LOL We tried at the tree farm a couple times and their trees just weren't as good and were more expensive than the ones at the lot.... I don't think Christmas would be right for me either without a real tree, but two real trees would be a pain, so I'm good to go now with one fake for the rec. room and one real for the living room...
Mleissa
key to my decision would be: how much of the tree will show once decorated?
for me, i have boxes and boxes and BOXES of ornaments. then there's the lights and the special lights and the tinsel garland and the ornamental garland and the twisty icicles and the hanging toys and the candy canes... you get the idea... for me, the tree is a support system for the decorations. it doesn't matter if it's real or artificial. artificial works best for strength but real i get to use tinsel icicles. so either is ok.
but if you're the sort who has only a few dozen choice ornaments, a simple garland, a few lights, then real would be the way to go. the tree is the main event then and you want it to be the best possible.
for me, the tree is a support system for the decorations. it doesn't matter if it's real or artificial. artificial works best for strength
BINGO!!!
"My" tree has some heavy porcelain balls and with a real tree I can't hang them or I risk the chance of them breaking especially now that we have hard wood floors. I also am REALLY picky with ornament placement, so I can't stand having all the heavy ones in one section and lighter things only on teh bottom. Plus, with the garland, sometimes spacing between branches is too much to get a nice swag. So, for "my" tree I prefer artificial for what you described - support system for the ornaments.
Now, the family tree has all lightweight ornaments and garland, so a real tree works fine. I will admit however, we specifically only make lightweight ornaments specifically so we can hang them anywhere on the tree without worry.
Melissa
I am with swampwitch...
real trees trigger my asthma.. found out in second grade. my parents got a real tree. I don't think they even got it decorated before they had to get rid of it.
so i will always have a fake one and same with everyone in my family.
also-- i know that yankee has some piney scented candles out right now-- it might help get that real tree smell.
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