There are not many trees, including firs, that cope well with spending two weeks in a hot room then go outside.  I suppose we all have different ways of being environmentally conscious and most of us will have our weak points, too. It is possible to become disproportionately anxious about a particular issue and blind to another. I know more than one family that agonise over things like waste and composting but fly abroad two or three times a year. There you go.  I shall have my tree, support a local supplier and send it to be composted after Twelfth night. If it's very bad I shall admit my crime and get on with it.
I used to get real trees but in 2009 (or maybe it was 2010) when we had lying snow and treacherous roads for the whole of December I didn't fancy an outing to the Christmas tree farm and I didn't want one that was not very fresh and probably transported a long way from a more local shop, so I got an artificial one. It's been used every year since, 2021 will be its 12th or 13th year, and the most environmentally sound thing to do is to keep using it. I sometimes have some real greenery in a vase or as a wreath or some such thing for the conifer scent.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
The alarming bit is what I was getting at before, or at least meaning to. It mentions a 6.5ft tree that goes to landfill can create an equivalent of 16kg co2 whereas the same size artificial tree produces 40kg but that could be over a far longer period if it's used for a decade. So it comes down to how they are handled by the buyer. For a person with some environmental knowledge they can be negligible in terms of impact but for others who live in the throw away society they are potentially not great.
My OH only does Christmas under extreme sufferance and you would not believe the fuss he used to make when I started moving furniture to accommodate a small 'normal' style of Christmas tree - artificial or real.Â
About 5 years ago I bought a pre-lit artificial snowy birch twig one which is only about 1 metre high. It sits very neatly on the chest in the hall so can be seen from outside and as you walk round the house. I think it's very pretty adorned with a selection of my very best decorations and should be good for us to use for a few years yet.
In the sitting room I have a few table decos dotted about but the very large and rustic mantle shelf is smothered in greenery from the garden, fairy lights and candles. It looks very festive and is the focal point of the room so I don't miss having a tree in there.
OH is happy that I only move  few ornaments to accommodate the tree. It's not in the way and I think even he quite likes the other decorations...Â
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
There are all sorts of things we could cut out of our lives in the cause of reducing environmental impact, but we are humans, not machines and need spiritual sustenance as well as fuel.
At this dark and often dreary time of year it helps most of us to add some cheerfulness and jollity to our everyday diet, no matter what we believe. It helps some to face the daily struggle and all we can hope is that more and more people are thinking about the true cost of their actions and making considered decisions.
It is easier to give things up if you value something else more, but though we all find it hard to change our ways some of us try, while some people are too thoughtless or foolish to ever get to that point.
Just because it isn't real doesn't mean it has to be plastic.
I have an alternative Xmas tree too - Scandinavian style arrangement of bare branches (I used home grown bamboo stems) with lights and baubles. I hang it in the hall against a red wall and it adds interest without taking up loads of space.  This is it, unlit, and it's great for all my brass baubles which are too heave for a real tree.
We have wooden ceilings - easy for hanging hooks - so last year I also hung a branch above the fireplace in the dining room. We'll be doing that again and maybe one in the kitchen too as that's where we eat most of our meals.
That's very effective @Obelixx , and looks as if it would be quite easy to make with some canes and string and flatter types of decoration. I quite fancy making some embroidered decorations which would work well on something like that, but it won't be for this year.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
The advent windows the area did last year were very effective and fun - another way to contribute to the season (including Channuka, Diwali and solstice celebrations etc). Kids loved it, and the lights in the hedging too.
Posts
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/what-is-better-for-the-environment-a-real-or-a-fake-christmas-tree_uk_5be198b3e4b01ffb1d0648db Â
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
 I suppose we all have different ways of being environmentally conscious and most of us will have our weak points, too. It is possible to become disproportionately anxious about a particular issue and blind to another. I know more than one family that agonise over things like waste and composting but fly abroad two or three times a year. There you go.
 I shall have my tree, support a local supplier and send it to be composted after Twelfth night. If it's very bad I shall admit my crime and get on with it.
The alarming bit is what I was getting at before, or at least meaning to. It mentions a 6.5ft tree that goes to landfill can create an equivalent of 16kg co2 whereas the same size artificial tree produces 40kg but that could be over a far longer period if it's used for a decade.Â
So it comes down to how they are handled by the buyer. For a person with some environmental knowledge they can be negligible in terms of impact but for others who live in the throw away society they are potentially not great.
About 5 years ago I bought a pre-lit artificial snowy birch twig one which is only about 1 metre high. It sits very neatly on the chest in the hall so can be seen from outside and as you walk round the house. I think it's very pretty adorned with a selection of my very best decorations and should be good for us to use for a few years yet.
In the sitting room I have a few table decos dotted about but the very large and rustic mantle shelf is smothered in greenery from the garden, fairy lights and candles. It looks very festive and is the focal point of the room so I don't miss having a tree in there.
OH is happy that I only move  few ornaments to accommodate the tree. It's not in the way and I think even he quite likes the other decorations...Â
I have an alternative Xmas tree too - Scandinavian style arrangement of bare branches (I used home grown bamboo stems) with lights and baubles. I hang it in the hall against a red wall and it adds interest without taking up loads of space.  This is it, unlit, and it's great for all my brass baubles which are too heave for a real tree.
We have wooden ceilings - easy for hanging hooks - so last year I also hung a branch above the fireplace in the dining room.
We'll be doing that again and maybe one in the kitchen too as that's where we eat most of our meals.