The Red, White, and Green

Photo via Flickr: Terin.

Since the first synthetic Christmas tree was introduced in France in 1840, the debate has carried on: real or fake? Even without factoring in the environmental repercussions of either, there are valid arguments to make on both sides: Fake trees don’t shed needles all over the place and are more cost-effective in the long-term; real trees arguably look more elegant and fill the house with that wonderful woodsy smell.

I’m Jewish, so I don’t have a lifetime of piney sense-memory (save my family’s Chanukah bush experiment when I was in third grade) placing me firmly in the real-tree camp, but I have to be honest: I kind of cringe every time I see one of those polyethylene monstrosities. But it also seems such a waste to cut down a living tree every year, even if it does come from a farm and isn’t actually destroying real forest.

That’s why I think renting a Christmas tree — as profiled in yesterday’s New York Times – is pure genius. Check it out:

To rent a tree, a customer visits Mr. Martin’s website, livingchristmas.com, picks out a tree from among several varieties, and then awaits delivery. Delivery days are determined by geography, to save time and gas. Prices range from $50, for a two-to-three-foot number, up to $185 for something bigger. While two weeks is the recommended length of stay for a live tree in a house, Mr. Martin lets his customers keep them for three.

The tree is then picked up to join its evergreen cousins; they will summer together on industrial properties where Mr. Martin rents space for pennies on the dollar to house his inventory. People who want the same tree next year ask for it to be tagged with their name, so it might return next December, taller.

With the chopped-down variety going for roughly the same price, why wouldn’t everyone do this? And if you have ample property, I’ll go even one better: Buy your own potted pine tree from a nursery, decorate it and keep it inside for Christmas, then plant it on your property once the holidays are over. Your Christmas tree “forest” will help remove CO2 from the atmosphere, keep trees (real and fake) out of landfills, and will bring beauty to your home year after year.

Thanks to loyal RWG reader AD for passing along the NYT article.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: It may be too late this year to go with a rented tree, but you can make sure that the real one you bought doesn’t wind up in the landfill once the holidays are over. Click here to find composting/recycling information for your area (type “Christmas tree” in the search window).

Related posts:
How to give gifts without giving ’stuff’
Meatless Monday: Sweet potato latkes

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