If you have an artificial tree...

[OnceUponATime15]

Oooooh, did it have a lunch counter? There were 2 discount chains from my childhood like that - Woolworths and The Metropolitan. They were very similar to one another and had a "smell" - like cheap rubber shoes, but sitting on one of those revolving round stools at the lunch counter is another one of those memories that is so strong (and good!!).

lol... I knew you had to be Canadian before I clicked on your profile!

That smell you described so perfectly is forever etched in my senses. I remember that as a break from carrying my lunch in senior elementary school - I was allowed to go to the lunch counter at our local Woolworths on Fridays - I almost always got a toasted Danish & a Coke. So nutritious... lol!

Ahhh memories...

 

[lovin'fl]

I had one for about 15 years and the lights got too difficult to replace so I finally dumped it and bought a new one. I wanted smaller but what I ordered was too small and has to be put on a table. I then went out and got a real tree and can't stand that mess and trouble so I have no idea what to do this year.

 

[Disneylover99]

lol... I knew you had to be Canadian before I clicked on your profile!

That smell you described so perfectly is forever etched in my senses. I remember that as a break from carrying my lunch in senior elementary school - I was allowed to go to the lunch counter at our local Woolworths on Fridays - I almost always got a toasted Danish & a Coke. So nutritious... lol!

Ahhh memories...

Speaking of Woolworth's, most of my ornaments are from Woolco. Time to retire those too!

 

[Turn the Page]

We have an artificial tree that is probably pushing 30 years old. My parents bought it years ago when they put two trees up every year but when I was in high school they moved into a new house and no longer had room for two. They gave me one when I moved out.

It still looks good but it is about 6 feet tall I think and is the kind that you put each individual branch in. It is not pre lit. I don't mind either of those things but now that we bought a house with cathedral ceilings the tree looks downright dinky in the living room. DH says he wants a prelit tree next time. I don't really have a preference so long as we get one that stays lit if one bulb goes out.

 

[ronandannette]

Speaking of Woolworth's, most of my ornaments are from Woolco. Time to retire those too!

LOVED Woolco...all the ones in Calgary became WalMarts when they first came to Canada 25 or so years ago.

 

[Disneylover99]

LOVED Woolco...all the ones in Calgary became WalMarts when they first came to Canada 25 or so years ago.

Yeah, all our Woolco's became Walmarts too.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Ours is going on 12 years old - it's easy to put together but I have to spend lots of time fluffing - usually about an hour to an hour and a half. I spread that over a few evenings.

It's a 9 footer that fits perfect in the living room but I am tired of decorating such a big tree all by myself. I tried to get my husband to help last year and he (purposely I'm sure so I wouldn't ask him to help again) put ornaments right on the very end of a bunch of branches so they fell off if you brushed by the tree.
(He will also buy the wrong thing purposely at the grocery store so he doesn't have to do grocery shopping - he told my son about that trick who ratted him out to me).

My Daughter said she "may" help me decorate the tree this year. I sure hope so - otherwise I'm tempted to just put up a table top one on the portable bar in front of the window and call it done.

 

[mrsheppo]

I bought a new one last year. I wanted a tall skinny tree that didn't take up so much room. The new one is about 8 foot tall and the lights switch from color to white. This one I can put in the corner of the living room. The previous one we had about 7 years and we had to put it in the family room because it was so wide.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Got a very very nice, 100% 'real-tree' needles from Balsam Hill, last year.
Love it! It is smaller and skinnier, and it sits in my living room year round.

OP, Methinks you should maybe get a new tree!

 

[donac]

We bought one about three years ago but we didn't like the colors on the multicolored one so we ended up with white lights. Last year dh bought his mother a tree. His sister who lived with her mom wanted nothing to do with setting it up etc. We didn't even know where the old ornaments went. So last year we bought a tree and ornaments took the time to set it up and decorate it. We fell in love with that tree. It had multicolored lights that could change to white and we loved all the branches. Dh and I even took it down at the end of the season since his sister seemed so uninterested. We took the tree to our house and stored it with ours.

I am so glad we did this because two months later his mom died and I know that we made that Christmas special. She loved looking at the tree.

A couple of months ago dh told his sister that we had the tree if she was looking for it but we were going to keep it. If she wanted our old one she could have it. She and her SO bought the house so we thought they might like it to start their new home together. She picked up the old one the other day and we have the new one. I can't wait to put it up.

 

[5kidsmommy]

We had the same tree for about 10 years. Last year when setting it up the lights would work and it was just really starting to look mangled. My husband put it right back in the box and said "let's go buy a new one" and we did. I hope to get 10 years out of this new one. Well I guess 9 more years since we used it last year.

 

[Disneylover99]

OP, Methinks you should maybe get a new tree!

Well, here is my 20 year old tree. The garland is hidden by my kid's mishmash of homemade ornaments. I'm getting a new tree next year for sure! Or maybe if there is an after Christmas sale, I'll get a new one.

 

[Tuffcookie]

The living room tree is over 40 years. It is a Mountain King and I love it. It did not come with lights and the branches hardly even lose any needles. It was made very well! For some reason, I end up buying a new tree for my bedroom about every 3-4 years. They are prelit trees which state if one bulb goes out, the rest stay lit. Hog wash! Yesterday, I ended up going out and buying a new tree. It is pre-lit, has a revolving stand, and LED lights that change from white to multi-colored! I sure hope this one lasts!

TC

 

[lizabu]

I bought a new one this year. My old one was 3 years old. It's still good but it was white with all blue ornaments and I was sick of it and wanted something more traditional

 

[PollyannaMom]

The new one is about 8 foot tall and the lights switch from color to white.

I just saw those the other day! I think it's neat, especially for houses where some like white and some like multi.

We usually put up a real one, but we do have an artificial in the attic. It's 4 or 5 years old, and is the kind that goes together in three pieces. We bought it one year when we were going to be traveling right after Christmas, and used it one other year as well, when we put up two trees.

 

[runwad]

Our tree is around 25 years old. It was a high end tree I bought at Macy's when I worked there one Christmas and got a really good deal on it with my employee discount and Christmas clearance. It's a blue spruce and its very pretty. You do have to put all the branches in and lights on it. We were thinking of getting a pre-lit for this year but all the reviews I read all act like they lights only work for so long. I think we'll probably just keep what we have until we get a little older and it gets too hard for us to do. We can still manage, just getting a little lazy.

 

[prprincess]

We got ours two years ago, but the one we had prior to that was purchased in 2003!

 

[Aimros]

My parents just upgraded their artificial tree last year... they were going on 30+ years and it was definitely time.

 

[aprilchem]

I posted on the other thread that we have DH's grandma's aluminum christmas tree. I just looked it up and they were popular in the mid-60s, so it's probably at least 50 years old!

 

[winterman]

We always had real trees, until DH got sick. That Christmas I just put up an 18 inch fiber optic tree. By the following Christmas (2012)I was in my new house and bought a 4 foot tree that I am still using.