I used to love buying a real tree, and a wreath of real greens. The scents of the greenery really get me in the spirit. When the kids were small we even used to walk over to the local Boy Scouts tree lot, pick out our tree then carry it home through the snow (if there was any, we were in Utah so it was rather hit or miss).
Now, we only have family here every second year, and we have a really nice faux tree, and a faux wreath for the door. I use scented candles to give us the evergreen smell. We decorate with all the old ornaments that we had when the kids were small, and the nostalgia is just the same.
I hate the waste of having a tree cut down for a temporary decoration, then sending it to be composted after New Years. Not to mention all the energy to grow the trees, and ship them all over the country on trucks . . . it's all about conservation of resources for me.
David, absolutely with you on the whole raison 'etre of Christmas. It so often gets lost in all the fuss, hype and gluttony.
