Real Tree vs Fake Tree

Real tree wins EVERYTIME...for the Lunde family! I would say our friends are probably split 40/60 (40 percent real/60 percent fake). IMO, here's how I see it:

Real Tree
- Pros: Smells amazing, it's real, you get to go pick it out with your family (husband) just like you did with your parents as a kid, you can pick the size you want each year (i.e. ours keep getting bigger to fit all of our ornaments)
- Cons: You have to pay for a tree every year, you have to water it regularly (do you guys use the Sprite trick?), it sheds needles, you have to string the lights on it yourself, you might need a little handsaw to get it to stand up straight in the tree holder

Fake Tree
- Pros: If you buy it after Christmas you can get a great price and you only have to buy it once, typically they are pre-lit, for you linear people it looks perfect with all of the lights evenly spread out and each branch can be perfectly aligned; the branches are sturdy and can hold heavy ornaments.
- Cons: It's not a real tree

I say you can't go wrong - it is strictly personal preference - and our preference is real!

From start to finish! This year Matt was so sweet and picked one out while I was still in Europe and put all the lights on so it was ready for ornaments as soon as I got home!

Each year I point out a few of our favorite, very special ornaments. Matt and I have probably over 100 ornaments that we have purchased together from places we have been, special reminders, St. Nick ornaments from our parents, etc. In a nutshell: WE. LOVE. ORNAMENTS.

This year's favorites: The English guard from our trip to London, the boardwalk at Kemah from our trip with Brian, our first New Orleans ornament (as we were hanging it this year Matt told me that is when he told Nathan he wanted to marry me), and the Longwood Antebellum home from our 2011 Christmas trip to Natchez. 

And lastly, a few shots of some of our other Christmas decorations...

My favorite part is the mantle