Is a fake Christmas tree the 'green' choice?

Not that fans of artificial trees aren't buying forests of them anyway. Last year, the Commerce Department says, China sent 12 million artificial trees to the U.S., most of them plastic. Most artificial-tree buyers have no green pretensions. They just like the things for their tidiness, attractiveness, portability and ease of storage.

• MSN City Guides: Choose-your-own tree farms grow in popularity

You can put an artificial tree up in October -- heck, July, if you want -- and it'll stay fresh until you take it down in May, says Bruce Littlefield, author of "Merry Christmas, America!: Megawatt Displays Across the U.S.A." He has 10 artificial trees, all purchased from yard and garage sales. That's how to go green and plastic, he says: Recycle someone else's. He puts his trees up early in the belief that, tough as life is these days, you cannot celebrate too much or too soon.

Green holiday tips

If you want to have an answer when you hear John Lennon sing, "So this is Christmas, and what have you done?" you do in fact have some options.

Reimagine regifting. "People think regifting is something nasty," says Littlefield. He wants to correct that notion and make the search for the perfect recycled present a yearlong treasure hunt.

At an antique show last summer, he found a copy of his mother's favorite childhood toy, a wind-up Farmer in the Dell. "When my mother gets this in her Christmas package, she'll know, first of all, that I adore her and that I know her story -- her thing that means something to her," Littlefield says.

These days, it's not hard to get stuff. What we really want, he believes, is meaning. His friend Michelle will receive a $5 1950s bingo set, to remind her of her mother, a bingo fanatic, who died this year. "It's something she'll carry with her forever. Even if the bingo game gets lost, she will remember that I really know her."

Bring the outdoors in. Americans spend $9 billion a year decorating for the holidays, Littlefield says. Much of that buys cheap, disposable stuff that soon winds up in the landfill.

Instead of adding to the mountains of garbage, prune a few branches from trees -- bare or evergreen -- spray-paint them gold or silver, plant them upright and hang them with ornaments. Or pine cones. Or tied bunches of long, gilded pine needles. Assemble candles on a tray filled with pine cones, nuts or cranberries.

Use LEDs. Buy holiday lights that use light-emitting diode -- LED -- technology.

Unlike some holiday lights, one bad bulb won't shut down the entire string. They stay cool, reducing fire hazards, and last up to 20 years. Best of all, they reduce energy consumption by as much as 90%. The Alliance to Save Energy estimates the cost of burning 10 light strands eight hours a day for a month (at $0.0853 per kilowatt-hour):

• Large incandescent bulbs: $127.67

• Minilights: $7.20

• LEDs: $0.72

Avoid tree preservatives and fire retardants. They're nasty, a waste of money and don't work, says Chastagner, the WSU Christmas-tree specialist. Fire retardants can actually dry out the tree, making it more flammable, not less. Rather, find the freshest tree possible:

• Look for dark green needles that snap crisply -- rubbery, flexible needles are a sign the tree's not fresh.

• Other bad signs: falling green needles or bare branches close to the trunk.

• A tree can last six weeks after cutting, but it needs supplemental moisture. In dry climates, buy a tree that's been kept in a container of water. In cooler climates, check the tree lot for hoses or sprinklers -- evidence the trees are getting extra moisture.

• Ask the salesperson how long ago it was cut, how and where it was grown and how it's been treated.

• Have the trunk trimmed when you buy it, so it will absorb water readily.

• Put it in a stand full of water within 12 hours and don't let it dry out.

• Use a stand that holds at least a quart of water for every inch of stem diameter; that means you'll need a stand that holds a gallon and a half if you've got a tree measuring 6 inches across the stem.

• Or, consider a live tree that you can plant in your yard.

Published Nov. 20, 2007

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