A winter wonderland and our Christmas dilemma….

Peaking out the window this morning I wasn’t surprised or disappointed to see that, not only was the snow still with us, but there was even MORE of it.  A great big dollop had been delivered through the night.

Deciding to leave the car at home I figured the walk to work would be stress free and I could enjoy the snow – it is so beautiful here today because not only do we have lots of the white powdery stuff, but the sun is shining, making my wee Scottish world look quite magical.

Dawning my lovely fake fur coat (a recent lovely purchase from the charity shop) my warm wooly hat that comes right down over my lugs and my trusty hiking boots  I headed off.

Me in my trusty hiking boots

Now there is something about walking in the snow that makes people chat. Adverse weather seems to break down all sorts of barriers and perhaps giving people a common goal – to make it to their destination.

It wasn’t long before I was joined on my trek by an elderly stranger called Emma, a semi retired lady going in my direction (for a while at least). Only a few paces in and Emma had filled me in on how she fills her days of retirement and also how she copes with memory loss. We had a lovely, if rather disjointed conversation, peppered with Emma saying, ‘what was I saying?’. Emma may have been struggling to keep up with the conversation but I was struggling to keep up with Emma, who demands a surprising staggering walking pace from anyone that cares to join her. Our walk together ended at the park with Emma headed off down one lane, while I took the other.  Shouting goodbyes she happily trekked off into the beautiful wilderness.

The beautiful Bellfield Park this morning

Trudging along my mind turned to Christmas and in particular the debate in our house about this year’s Christmas tree. Having always been a ‘real tree’ house we are considering an artificial tree this year. Now before any of you traditionalist start shouting at your computer screens hear me out. In all honesty I’m with you, I love a real tree and the hassle that go with it doesn’t register in my life. I love the smell, the chaos of putting it up (and getting it out of the house after the festivities without depositing ALL of the needles throughout the house – which interesting never happens).

My husband Peter is usually charged with getting the tree.  Each year, despite discussions about what size of tree we are going with, he faithfully returns with the BIGGEST tree he can find. Last year he achieved a personal best – it must have been an eight or nine footer at least.

Spencer and I trying desperately to get the tree into the kitchen

Real trees are getting more and more expensive and we could buy a pretty good artificial tree that would last years – rather than shelling out every year for a real one. Ok, I know, there is also the environmental debate. From what I’ve read natural tree growers argue that artificial trees are more environmentally harmful than real trees (well they would, wouldn’t they). On the other side of the argument allegedly artificial trees have excellent recyclable properties. However I think I’m with the researcher from Kansas State University who called the idea that artificial trees are eco-friendly as an ‘urban myth’.

So what to do, buy an artificial tree and use it FOREVER MORE, never to dispose of it in landfill and benefit from the financial saving each year, or go for a real life traditional Christmas tree?

I will happily sit on the fence on this one. I’ll just be delighted to have ‘A’  tree and get this Christmas thing going in our house. So husband ‘Buyer of the Tree’ I’ll leave it with you – but if you go down the route of a real tree how about this one – it tops your record last year, and then some!

So guys what do you think – real or artificial?