REAL or artificial?...

Now that CHRISTmas is almost upon us this topic has come up more often than not, Do you buy a real tree or does yours come out of a box? I really think this all goes back to how you were raised I mean what did your parents get when you were a kid? My parents had all sorts of trees as we were growing up. Even some eclectic ones WAY before I was ever a glimmer in their eye. They have had BIG ones, Tall ones, ones with trains running around them & even a Silver one! But it was always out of a box. I wonder if they felt buying a "Real" tree each year was a waste of $ or did they feel that an artificial one looked better? I do not know because I never really asked. We just always took our tree out of a box each year. Now the timing of when the tree went up changed over the years. At first they would put their tree up AFTER my oldest brothers birthday on December 17th. Fast forward 12 years & I was born on the 21st {December is one BUSY month!} They "tried" to wait till after my birthday but that was not to be. I think there was a CHRISTmas tree in all of my birthday photos! =] When Michael & I got together we too would drag the CHRISTmas tree out of the box each year but we did this more of out necessity because he cannot handle when a tree sheds all of it's needles. I do LOVE the smell of a "real" tree but I too do not like the mess so artificial is the way we go! And even though a "real" tree is nice to look at & WAY better smelling we are going the less mess route! LOL! So I ask you is your tree...

REAL or artificial?...