The Sweet Smells of the Holidays 

Invite aromas into your house when you buy a real Christmas tree 

By Peter Kuitenbrouwer 

Let the festivities begin! It’s that time of the year again… holiday decorations, handmade crafts and ornaments passed down over generations make their way out of storage to brighten up our homes. It is also the time when we all think about whether we want to put up an artificial tree or get a real one.  

Many people buy artificial trees - often because of some sense that a multi-use plastic tree protects the environment compared with cutting down a real tree. However, the debate still stands – which option is better. 

Real Christmas trees provide many benefits. Christmas tree farms can be havens for wildlife, including chickadees, grosbeaks, sparrows, coyotes, foxes, mice, squirrels and voles. There’s other good stuff too: real trees use the sun’s energy and carbon dioxide from the air to grow and in turn provide oxygen. In fact, according to the Ontario Farm-Grown Natural Christmas Tree Education Site, each hectare of a tree farm emits enough oxygen for 44 people. The trees, often grown on shallow, sandy soil not suitable for food crops, absorb rainwater and stabilize soil, and sequester carbon as they grow. Tree farms are also close to our urban centres – providing all these benefits right back to local communities.  

Plus, for every tree that is cut, 10 others are at some stage of growth to take its place. Growing trees also creates jobs for Canadians and a source of revenue for farmers in winter. And, when the holiday season is over, most municipalities collect discarded natural Christmas trees and chip them into mulch to help other plants to grow. 

By contrast, artificial trees are non-biodegradable, and their manufacturing process and transportation requires large amounts of fossil fuels. These artificial trees will one day end up in landfills and take millennia to break down. Although the tree can be used for years, families often choose to change their tree long before the end of life. 

Let’s face it: real Christmas trees also smell nice. Fir and spruce trees typically grown for the holidays produce resins that protect them against pests and disease. When you bring a tree indoors, the warmth causes the resins to evaporate, producing aromas of citrus, camphor and mint.  

Visiting a Christmas tree farm to cut down your own tree can also be a fun experience. But even if you pick up a tree at your local supermarket, and you squeeze among the rows of pines, spruces and firs, the experience can’t help but be uplifting.  

Therefore, feel good about your real Christmas tree and know your choice provides benefits far beyond the glittering scented glow we have all come to cherish in our homes at this time of year.  

Top tips: 

• Look for a tree that does not have brown needles. 
• Look for a tree that doesn’t have a lot of needles falling out – test it out by pulling the needles out or dropping the stump to the ground and look for needles that fall. 
• Make sure to make a fresh cut on the bottom before you put the tree in the stand. 
• Water the tree daily. 
• Put up your tree away from heat sources. 
• Choose LED lighting and natural decorations to boost your environmental benefits.