artificial Christmas tree

We live in Minnesota. There are many tree farms in the central portion of the state due to the sandy soil. It is a tradition with many people to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon searching for the perfect Christmas tree and cutting it down. The tree farms add to the economy of the state. Christmas trees are one of the leading exports from our state. Because we want to support our local tree farmers and because trees are very reasonably priced, we have always had a live tree for the holidays. In the last few years we have been discussing how much simpler it would be to have an artificial Christmas tree. It would mean no longer having the messy clean up that needs to be done when the tree is brought in and taken out of the house. It would also mean that every year the tree would fit the space that we have for it.
The manufacturers have vastly improved on the way the artificial Christmas tree looks. My sister purchased one last year and I had to feel the branches before I knew that it was not a real tree. She did have to pay a great deal for the artificial Christmas tree, but she bought it during the prime season. If you look for specials after the holidays you can usually find them discounted. You can also purchase the artificial Christmas tree that is pre-lit, this would really cut down on the work, however I would be concerned about having the bulbs burn out. There are replacement bulbs available, however you never know when they are going to take these bulbs off the market and then you are stuck with a tree that does not have its full lights on.
After taking out our Christmas tree last year and cleaning up the needles from the carpet, we decided that we would invest in an artificial Christmas tree for this year. We checked several post season sales, but did not find a tree that we liked. We decided that we would try to get one at a pre-season sale; this would also save us from having to store the tree over the summer.
This year the tree farms started airing commercials about how beneficial the tree farms are to the environment and also the states economy. After hearing this commercial several times we decided that we would continue to support the local tree farmers and purchase a real tree. We will wait and get an artificial Christmas tree when we can no longer manage a real tree.