‘How I help the planet every Christmas – but I’m definitely torn’

My late dad always loved a real Christmas tree; my mum hated the needle-drop.

I’m not sure whether she capitulated because a fine fir specimen would, some Christmases at least, find its way into our entrance hall (it never got as far as the lounge though) or whether Dad just went ahead, bought a tree and arrived home with it in his van. At that, there would be no going back and the festive fait accompli definitely met with my approval.

Like my father, I’ve always preferred the look and scent of a real Christmas tree. In adulthood, and with a place of my own, I was at liberty to do as I pleased regarding a tree – one of the places I rented with a friend many years ago had a cheese plant draped in tinsel as the seasonal centrepiece.

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Space in rental accomm often didn’t allow for some lofty spruce so a small, imitation tree would tend to suffice on a corner table. When we bought our first house, with a deep front window and, joy of joys, enough floor space for it, I was determined to have a 7ft Christmas tree twinkling its lights and showing off its decorations for the world outside to see.

I went with fake that year, I can’t honestly remember why, and there has been my dilemma since. Thirty-three years later, that tree is still going strong.

I bought it from Leo’s, the supermarket forerunner to Morrisons in Holderness Road, in Hull, and I know I felt it was a bit of an extravagant buy at the time (it had been reduced to £26, I seem to recall). Every year, its box gets dragged out of the loft space, it’s easy to assemble, its branches have never gone wonky, and it stands proud and prettily decorated in the corner of the room.

For a couple of years, I went with real as well but that version occupied our conservatory and it’s so cold in there in winter – the tree survived beautifully – it couldn’t really be enjoyed to the full. I know, according to some experts, I am helping the planet every Christmas with my trusty fake tree, but I am definitely torn.

Evidently, to be a sustainable choice, you must reuse an artificial tree for between seven and 20 years, depending on whose data you read. Reusing a tree reduces the carbon emissions associated with producing, packaging, and shipping a new one each year, so I well overtake that.

Then there’s the potential environmental damage when I finally come to dispose of my tree, as I can’t see it being recyclable (apart from the plastic stand, perhaps). I sometimes buy some different decorations for a change of theme and I’ve had to replace the fairylights a few times (when they have clapped out mid-season I’ve just gone and draped a whole load more on, leaving the broken ones in situ) but my seven-footer looks like it will be gracing my living space for plenty more years to come.

However, I will likely still hanker after a fresh tree, growing in its pot.