Every year, the holiday hustle and bustle start the day after Thanksgiving, not only with shopping, but with the tradition of buying and putting up the Christmas tree, as well. We have never been early decorators, although we have left our tree up until March or April a few times, when our sons have been off on one adventure or another and couldn’t make it home for the holidays.

Jim and I have spent numerous Christmases at their homes, so we have had a mix of live and artificial trees, depending on our location on Christmas Day. I prefer a live tree, but admit that an artificial tree is easier to set up and less messy to care for than a live one.

Many American families have made the switch to artificial trees over the decades. A spokesman for the National Christmas Tree Association stated in a recent Washington Post article that almost 80 percent of trees in American households are artificial. Artificial trees are expensive, especially the LED pre-lit type, but they will last fo...