Thirty dollars for a four foot tall Christmas tree...

[Tom Kitten]

That's a bit much if you ask me...I'd rather spend my unemployment money on something else...

[emilyg]

1. We switched to a

fake pre-lit small tree years ago. Instant Xmas. Love it. Folds down for storage.

[Iggo]

6. Yep. Fake pre-lit tree.

The only way to fly.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

2. Whoa

I just bought what i call a "pine shrub" for my apartment (it's like 2.5 feet tall) for thirty bucks. But that's in NYC, so I expected it. They definitely don't cost that much where my parents live. I was getting depressed though, couldn't afford the plant life that resembled Christmases back home... we used to cut our own tree, usually 7 feet or so, it was always around 20 bucks.

[LeftyMom]

3. Is there a tree farm someplace within traveling distance?

Around here the pre-cut trees for sale in-town are really overpriced, but there's a tree farm out in the county that's pretty cheap. We always went there when I was a kid.

Aren't there a lot of tree farms up there?

[XemaSab]

4. 10 dollars for a forest service tree permit

Up to 6 inches dbh, and if you want a bigger one, nobody's counting.

[littlebit]

5. $30 for something you are going to throw away

in a month. That's a little to much. We have never put a tree up at our house. The dogs would destroy it the first day it was up.

[Jamastiene]

7. We cannot afford Christmas trees in my household.

If anyone really wants to see one in my house, I download a screensaver or wallpaper from the freeware category at download.com or somewhere else that is spyware free.

That whole buying a tree and decorating it every year thing is a ripoff.

Hang a strand of green lights somewhere in the shape of a tree if you feel the absolute need to have one. Voila! Bingo! Instant tree and very little cost. :)

The point is that you can have Christmas cheaper and still get the same feeling with less. :)