We always have a real tree, tree farms are considered a major part of Pennsylvania agriculture.
We then re purpose the tree to our feeder area for extra cover for small birds. Most of the dropped needles end up in our mulched beds and the trunk is finally consigned to the fire pit. We've come to really enjoy Frasier furs, they hold well, and the aroma is great. We also usually do some natural arrangements since we have all our own greens. I also have a few artificial arrangements that we use every year, I'll get a couple of shots from them a little later. Here's our tree, it didn't look quite that big when my grandson and I picked it out.