Over Thanksgiving weekend, Scott and I pulled out the tiny, pre-lit tree that we bought at Target last year. The first Christmas we lived together, we bought an enormous Noble Fir. While it was gorgeous and so, so fragrant, it was far too messy and huge for our apartment.

Now, I’ve always been scornful of fake trees. However, now having one I can understand their appeal. They don’t drop needles and require no water. Buy a pre-lit one and you don’t even have to go to the trouble of looping the lights around the branches.

I haven’t given up on real trees forever, though. Someday, when we live someplace a little bit larger and closer to the ground, I hope we’ll be able to return to something a bit more aromatic and less designed for long term storage.