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.