Celebrate A Living Christmas By Renting A Live Tree
Like many Angelenos, I'm an east coast transplant. Growing up in Pennsylvania, I was spoiled with the luxury of a regal Christmas tree every year. If the tree was any shorter than eight feet tall and not wide or full enough to accommodate my mother's army of ornaments, disappointment crushed my holiday spirit.
Where this towering pine came from never occurred to me. But now I know: that tree was grown solely to be chopped down, sold to a Christmas tree lot, sold to my parents, put on display for our short-lived enjoyment, then thrown to the curb. What a sad life for a tree. What a sad tradition.
A proud L.A. resident for the past five and a half years, I usually brave the chilly PA winter during the holidays. 2010 was the year of Thanksgiving, and this year I'm gearing up for the potential obtrusive airport pat-downs and heading east to celebrate Christmas with family and to ring in 2012. Remaining in Sunny SoCal last year rewarded me with the option of choosing my very own Christmas tree - a choice I'd never made in my 27 years of life in a spacious house with mom turned life in confined apartment spaces in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Instead of bringing a dying tree into my cozy rental apartment and celebrating its slow demise, I rented a live tree. And I'm doing it again this year despite my holiday absence.
The Living Christmas Tree Company in Redondo Beach offers a painless online ordering system and delivery service for live trees. It's a bit pricier than buying a cut tree, but it's the principal of caring for the environment. No matter the cost, I will not support killing a tree in order to decorate my quaint living room for four weeks. Call me a hippie all you dare, but to me the choice is simple. A Christmas tree lot is conveniently located half a block from my Venice apartment, and I still scowl at it as I pass, refusing to sacrifice environmental morals for convenience. I also do not condone purchasing artificial versions of our furry friends.
Last year the American Christmas Tree Association claimed artificial trees produced the smallest carbon footprint. This holiday season the association says both artificial trees and cut trees are equally "green." However, the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) says artificial trees are mostly comprised of plastic and metal. Most commonly the plastic material is PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which can be a potential source of hazardous lead. Attached to artificial trees are warning labels explaining their toxic ingredients. As shown on the NCTA website, a typical label reads, "WARNING: This product contains chemicals, including lead, known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling." The majority of fake trees are imported from China where the working conditions are extremely poor, the workers extremely underpaid.
My live tree did not come with a label. It came with its roots happily intact and hugged by fresh soil and a pot. Johnny Dasher and JP, my cheery delivery men, gave me just four simple instructions: water the tree every two days, place it far away from any heaters, hug the tree and sing to it daily. Done. And I didn't need to scrub my hands after my daily embraces.
Furthering their sustainability, The Living Christmas Tree Company's trucks run on bio-diesel, and they batch-deliver in the dozens. Cut tree lots attract hundreds to thousands of drivers, all driving to and from the lots, all increasing their carbon footprints. Not only does the socially conscious company deliver and pick up your tree, its elves also offer to pick up two donation bags on behalf of the Goodwill during both visits plus pick up used wrapping paper at the end of the season to shred and use for packing material.
Another perk of live trees is that they are less flammable than artificial and cut trees. As they are living plants, live trees also help improve indoor air quality. In a city like L.A. where smog smothers, this is a huge benefit and necessity.
Probably the best, most efficient option to bolster the tradition is to purchase a live tree, display it indoors for the holidays, then plant it in your backyard or any available outdoors location. However, this luxury is not an option for most. My cement courtyard-style apartment building is ill equipped for green thumb practices. I, and many other Angelenos, have settled for the second best option - a "living Christmas."
Come January I will hug my tree goodbye and enjoy relief knowing it will be planted back into the ground to continue its growth for 2012's lucky renter. I'm toasting my eggnog to Scotty Claus this year.
