My dad and I just got back from buying a Christmas tree. We had an artificial tree when I was growing up, and in my secret heart of hearts I still think that's the way to go. It's cheaper - that one tree lasted us at least 20 years - it's environmentally friendlier, it's less messy, and it's predictable. You know what kind of tree you're getting year in and year out. Tiffany, however, won't hear of any such thing, so every year we get a real tree. I console myself with the knowledge that in January we'll cut it up and put it in our compost heap, as we've done with its predecessors.

By the way, as a data point in the SUV debate, I'll note that as we've done every year, we brough this six-to-seven foot Fraser fir home in my Mazda sedan. All we had to do was fold down the back seats and it fit just fine. The SUV driver who bought a slightly larger tree just before us was tying it to the roof of his vehicle as we pulled out. Must be nice to have all that cargo space!