My family *NEVER* had a fake tree, ever. We use to go really crazy with 12-18' trees in the house. We would cut them down a day or two prior ro xmas and work like elfs to prep it. We *aways* wired it two ways into screws into the wall! (I would do this with ANY tree) and we have one of those killer cast iron stands that must weight 40# and can take a 8-10" tree. Many of the trees we had had to be tapered to fit in the stand.
I can't image not having a real tree. No matter what the size, if you never did you will really like it, it really makes the house feel like something special.
Below is a pic from a tree that wasn't the biggest but was pretty big 14-15' and cut live from a tree farm while I lived in ri. (the smell is amazing...the tree not RI
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