Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

It's that time of the year, just a few days short of Christmas, when you can sit back and admire your Christmas tree and its decorations, knowing that all your festive preparation and shopping was completed well ahead of schedule.

What? You haven't finished! Why are you sitting here reading this? You don't have time for frivolous festive reading – you should be out there in the heat with the rest of the disorganised population, frantically trying to cram everything into the last 48 hours.
As the world struggles with climate change, fluctuating ozone layers, pending royal weddings and Susan Boyle not being eligible for the Grammys – you've had much weightier decisions. Such as, whether to have a real Christmas tree or fake one.
If you have a real one, will it be a cut pine or a potted fir?
If you fake it, will he tell the difference?

Ecologically logical
Here at RR, we recommend the good old pine in a tub. Ours is celebrating its 12th year this Christmas, and while looking a bit worse for wear, has quite a lot of sentimental attachment. The fact that it is so ugly and mis-shapen that my wife hasn't allowed it in the house since 2002 is beside the point.
It just seems absurd in this age of climate concern with wild amounts of carbon breaking loose all over the place, and the ice melting rapidly in the penguin's maitais, that people could consider driving around the countryside, hacking to death a perfectly healthy tree and cart it home strapped to the roof like a wild Urewera boar – only to let it die slowly and messily in the corner of the lounge till it's chucked out.
No, the living tree option seems much more ecologically logical.
However, the good folk at the Forest Owners Association tell us that real trees are the way to go – dead or alive.

Prickly advice
They reckon more Kiwis are once again buying real trees after a swing to fake trees in the 1990s. Mind you, a lot of you thought Duran Duran were a good idea in the 90s, too.
Thankfully, now there's more interest in tub-grown trees.
'The smell of fresh pine is hard to beat and the emergence of Christmas tree farms is making the selection and buying of a tree a pleasant pre-Christmas ritual for many families,” Glen Mackie of the Forest Owners Association told me this week.
I asked if there's a secret to keeping a Christmas tree looking great throughout the festive season. Mr Mackie says it's water intake. So I drank a glass immediately.
It was amazing how much clearer my
vision became.
I think he means for the tree. If newly cut or tub-grown trees are provided with 2-4 litres of water a day, they will look great for several weeks and their needles will stay on the tree – not on the living room floor.
'Always try and buy a freshly cut tree and take it straight home – don't leave it in the hot car while you go shopping.
In the car? Have you ever tried to drive a car with a Christmas tree inside?
Take my advice, tie that sucker to the roof.
Glen says 'If it is not freshly cut, saw about two centimetres off the base of the trunk (not the car trunk, the tree trunk) before putting it in water. Then never let it go dry.”
As for adding a Disprin to the water to prolong the life of the tree, Mr Mackie says he's yet to see any evidence supporting that or other popular additives like beer, honey or gin. (Here at RR, we recommend keeping the gin and beer for the tree carer, who may also eventually need the Disprin.)
Glen says water is the one thing that definitely works. Plus a little bleach to keep the water from going off.

Natural selection
Real trees are the eco-friendly option. Most are radiata pines – the same species that makes up most of the country's plantation forests – though macrocarpa and other species are also grown. Some are special varieties of these species, selected to have the desired conical shape of a classic Christmas tree. (Clearly, Mr Mackie hasn't seen the one at the Rogers' house.)
'Real Christmas trees have a low carbon footprint – like plantation forests they store carbon when they are growing and release it when they decompose or are used for fuel.
'Fake trees are made overseas from metals and petrochemicals. And while they are often bought in the hope they will last forever, in fact, many fail to withstand the rigours of storage and end up in the landfill after two or three years.”
Have a great Christmas break, be nice to each other and be careful. Beware of the Three Wise Guys and remember to go easy on the frankincense and myrrh. 'All things in moderation,” as my mother always says.

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