This Holiday Special: The Christmas Tree Display was written and produced by Meg Carney and edited by Alex Carney.
Features Alex Carney as the Narrator, Meg Carney as the PVC Tree, and Jay Stewart as the Farm Tree.
NARRATOR: As you sit with me here, to lend a listening ear, together we’ll ponder the many complications the holidays bring each year. So, raise your hand to your chin, and let your thoughts wander through each tradition. From cookies to carols and presents and pies, what is it that Christmas brings to your mind?
For me, it is the classic holiday tree.
No Christmas would be the same without a tree to bear its name. Families far and wide seek out a new tree, only to keep it ever so briefly. At the end of November or early December, the shopping begins. Within 30 days, that’s where it ends. The lights come down, and trees all around rarely return to grow again in the ground.
What is said tree, to you and me but an object we feel obligated to see in store windows, out on the road, and of course, as the center display in every home? Ah, the Christmas tree. The holiday is not complete without thee. Despite this attention, seemingly pure, what happens to them when they leave our front door?
To know what goes on for every tree will remain somewhat of a silent mystery. What we can do for you is take you through the story of these two very different Christmas trees. Displayed side by side, wearing their ornaments with pride. One from a farm and the other made from plastic, not knowing of the harm their short lives may bring when the holiday bells once again cease to ring.
[cheerful Christmas music]
PVC TREE: You must be new. They put me here every year.
FARM TREE: Sure am-- just came from down the road. Been there about 8 years, and now I’m here.
PVC TREE: I always love meeting this year’s trees after being tucked away all year long all alone.
NARRATOR: People all around, a cheerful and clamoring crowd, hurry past the two trees, only occasionally stopping to see which kind to display in front of their favorite window bay.
FARM TREE: What are we doing up here anyway?
PVC TREE: Oh? Up here? We are the display trees. That’s why everyone keeps stopping to look at us.
FARM TREE: But what are we displaying?
PVC TREE: Ummm… how we look, I guess? Since I’m a PVC tree and you’re a, I’d think a Fraser Fir tree. They like to put us together to help people decide which type of tree they may like.
FARM TREE: May like? For what?
PVC TREE: For Christmas, silly! We are Christmas trees!
[There’s a pause as a family comes by to look at the trees]
PVC TREE: Well, since you didn’t ask, this will be my 10th year as the primary display tree. You see, I come back every year, but the farm trees are either bought or sent away after the holiday season ends.
FARM TREE: Sent away back to the farm, I’d guess.
PVC TREE: You know, that would make sense because you grow in the ground, but from what I’ve seen, you just get sent away, but I’m not sure to where.
FARM TREE: Well, they need to plant us again, or we’ll die soon.
NARRATOR: They watched in silence for a short time as families escorted each tree out in its prime. The farm tree looked about and caught the eye of old friends waving goodbye.
PVC TREE: I mean, you’re not wrong, but I’m afraid that seems to be the intention. All the farm trees come each year, or at least they have for the last 10 years, and they either go home with someone or are sent away when they take the Christmas tree display down.
FARM TREE: So, I want to be bought by a family then, not left here on display with you.
PVC TREE: Well, I guess. I don’t know what happens when you go home with someone. I’ve never done that. We are here to provide the buyer with options.
FARM TREE: Say all the other trees are sold, then someone will buy us.
PVC TREE: That never happens!
FARM TREE: Well, when they were loading us up out on the farm to come here, I heard them talking about a shortage this year.
PVC TREE: That could explain the higher prices this year, I suppose, but there seems to be plenty of trees here. After all, if they run out of farm trees, they can always buy trees like me. There’s always enough of us.
FARM TREE: Yeah, how is it that you never get sent away?
PVC TREE: That’s easy! I’m made of materials like plastic and PVC, so I don’t break down or die as you do since you need the ground to grow. They made me in a factory to look like you, but this way I’ll last forever.
FARM TREE: So, you’ll always stay here then?
PVC TREE: I’ve been here for 10 years now. I don’t know why they’d get rid of me.
FARM TREE: If you last forever, why are your needles falling off like mine?
NARRATOR: The PVC tree looks down and shakes a bit to see what the Farm tree means, watching its thin plastic needles float down to the ground.
PVC TREE: The last few years that has been a trend for me. I lose a few here and there, but they just add some of this garland to block out any spots missing too much green.
FARM TREE: It seems to me that you’re in the same boat. You just get to stay a few seasons longer.
PVC TREE: What do you mean? They keep me every year?
FARM TREE: Don’t you think there was a tree before you?
NARRATOR: The trees sit side by side in silence for a time as the customers bustle by gazing at the trees in wonder. The PVC tree shaking a branch here and there, jingling ornaments, and watching the light plastic needles collect below.
PVC TREE: You know, I’ve never really thought about the display tree that came before me. I don’t know what happened to them or if they’ll ever replace me.
FARM TREE: What happens if they replace you this year?
NARRATOR: Each year, the trees are set up and ready for Black Friday, and stay on display only until the end of the holiday. As the PVC tree and the Farm tree sat for a month together, they learned of their lives and endured the changing weather. Finally, it was Christmas.
FARM TREE: It sure is quiet today. It could be because there ain’t many trees left to sell.
PVC TREE: Today is Christmas! They don’t open on Christmas. Today we can rest, and they will be taking us down soon.
FARM TREE: At least we will know soon then, where we go and what happens when we aren’t bought for a family to display.
PVC TREE: And I will find out if I am packed away for another season or perhaps share the same fate as you.
FARM TREE: Ah well, it would be nice to have the company as I go, but I’m rooting for you to stay, at least one year longer.
NARRATOR: Christmas came and went, and all the leftover trees were sent away.
PVC TREE: It seems I am your company as you go out this year.
FARM TREE: I am sorry that you couldn’t stay longer, you were a gorgeous display tree to the very end.
PVC TREE: Just like you said on our first day together, there was a tree before me.
FARM TREE: Where do you suppose they’re taking us anyway?
PVC TREE: Well, since they put me with all of you, I can’t imagine we are going back to the farm. They can’t replant me! I’m not a plant!
NARRATOR: Together, the farm tree and the PVC tree met their fate as they entered the landfill gates. It was a short stay for the farm tree as he wilted away day after day until finally, the PVC tree had no one to share her memories of being on display. Years passed, and occasionally the PVC tree would meet an old farm tree on their way out. Still, she was left alone to be buried and forgotten about.
MEG: According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 30 million farmed Christmas trees each year. These trees are only with us for a short time, despite taking up to 10 years to grow. Although some trees are recycled or even replanted to be used another year, the vast majority of Christmas trees are discarded in landfills, burned, or thrown into wooded areas.
Right now, it is estimated that 350 million trees are being grown to replace those we use during the holiday season. It has long been thought that reusable Christmas trees were a better alternative to live trees. However, since they are made from hard to recycle PVC materials, many end up in landfills, never to break down. PVC trees last on average 7-10 years before being thrown away. Live Christmas trees are seen to be a more sustainable option as they are renewable, and if farmed responsibly, they can stabilize soil and provide wildlife with refuge.
No matter the type of tree you choose for your holiday celebrations this year, you can choose a responsible disposal method.
Here are some ideas:
In some areas, trees can be thrown in rivers, lakes, and ponds to create habitat and food for fish.
Some programs will replant the tree and let you use it year after year until it is too big and you buy a new one.
Trees can be sent to local yard waste collections to be mulched and turned into compost.
Some municipalities provide a curbside pick-up for Christmas trees. These pick updates and requirements, like removing ornaments and flocking, will vary from location to location.
If they don’t have tree pick-up programs, you can cut the tree up in yard waste bins.
If none of those options are available, look for nonprofit pick-ups and other tree recycling programs in your area. You can also reach out to the local Christmas tree farmer to see their suggestions and if they accept Christmas trees back.
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