The majority of Christmas-related risks for dogs are associated with the tree. The most common issues stem from the real Christmas tree’s needles, sap, and oil.

Buying real trees also supports local economies. According to the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association, 175 Texas Christmas tree farms produce over 200,000 trees each year.

Of the approximately 94 million U.S. households that display a Christmas tree, fewer than 20% take down their Christmas tree in December, according to polls by online sources like Bob Vila and ...

In all, about three-quarters of U.S. households typically have some kind of Christmas tree, surveys show. People often ask which is more sustainable – a real tree or an artificial one?

In fact, Christmas tree farms help produce oxygen, and buying locally helps support small, family-owned businesses. Not to mention, the trees can be recycled and turned into mulch, Rivera reminded.

Rofe stresses that “trees really don’t like the heat” and adding boiling water to the mix threatens its lifespan. There are only 12 days of Christmas after all.

One recent pain point was the economic downturn of 2008, when the total number of real Christmas trees sold nationwide fell 34% from 19.3 million sold in 1998 to 12.8 million in 2009.