Wishing You and Yours a Sappy and Sentimental Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the Christmas specials are on every channel, there's sales in all the catalogs and wreaths adorn a door or two.

Even though its somewhat embarrassing there is a sap in all of us who can't deny their love for at least one timeless Christmas classic.  These movies make all the claymation, scary talking animals, and the story lines dripping in cheesy all worthwhile.

Just the other day I learned an interesting Christmas movie fact.  First was that when It's A Wonderful Life first came out it was advertised as a romantic comedy rather than the serious drama on Christmas Eve that it was. 

And needless to say it flopped.   So how did it become the beloved and household Christmas movie that it is today.  Well when it became available to play on television it was played on nearly every channel around Christmas time.

Rather than audiences expecting a lighthearted romantic comedy it became known for its somber introspection, wonderful acting, A real American Christmas Carol so to speak.

Oh Plastic Tree Or Christmas Tree?

In a world where words like global warming and greenhouse gasses are common use the age old question fake Christmas tree or a real tree becomes a real dilemma for many environmentally conscientious Americans.

 In a new independent study  the "real vs. fake" Christmas tree question was answered by Ellipsos, a consulting firm located in Montreal Canada. 

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The founder of the firm, Jean-Sebastian Trudel, confirmed after the study that the "green" option is in fact cutting down a real christmas tree.

In this new study researchers found that an artificial tree would have to be re-used for more than 20 years to make up for its dent against the environment. 


"The annual carbon emissions associated with using a real tree every year were just one-third of those created by an artificial tree over a typical six-year lifespan." (New York Times)

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Some interesting Christmas Tree Facts:

• 25-30 million Christmas trees are sold every year
• 80% of artificial trees worldwide are made in China
• Artificial trees contain non-biodegradeable plastics and metal toxins such as lead
• For every harvested tree 1-3 seedlings are planted in it's place