A greens Christmas

“People are kind of going back to the natural stuff”

Talk of a green Christmas seems to be bigger than talk of a white Christmas anymore. (That may be an idea for a songwriter right there.) Green, of course, is a trendy word for being environmentally conscious, and it's a term that can be trotted out in favor of real Christmas trees. Unless, of course, you manufacture artificial trees.

'The big benefit of an artificial tree is 'reuse,' ' Thomas Harman says. He's founder of the high-end artificial tree manufacturer Balsam Hill.

I have to come down on the side of real trees because I love Christmas tree farms and I want them to stay in business. We have one fewer farm in the area this year -- the owner of Noel Christmas Tree Farm in Atlanta has retired. But there's good news, too: Read more