How Gen Z prefers real Christmas trees

Surveys show that higher percentages of Gen Z and Millennials are buying real trees versus artificial trees compared to older generations. Photo: Christin Klose/dpa

Hundreds of praying mantises, dozens of spiders, owls, a squirrel, an opossum and a partridge in a Christmas tree. Save for the partridge, the others are all critters content creators on TikTok have documented finding within their live Christmas trees.

Leading up to the holiday, horror stories documenting what people are finding within their real trees are taking over users’ For You Pages. Some users on the video platform say the videos are dissuading them from getting a real tree.