This year’s tree is a rental. We went with a living tree, picked up from the fine folks with a table set up at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. They rent you a tree then pick it up after the holiday. (The NY Times has a good story on the trend.)
Year of the Living Tree
Stef McDonald Communications 
I love that idea. The thought of cutting down perfectly healthy trees just to ultimately throw them away has always pained me a bit.