Real for us too - we only have one every second year as we are away interstate the other years. We have floorboards so easy sweep up of pine needles and I have never seen a spider come out of the tree - or any other creepy crawly for that matter!

We also have open fireplaces so the tree gets cut up, dried out and used as fire wood so it all gets used in the end. The scouts near us also do a Christmas tree collection for $10 in January.