When it comes to Christmas trees, the big debate is usually "live" versus "artificial," with both sides having pros and cons. Live trees can be expensive and get needles everywhere, but they have a wonderful scent and a look of freshness. Artificial trees are easy to put up and are less expensive in the long run, but very few actually look realistic. This year, we can add a third category to that discussion: chocolate. La Maison du Chocolate has a chocolate Christmas Tree for sale. The base is made of dark chocolate pralines infused with mandarin orange and milk chocolate praline infused with winter spices. Decorating the exterior of the tree with a cubist bent are circular and square chocolates in dark, white and milk. It costs $138, but is only available in cities where there is a Maison du Chocolate boutique - New York, London and Paris - because it is too delicate to be shipped.

Here's a Christmas twist on a classic snack, caramel corn.

I got it from a the Busy Cooks section of About.com, where they have a bunch of recipes for food you can serve at your tree trimming party. Does anyone have tree trimming parties anymore? That sounds like a great thing to do, though I haven't had a bunch of people help me set up a tree in years. I'm not quite sure (except for the Gingerbread Caramel Corn) what makes these recipes - including Beer Cheese Soup, Asparagus Tarts, and Crockpot Artichoke Spinach Dip - tree trimming-ish, but they sound good nonetheless.

I love the smell of pine needles and the ritual of getting a tree, but each year I feel a little sad over throwing that lovely tree away (to be recycled, of course). On Blogging Baby, J.D. Griffioen recommends using a large rosemary bush, cut like a Christmas tree in December and then planted in your garden in January. It's festive, it smells good, and it will flavor your roast chicken and turkey all year long.

It's a great idea, and though I doubt I'll ever give up the pine tree, it would make a great secondary tree for the kids. And maybe I can get them into gardening while I'm at it.

If you purchased a new rosemary bush every year - soon you'd have enough for a whole hedge. And you'd never lack for rosemary skewers or spring chicken with rosemary and lemon again.