Lovely, our penguin was made from toilet roll, glitter and crepe paper by my son at age 6 now aged 25, too :) Still got it. It might come out again if any grandbabies come along.
Fake now but used to have real ones when the kids were little so they could decorate them. Remember one year we got a bit of a duff one that was dropping needles almost as soon as we bought it, teenage daughter went out of the living room in a strop, slammed the door and I watched as every single needle fell off and we were left with a stick in a bucket.
In the past I always had real, and never put up until 2-3 days before Christmas. But now, after seeing so many already outside shops that will be dry and nasty by the day, I'd go for fake. They are so much more realistic now.