Artificial Christmas Trees can elicit strong holiday feelings! Yes, no, never, maybe are common responses to the idea of buying an artificial Christmas tree. Admittedly a faux Christmas tree was not on this holiday horizon, but times are a changing...
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Purchasing an artificial tree can be quite the shopping experience with so many choices, by so many brands at so many price points. After much comparison I found the trees by Best Choice to be nicely in the middle for price with a lifelike quality (but only if you Fluff, see below)
Best Time To Buy
Definitely varies! I have found summer and after Christmas sales offer the widest selection of prices and trees. Amazon Prime Days, Christmas In July sales and Wayfair Way Days also offer a nice selection.
Number of Branches
More is probably better with the number of tree branches; however more will also increase the price.
Decide Upon Your Tree
Not all artificial trees are created equal! Artificial trees can be spruce, fir or pine at a minimum.
Size?
While height is a factor with the space in your home there are also a few other considerations which can make the tree fit your space easier. Trees can be full (traditional), slim, corner, pencil, wide, sparse (think Charlie Brown Christmas). That is the wonderful part of choosing an artificial tree vs the fun of fitting the tree from the tree lot which looked great until you tried to cram in the living room!
Pre Lit ?
If you do not like putting lights on a Christmas tree then of course pre lit tree is the way to go. The price will be slightly higher. If purchasing
The Art Of The Fluff
Fluffing is the key to artificial trees ! Best Choice even includes a how to fluffing guide and practice does make the tree look even better! Sure you can just assemble the tree (but make sure to fluff later!). Unfluffed trees will have holes and look sparse. They just will!
Recommendation
Find a tree you like now then price shop the tree throughout the year beginning with Black Friday sales then After Christmas sales and then into the summer sales. Chances are judicious shopping for an investment will yield the tree of your choice.
We always had a fresh-cut tree all the years our children were growing up, but many of my friends and relatives eventually opted for an artificial one. The one-time cost of artificial vs. the recurring costs every year for 'real' does become a factor. Plus, many artificial trees can be as pretty as you want. Thanks for your review of the best choice artificial Christmas trees, Tracey.
ReplyDeleteI remember the wonderful smell of a live tree, but I never liked the idea of cutting a tree down just to use as indoor decor for a few weeks. We switched to an artificial tree decades ago. We did have to replace our tree 2 years ago though and I admit, I had sticker shock. My husband puts the tree up. He has the art of the fluff perfected. I almost hate to decorate it because it looks so pretty lit without anything on it. I did notice that Target has all Christmas decor on 50% off this week (including trees). Time to shop for sure before all the best decor gets snatched up!
ReplyDeleteWe finally bit the bullet a few years ago and purchased a high quality, lifelike, pre-lit tree on sale. (The extremely old artificial tree we inherited from my parents had such stiff wire bristles that assembling it always involved a fair amount of painful bloodletting!) It was more expensive than we wanted to paycheck but turned out to be a worthwhile investment. Getting a tree that is easy to assemble, looks real, and is pre-lit can make decorating for the holidays so much more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteWe love Christmas but because we seem to spend such little time at our own home, we have given up on the tree as the major decoration for our holidays. Instead we have a beautiful Christmas creche that we use as our center display and fill the room with candles and a little greenery around the table! It works for us. But I'm glad to know that there are affordable and nice looking artificial ones to be had. In the future it just might be for us again. Thanks Tracey!
ReplyDeleteWe have a pre-lit tree but I actually still add lights to it - so weird that I'm no where near thinking about Christmas yet - I've done zip - yikes!!
ReplyDeleteOur last few trees have been on the smaller side, ranging from 1 foot to 3 foot high. We like that they take up less space and are easier to decorate and store. And sometimes I just go with the cute singing snowmen display.
ReplyDelete