Tips For Finding The Perfect Artificial Christmas Tree

An artificial Christmas tree can be just as beautiful as the real thing! Knowing what to look for and what to watch out for will help you choose the perfect tree for your Christmas home.

Crash! It was about 3am, and I sat upright in bed after being jolted awake. I knew immediately what had happened. Our nine-foot, real Fraser fir Christmas tree fell over in a huge, dramatic cacophony of the tree hitting the floor and ornament smashing. What I did not know but would find out later was that our new cat was the culprit.

This was the last Christmas season we had a live tree. Not because of the cat or the crash, but because I was so tired of the mess a real tree made! And since the fateful crashing tree night, we never looked back.

If this is your first year thinking about about an artificial tree for your home, or already have an artificial tree and might want another one, you are in the right place.

I’ve used decades of my own experience owning 5 full-size artificial trees, two tabletop trees, and countless other small trees, and a whole lot of research to help you choose the perfect artificial tree for your home. And it’s all in one place! This is your go-to guide!

Let’s look at some important things to know before you buy an artificial tree…

Why Choose An Artificial Tree

There are several wonderful benefits of an artificial Christmas tree!

A tree is the most important part of your Christmas décor, so finding the perfect Christmas tree for your home is a worthy quest!

Economical

Let’s talk about the three biggest benefits of choosing an artificial tree.

First, although an artificial tree can be much more expensive than a real one, over the years, an artificial tree can work out to be more economical. If you take care of an artificial tree and use it year after year, you most likely will spend less money than if you buy a real tree every year.

The price range for a tree can vary greatly. Usually, the more expensive trees have such real-looking branches and needles it’s almost impossible to tell they are not fake. There are also rea-touch varieties that feel real too. And these trees often come with self-storing containers and other bells and whistles.

However, a less expensive tree can often work just perfectly too! Price points are coming down as technology is advancing.

And because artificial trees are very real looking, they have become perfectly acceptable Christmas tree options for our home.

Little Or No Mess

Second, a real Christmas tree can be messy! Needles drop and need to be vacuumed up regularly. There is the issue of continuing to get under the tree and water it, plus the gross, stinky water. And when Christmas is over, there is wresting a tree out of the house to be disposed of. This is the not-so-merry part of Christmas decorating!

An artificial tree is much less messy. Just set it up and clean up any needle or flocking, and after that, the tree is pretty much mess-free!

Allergy Free

And lastly, an artificial Christmas tree is such a good option for people sensitive or allergic to evergreens.

Every year, I developed horrible bronchitis at the beginning of the Christmas season, and it was not until I started using an artificial tree that my bronchitis cleared up and never visited me again during the holidays.

Other Benefits

There are a few more benefits worth mentioning…

• overall convenience
• disposal
• many artificial trees are fire use fire-retardant materials
• customized tree appearance
• able to hang heavier ornaments on a tree without the branches bending
• moving the branches where you want them to decorate
• Online shopping

The Drawback

As wonderful as artificial trees are, there are a couple of drawbacks. An artificial Christmas tree is easy to set up and take down but they need to be stored properly from year to year to get the most longevity from them. They like cool dry areas.

We cover our trees with a sheet and put them in the basement. It’s dry and cool there.

The one thing I do miss with an artificial tree is the real evergreen tree smell. Diffusing Christmas essential oil scents that smell like evergreens helps if you, like me, miss the smell of a real tree wafting through your home!

For me, the advantages of an artificial tree outweigh missing a real Christmas tree in our home. Even with these few inconveniences, I do love our artificial trees!

Looking For Realistic Trees

Some artificial trees are so real-looking that only the absence of a scent will give them away! Yes, they are that realistic!

One of the major contributors to this real look lies in the look and feel of the tree’s needles.

There are two distinct types of needle foliage on artificial trees. They are both made from plastic. It is the way they are made that makes the difference. One type of needle is called PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), and the newer type PE (Polyethylene). Understanding the difference between PVC and PE needles on a tree will help you choose a tree with the most lifelike appearance.

PVE Needles

PVC needles are made from colored sheets of plastic that are cut into needle shapes. This will give you the realistic look of evergreen needles from afar, but because they are somewhat two-dimensional and flat they do look a bit “fake” the closer you get.

This type of PVC needle has been used on artificial Christmas trees for a long time. Our very first artificial tree (eons ago) had PVC needles. Maybe you have an old tree, garland, and wreaths made with PVC needles. I call these my old ratty greens.

PE Needles

PE needles are also made of plastic, but the plastic is pushed into a mold made from a real branch end. This injection creates a 3D, more realistic-looking needle. Trees made of PE needles have the texture and feel of their real counterparts.

And PE needles result in a tree with the most real look.

The Best Trees

The best realistic trees on the market right now are those made of both PVC and PE needles. Because trees made of PE needles are usually quite expensive. Look for trees that have PVC needles in the center of the tree and PE needles and branches on the outside of the tree.

You can see the two types of needles in the image above.

What Size Tree Is Best For Me?

It’s important to know what size tree will work the best and look the prettiest in the room.

I learned this lesson well from our first Christmas. It was the first year we were married, and we cut down a real tree in a big field of trees. When we got it home, getting it through the door was our first hurdle. The tree was so big it took up almost half of the living room, and it was way too tall. So we ended up cutting a huge chunk off the bottom of the tree, moved our furniture out of the dining room, and put it in there. It filled up most of the dining room, so we had to eat Christmas dinner in the kitchen that year!

The trees looked much smaller out in the field alongside all the other Christmas trees.

Our first Christmas tree makes a memorable story but we certainly learned a lesson about choosing a tree that is the right size for a room! This moral of the is all about scale. We all want our Christmas trees to look beautiful and fit comfortably in our room. And have room for us too. Choose a tree with your room in mind.

Think of Goldilocks when choosing a tree. You don’t want a tree that is too big or too small. We want a tree that is just right!

And when measuring an artificial Christmas tree you want to measure from the tip-top of the tallest branch all the way down the trunk to the end of the tree base and the Christmas tree stand.

Standard Tree Sizes

There are a few artificial Christmas tree sizes that are standard. That makes it easy to find the tree that is just right for your home.

You want to choose an artificial tree with your ceiling height in mind. When looking for your perfect artificial tree add 6-12 inches to the height of a tree to compensate for your tree topper.

Here are tree sizes that work best with standard ceiling heights…

Tabletop trees are a fabulous option for homes that are too small for a full-size tree or if you want trees for bedrooms or small rooms like sunrooms. There are so many reasons to have a tabletop tree. Festive Tabletop Trees For Every Room: The Ultimate Guide will help you choose and use these smaller evergreen beauties.

Tree Shapes

Once you know the height of the Christmas tree that will work in your room it is important to know what width will work too. A tree, artificial or real, should fit comfortably in a room. It should stand a few inches away from any wall and be within easy reach of an electric outlet.

Artificial Christmas trees come in so many widths! Most full and medium-sized trees measure between five and six feet wide at the fattest part of the tree, as a rule of thumb.

Slim trees are popular for small rooms or spaces. And flat-back trees, trees that are basically a tree cut in half, work if you want the look of a full tree in a small room. You should even measure tabletop trees to make sure they are proportioned just right for the table you want to put them on!

Tree Varieties

There are basically three types of artificial evergreen trees. Spruce, Fir, and Pine.

They are all evergreens and make beautiful artificial Christmas trees. Both spruce and fir needles grow individually from a branch. They are most likely short and stiff. Pine needles grow in clumps that are attached to the branch and are generally long and soft.

Most artificial Christmas trees have many of the same characteristics as real ones.

Right now, Fraser Firs are the most popular artificial trees.

Artificial evergreen trees come in a variety of different colors. You can find them colored blue/green to bright green and even white. And other fun designer colors.

It’s fun to match the color of an artificial tree to the colors of the room they will be in.

In today’s market, you can find many different sizes, shapes, needles, and colors of faux Christmas trees. And you can choose a traditional green tree, a tinsel tree, a flocked tree, and even a fiber optic tree!

There are just so many choices!

Right now, the two most popular choices for a Christmas tree are traditional green trees and flocked trees.

Flocked Trees

I’m a huge fan of these beautiful snowy trees.

The most obvious reasons for choosing a flocked tree are…

• the beauty
• amazing beauty
• so totally beautiful
• the flocking decorates the tree

Flocked trees are just so beautiful! Many flocked trees are dripping with snow and when lit, look ethereal!

Here are a few things to think about when you are considering a flocked tree…

• Not all flocked trees are the same. Some are more heavily flocked than others. Choose the degree of snow that suits your taste and decor.
• There is a mess factor when setting up, decorating, and taking down a flocked tree. But that happens with any Christmas tree, right?
• Faux-flocked Christmas trees should be stored in a dry place that is on the cooler side.
• Definitely purchase a pre-lit flocked tree. Stringing lights on a flocked tree is more than a challenge.

There are also frosted trees that deserve a mention. They don’t look snowy but look a bit icy. Many frosted trees have tiny crystals sprayed on them that look like ice.

Lights For Artificial Trees

Artificial trees are either unlit or pre-lit. Unlit have no light strung in their branches, and pre-lit have strings of light on them. There are several advantages of a pre-lit tree.

The biggest advantage of a pre-lit tree is that you don’t have to string lights in them yourself. And we all know that adding lights to a Christmas tree is a pain!  Another advantage is that pre-lit trees usually have light evenly distributed throughout the tree. Both on the outside and intertwined on the inside.

However, there is one big downside to pre-lit trees. Tree lights are known to all of a sudden not work. And trying to find the issue and fix the lights can be time-consuming and frustrating. Also, if a tree is guaranteed for a length of time, the tree lights are often not guaranteed for as long as the tree if at all.

I have had great luck with all the pre-lit trees I’ve purchased. I’ve had a string not work, and it is usually a missing lightbulb. That is the good and the ugly of a pre-lit tree!

The Perfect Tree

I hope this post will help you find THE right tree for you and your home! Take your time, invest in the best and most realistic tree you can afford, and most of all enjoy the beauty of Christmastime and your tree!

Do you have a tree story? Share it in the comments.

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