Christmas Tree Buyer's Guide

Identify a high quality artificial Christmas tree

How long do you expect to keep the tree?

One of the major benefits of buying an artificial tree is that it can become a long-term investment. As long as you plan on keeping the tree for more than one holiday season, we recommend buying a high quality artificial Christmas tree.

A high quality artificial tree should have foliage that resembles a real Christmas tree, often determined by the quantity of the branch “tips” and the design of the foliage.

In most cases, having more branch “tips” is preferred because an abundance of needles creates a full look for the tree. However, if the Christmas tree is designed with the intention of seeing the inside of the tree (e.g.,  it has a faux trunk), that Christmas tree should have fewer tips than a comparable tree designed to hide the center pole. Also, if an artificial Christmas tree has long needles, fewer tips are used to prevent the tree from looking like an overgrown bush. Since it is virtually impossible to compare specific trees across manufacturers, when buying a tree online, we recommend looking at a close-up photo of the whole tree to see if it looks good. Especially for artificial Christmas trees that are described to look “full”, look closely to see if you can see the center pole of the tree — if so, that is a clear warning that it is a very low-quality tree.

Additionally, high quality trees should come with sturdy metal stands. Avoid plastic stands or poorly constructed metal stands. A strong stand will ensure that your Chrismas tree will not topple or lean to one side, even if heavy ornaments are added to the tree. Some trees stands, like the ones offered with Balsam Hill® trees, come with rubber feet to protect your floors.

Finally, all of the finest artificlal Christmas trees should have hinged branches to keep set-up simple. Unlike “hooked” branches where each individual branch needs to be hooked to the center pole, hinged branches are pre-attached to the center pole. During set-up, you simply pull down the branches that open like the tail of a peacock.