Any recs on a fake Christmas tree?

[Alys the Cat]

Sigh. I never thought I'd want to get a fake tree, but with the expense and the mess of real ones, it's starting to make sense. Also, a lot of the ornaments they make these days are too heavy to be supported by real tree branches. Double sigh.

Does anyone have a fake tree they really like and would recommend? I'm not sure what brands to look at, and if I should go with an un-lit or a pre-lit tree.

Also, are there good sales now, or should I just wait until after the holiday?

Thanks!

[MarisaSF]

We just got one for the first time. Sigh here also, DH talked me into them being actually overall environmentally more friendly than the real ones, especially where we live. Warning: even the fake ones shed. Isn't that odd? I keep finding fake pine bristles on the floor. Maybe that's just a new-tree thing.

Anyway, we didn't shop around, so I don't know brands. We got the same one our friends had from Costco. I would definitely get the pre-lit type. At least to me, hanging the lights was never the fun part of the decking the tree, so the pre-lit tree skips a PITA step.

[JoyNChrist]

I'm also a new convert to fake trees. DH convinced me that a real one was too much of a fire hazard, since I'm one of those people who likes to put the tree up before Thanksgiving and take it down sometime around Valentine's Day (lol...okay, maybe I'm not that bad, but close).

Don't know the brand, but we got a great one at Lowe's. It's 7.5', prelit, and pretty fat (a lot of fake trees seem too skinny to me, but this one is really full). I paid $120 for it. I imagine it'd be cheaper after Christmas, but you may not be able to find one. I was going to buy one after Christmas last year, but couldn't find a good one anywhere.

Definitely go pre-lit. I didn't realize how nice this would be until I pulled mine out of the box and just plugged it into the wall. Saves SO much time!

I've also heard that amazon has good deals on trees, but I don't know from personal experience.

HTH!

[octmom]

We went the fake tree route this year too -- first time in my entire life I haven't had a real tree. We looked around over the weekend and ended up buying a 7.5 foot pre-lit Scotch Pine with GE "Constant on" lights (they stay lit if a bulb goes out). Definitely go for the pre-lit if you can find one you like. They carried different GE models at Lowe's, K-Mart, and Sears, but we had trouble finding what we wanted in stock last weekend. I think Home Depot carries them too. We ended up buying ours at K-Mart, a store I usually avoid like the plague. I'm sure better deals can be found after Christmas, but they may not have what you want in stock then anyway.

The thing I like about the GE trees (actually made or distributed by a company called Santa's Best, I realized after looking at the directions in the box) is that the needles on the parts that show most look real and not like straight bits of green papery cloth. They do use those kind of needles on the inner branches, but you can't really see them. There was one tree at Target that also had realistic needles, but mine was out of stock in the size I wanted.

I plan to bring in some fresh greenery for the mantle later, so we'll still have the Christmas tree scent in the house, but I am loving not having needles everywhere this year! Once the kids are bigger and may care, we'll probably go back to getting real trees. For the next few years, this one looks real and quite nice.

Jerilyn
DS, 10/03
DD, 3/06

[bubbaray]

I got ours at Costco and it looks quite nice. It is an unlit tree. I've heard that prelit trees are a PITA if the bulbs go out, but not personal experience with that.

FWIW, I grew up with fake trees b/c I'm allergic to pine. DH HATES fake trees and for the past few years, I've had to put up with winter allergies. A couple of years ago, I put my foot (kleenex?!) down and we reverted to fake trees. The switch was fortuitous as it turns out DD is extremely allergic to trees!

Our Costco always sells out of their trees in November.

HTH

Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: c/s 01/2007

[ilovetivo]

I always thought they were more enviro friendly, but Al Gore was on oprah yesterday talking about global warming. Actually, fake ones are worse b/c of pvc emissions etc. So if that's why you want one, it's a non issue. HTH!

ETA: here's the link Make Your Tree Greener
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200612/tows_past_20061205_d.jhtml

the pvc also ends in up landfills and in the water supply

[Wife_and_mommy]

I've seen the Costco one in person and it's really nice.

We bought one from Michael's and I'm very pleased with it. It's 7.5' prelit. SO easy to put up. DH did it in 2 minutes flat. It used to take me *all* day to put just the tree and lights up. Ours was $349 regular/$249 when we got it day after tday.




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[MarisaSF]

We considered that, but plan to have the same tree for 40 years (or however long we get). It definitely wouldn't be a good think to produce, buy, and dispose of every couple years. Ick!

Depends a bit on where you live. If we lived in a Maine forest, we'd get a live one and replant it like I did growing up. But we live in the desert, so a farmed one would need to travel here and can't be replanted. And our composter is a leeeeetle bit too small for a tree. ;)

That link mentions LED lights. That's cool. I had no idea they made 'em.

[MissyAg94]

Someone here recommended the GE prelit tree to me. I LOVE it. There are so many lights on it and the branches look very realistic. I got ours at Home Depot. It is 7 or 7.5 feet tall (can't recall) and it is called Just Cut Spruce. It is really nice.

[octmom]

Sounds like we have the same (or very similar) one. It is nice.

Jerilyn
DS, 10/03
DD, 3/06

[Alys the Cat]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! Our Costco was out of stock, so we went to Home Depot and got a GE. It's still in the box, but the display model looked great.

Now I just need to scavenge some real tree branches so it smells like Christmas around here... :)

[kijip]

We got a GE one for my mom when she lived in a building that did not allow real trees. It lasted for the few years that she was there and was still in good enough condition for her to give it to a neighbor.

We currently live within spitting distance of several different tree farms/organic small farms. So real is far cheaper and more eco-friendly for us. :P I would totally get a fake tree if we lived far from real firs and pines but let's just say they don't call Washington the evergreen state for nothing, lOL.

[ribbit1019]

Thanks for posting this. We were on the fence about getting a real or fake and couldn't find a fake in our budget that we liked. So we just got a real tree tonight ($15; a steal!!) and spent a little more on LED lights. I was pushing DH to get reg. lights, but the article convinced me otherwise (not strong in my convictions today I guess, lol.)
So I guess we are having the most eco-friendly tree possible. (We have no yard so replanting is not really an option for us.) I plan on having it mulched for our flowerboxes. And it smells heavenly in here!!

Happy Holidays!

Christy
Wife to Richard
My Waterbabies
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[Momof3Labs]

We got a gorgeous one at Home Depot a few years ago - it is prelit, and just so full and pretty!

[calv]

add us to the list who also got a fake tree! I didn't like the idea at all and now that it's up and decorated it's PERFECT! I really love it. We also got the "just cut" looking tree by GE. We made sure that it had at least 700+ light and close to 2000 branches. IT's so nice to plug it in and go. I miss the smell but there are many other solutions around that. For $200 it's really a gorgeous tree and it will pay for itself soon since we cut down our tree every year and never paid less than $45 per/tree.

We should post pics of our trees!

[HHCs Mom]

We have a fake tree that is NOT pre-lit. Let me tell you, get one that already has the lights!!! DH and I spent 2 hours putting it together and getting lights on it the other night. I still haven't decorated it yet; still trying to recover from the other night! ;)

This is actually my parents' tree that we're borrowing. My mom is sick of doing the tree all by herself every year so she's boycotting Christmas trees at their house until my dad gets his butt in gear and realizes that he needs to help. He's pouting about not having a tree but my mom is hoping that this tactic will work in her favor for next Christmas. :)


Kim
~ mama to a sweet boy named Harrison ~ 4.6.04
...and #2 due 5.24.07!

[Alys the Cat]

Yes -- living in South Florida means no access to locally grown trees, and no way to replant.
So I'm making my peace with the faux tree. It's a hit with DS, and it's not even decorated yet!

[LarsMal]

I visited a friend earlier today who had the most beautiful artificial tree I've seen. It is a 7 foot, GE pre-lit tree that she got from Lowes. I honestly thought it was real. It was gorgeous.