Artificial Christmas Trees?

[Leshaface]

Sigh. Can't believe i'm even asking this. But where is the best place to purchase a fake Christmas tree? I love the smell and feel of real trees, but my DS (just turned 1) picks up and eats anything on the ground and i'm concerned with pine needles.

I've seen some at Michaels and Hobby Lobby, but are there other places that have good deals and are of good quality?

ETA: Has anyone purchased their tree on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Would love to have it up the day after Thanksgiving, but i'll wait for a good deal if I need to.

 

[jensan1208]

I bought a beautiful tree at Kmart! It look completely real. I bought mine on Black Friday for a great price.

 

[snowwhite84]

Been considering this $20, 6 foot tree at WalMart. You can choose store pick up to skip shipping fee: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Holiday-T...35072600900247252722&affillinktype=10&veh=aff

Not sure about quality, but it is certainly a good price for the size.

 

[crisi]

I've had my best luck with cheap trees. I did a "you get what you pay for" and bought a beautiful expensive tree, and the lights didn't work and it broke (I did get like five years out of it, but I get five years out of a Target tree as well).

Mine have been from Target. You would probably get the best deal if you could wait until after Christmas, but you could do a cheap tree this year and look after Christmas for something taller and nicer.

 

[wiigirl]

Been considering this $20, 6 foot tree at WalMart. You can choose store pick up to skip shipping fee: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Holiday-T...35072600900247252722&affillinktype=10&veh=aff

Not sure about quality, but it is certainly a good price for the size.

 

[sksjasams]

I got our artificial tree during Black Friday 2011 at Home Depot. It is a 7.5 ft pre-lit Wesley Pine. Regular price $149...I got it for only $49! It really is a nice one too.

Not sure they will have that special again, but the nice thing about Home Depot is you can buy it early and get a price adjustment. I bought our tree regular price on the Wed before Thanksgiving, and then brought the receipt in on Black Friday and got a price adjustment for the lower price.

 

[Kogo Shuko]

I got my tree at WalMart for about 30 dollars. It's black, so maybe not what everyone's looking for, but it was certainly a good price. And the lights have yet to burn out.

 

[ilovemk76]

We get our trees (put up more than one) from the pool/seasonal stores. They really look real and last. We don't get prelit trees. When getting an artificial tree make sure the tree does not look perfect (that Walmart tree looks perfect). Some tips should be longer and others shorter like a real tree. These trees do cost money, so there is a trade-off.

 

[ellone]

Target has decent ones - do not get a prelit. Ours had issues with the wiring after the first year (can get them all to light up with creative use of extension cords).

 

[xlsm]

We got ours at Walmart 4 years ago. I think it's 8.5' tall, and the diameter of the bottom branches is close to 5'. It's beautiful. We got it at regular price for $79, I think. Maybe $89, but I know it was less than $100.

It has held up amazingly well and survived a move.

If you like the pine scent, I found these things at Michaels (and I'm sure they're other places too) called ScentCicles (something like that). They're these green stick things that you can hang far back into the branches so you can't see them, but the scent is really nice, not overpowering or fake smelling. They smell very natural and they lasted the entire time we had our tree up. They have cinnamon scented ones too.

Also, Hobby Lobby has Christmas stuff 50% off right now, so you might be able to get a great deal there too.

I was so hesitant to have a fake tree too, but I've had one since my oldest son's first Christmas (he's 10), and they're so convenient.

 

[KristiMc]

We bought one from http://www.treeclassics.com/ 9 years ago and it still looks beautiful.

 

[LJSquishy]

Artificial Christmas trees are almost always 50% off everywhere, so don't buy one unless it's on sale!

There are so many different 'species' of trees to choose from. I prefer the Fir/Spruce trees. Mine is about 9 years old and is a Blue Dunhill Fir from Shopko. I like the beauty of the bluish green trees which is why I chose that one. You may prefer a different type or different color tone.

I highly recommend purchasing an UNLIT tree! If you really want the convenience of not having to put lights on every year, fine, but only expect them to last a few years. I always read about people having sections of lights that won't work anymore and the lights are almost impossible to remove on the prelit trees. With an unlit tree you are also free to change up the lights whenever you want...maybe one year you want white, and the next year multi.

They now make artificial trees with molded plastic tips which make them look even more realistic. Some have a combination of the old-style and the new molded tips. They're really beautiful...usually more expensive, but worth it in my opinion for a tree you'll have 20 years.

Also consider whether or not you want a tree that comes in just a few sections, or one that has individual branches you hook in. Mine has individual branches and it's a process to assemble it (and bend all of the tips so they look natural) but I grew up having a tree just like that so I'm used to the labor involved. My parents purchased a prelit tree at Costco last year that comes in just 3 or 4 sections that pop up...after just a few fine-tuned adjustments, it's ready to go.

I was at Lowe's the other day and it looked like they had a few really nice trees. You'll find gorgeous ones anywhere so it's best to just go out and start looking! Some trees will look more full than others...keep that in mind...you want a nice, full tree with lots of tips. Also before you go out and look at trees, measure the space in your house -- not just the height (allow for a tree topper!), but also the diameter. Trees are all different diameters and some will fit better than others in your designated spot.

 

[ImDMous]

We got ours at Costco, it's about 7 1/2 ft tall and fairly wide. We were looking around and a lot of the cheaper ones we saw were so skinny all the way down, not realistic looking at all. If you buy one online, make sure it has the width included in the measurements. The thing I love about Costco is you can always bring anything back, if the lights stop working (which hasn't happened yet) I know I'll be able to bring it back and get a new one.

 

[beakerz]

We used to live in an apartment that would not allow real trees, and I missed the smell of a real tree so much.

My DW found a candle that smelled as close to the real thing as I've ever found. I've since switched to a wax melter, but it's the same thing.

I did a quick google search (all of the candles are packed away at home), and I think it's made by a company called yankee candle (I think it's balsam & cedar, or christmas wreath). If you find them around, give them a smell. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

 

[TLuvsD]

Ours is old, but still going strong...I wired lights to it (the branches are on hinges, the tree goes together in sections). I just took regular lights and some floral wire from Micheals and wired them to the tree. If a section goes out I can replace them.

 

[Leshaface]

Wow! Thanks everyone for the replies. Never considered not getting a prelit tree, but now I won't be. We have a ton of lights that would be wasted if we got a prelit tree anyway. As far as the scent, YES! I had seen some 'treesicles' from Yankee Candle and thought that was a great idea to get the scent of pine needles in that area.

So many places to look at. Thanks everyone!

 

[JanaDee]

We bought one from http://www.treeclassics.com/ 9 years ago and it still looks beautiful.

Holy moly, for those prices, the trees better be gorgeous!

 

[msmama]

I have a 6 foot skinny pre-lit try from Big Lots that is going on 8 years old. It probably didn't cost more than $30 8 years ago so I have certainly gotten my money's worth.

My son (5) asked for a real tree this year, but I just don't like the maintenance of a real tree. I was going to try to get a little table top real tree though to bring in some of the real pine smell. You can also get some real pine branches and weave them into your fake tree.

 

[crisi]

You may have a hard time finding a tree that isn't pre-lit. When I bought my last one, they were all pre-lit - but I didn't do a ton of shopping.

I remember my first artificial tree. I was one of those "never" people - I loved the tradition, the smell of pine. And I was broke and I went down to go get a tree and they wanted $30 for a crappy tree. And I was single and getting the tree home and into the house was a pain in the back end (think Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping, but fortunately, ground floor). And a tree I couldn't afford that was a pain in the back end did not pay sufficient dividends in the warm feeling of the pine smell and tradition.

My grandmother had given me a $20 gift certificate to Target for Christmas and after Christmas - a few days later because I don't shop the day after - I was walking through the Christmas section and there was a tree for $16. It wasn't a big tree, which was great because I could get it up easily by myself. It looked fine - not "real"- but it showed off my ornaments well. And it lasted .... well, its still in my basement twenty years later, we've just moved to a taller tree for the room we have it in.

 

[DLgal]

We got our tree at Lowe's about 5 years ago and it is still going strong. It wasnt cheap. I think it was $350 or so. It's 6.5 feet "Colorado Spruce" and prelit with white LEDs. It's a GE brand tree exclusive to Lowe's. It was only one of two in the store that actually LOOKED like a real tree. That was important to us. This tree fools everyone. It has branches with plastic/rubber needles, not that nylon fabric type of "needle" you see often on fake trees.

If you want a fake tree that looks real, you'll be spending $$$. However, I figured that if a real tree would have cost about $60/year anyway, and we could get a good 5-7 years out of it, we'd come out ahead in the long run. This is year 6 so the plan worked out well.