I need to buy my first artificial Christmas tree.
Where do people recommend I source it from? I want something that looks as realistic as possible.
Best artificial Christmas tree?
GourmetFoodie on 02/11/2020 - 21:12
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I’ve heard people say this can be a pain when one light blows though?
Cheap trees are wired in series, you want one that closes the circuit if one dies.
We've got a pre-lit giant Balsam Hill tree.
Best tree we've ever owned. Looks real, easy to put up, and no issues in the 7+ years we've had it.
We also have a table centrepiece and pre-lit wreath from them. Beautiful items!
Saw these advertised after Christmas last year. Certainly look great. It's a very premium price though - not sure I could justify that.
They are a bit pricey compared to others. But before we got this one we found we were replacing trees every couple of years, mostly due to branches falling apart/thinning out, or lights no longer working. Our Balsam Hill has lasted many years, and looks as new as it did when we bought it. A good investment, if you can afford it!
Now really wishing I bought it after Christmas last year. Was a good discount.
@bmerigan: Maybe keep an eye out after Christmas this year. I still get emails from them from time to time, so I know they often have sales. I think there's 20% off at the moment, with free delivery, but you can probably do better after Christmas.
@ChocStrawberries: Cheers, yes there's a 'sale' at the moment but it's only for a couple of items so no good. Might wait.
Second this. Had ours for 5 years now. No regrets.
You could get a real one for like a quarter that price.
We always wanted a real one (LOVE the smell of real trees, takes me back to childhood), but the ones available to us were always too thin and spindly, and no cheaper than other artificial ones. Plus you have to deal with transporting it, watering it, cleaning up after it when it drops needles all over the place, disposing of it afterwards… in tip fees alone, we've made our money back with this one! But each to their own. We love our tree, so no regrets here! :)
Watering is a big one. Our first real tree no one watered it and the needles started falling off early.
I saw these and yes, look amazing but the online reviews in recent years are TERRIBLE.
Look at product review and random forums….so many complaints.
A shame as I’d consider investing that much for a tree I plan to keep for years - but only if I knew I wouldn’t get screwed over.Wow, I just read some of the reviews - they definitely seem to have gone downhill since we bought ours. We got our one before they offered them in Australia, so had to have it shipped from the US. And it's the older style with the light plugs for each section of the tree, rather than the "snap together" trunk ones that the newer ones have. I suspect the new design wasn't an improvement after all! In any case, we love ours! And 7 years without a single issue says something of how they USED to be, at least! What a shame…I guess I'll stop recommending them to people now. :(
I’m so sad as they do look like beautiful trees…or at least they were! I’m glad your one worked out well!
Get one with the fibre optic lights?
Or a classic American style aliminum tree.
If you want the best artificial christmas tree, commission one in gold from your local specialty jeweler To keep costs reasonable I would use cheaper gems like sapphires, rubies and emeralds for colour. Then on top, if you really want the best tree, order a star made of diamonds. I wouldn't use too large a diamonds. Using a variety of sizes from a carat to a few carat should give a nice effect.
I personally like going cheap. I want to see if I can get my hands on the Aldi one this year.
Ask snoop dog
Aldi 7ft one with the inbuilt lighting. Bought last year, for $80ish. Took us longer to get it into the house than to put up
Sounds great value. Does it look realistic?
Go to Christmas Kingdom
What state is xmas kingdom in?
I want this tree. https://youtu.be/FlFsu4dmG5Q
Price though way over the top, but it is prelit, so no messing about with setting it up
My partner is not an ozbargainer and doesn't read reviews. As a consequence, we had a Christmas tree (Fraser fir "most realistic) delivered today, from Balsam Hill.
Really disappointed, unbelievably cheap looking for the ridiculous price. A lot of irregular branches to fill the tree which are visible and look very weird.
To be fair, they do describe:
"Primarily True Needle™ foliage (70%) for outstanding realism, with a small amount of Classic Needles (30%) for fullness."Anyway, I don't like… Returning…
Do you guys have any experience with real Christmas trees? I know they last for about 4 weeks, but do they make too much mess? With life in apartment, it might be hard to dispose even if the seller can also collect the tree (no place to leave the tree for pick-up), but I am considering all the options.
Oh that is disappointing. Useful to know your experience though.
From what I know real trees last sometimes as short as two weeks…depends on the heat they are exposed to and you need to water them daily. Yes they drop pine needles but I would think a vacuum should be able to capture them. The other thing is they can have spiders…
Of course the beautiful smell can be worth the pain of the above!!"The other thing is they can have spiders…"
We can stop here…
Artificial it is… LOL
Thanks!lol yes i feel the same…hence my search for the best artificial tree goes on….
It's such a shame that Balsam Hill has gone downhill so much! As I said above, we've had ours for over 7 years, and it's gorgeous! People always comment on how lovely it is, and it looks pretty realistic once it's up (we got the largest Fraser fir).
Just a quick question, and I only ask, because we had concerns with ours when we first took it out of the box - how long did you spend "fluffing it up"? It took us about 2-3 hours the first time, to get all the needles looking fluffy, and filling in the gaps. But when we put it down each year now, we don't flatten it as much, so it doesn't take too long to put up again.
If you spent a while doing that, and it's still cr@p, then I'm guessing the rumours are true and the trees just suck now! Hopefully nothing happens to ours any time soon…
And I hope you find something nice - there must be another company out there somewhere that does realistic trees! :)
So yesterday we decided to assemble the tree and spend some time fluffing it, and we actually started seeing it a lot better. Not sure if that's because we spent time fluffing it and were tired after a couple of hours, but we are considering keeping it. Also, we phisically checked the options around (e.g., David Jones, Myer, BigW), and they don't look better but are not so expensive either.
I've uploaded some pics so you can make your own judgement:
https://ibb.co/PjKxcjg
https://ibb.co/HFV5NwZ
https://ibb.co/16gcfxMThe first two are the same position, with one on the "night mode".
I believe every time I look at the tree, I will be doing some extra fluffing. I did extra fluffing after taking these photos, so it gets better than this, and probably keeps getting better after each fluffing session.
The number of lights is really good, they are well distributed, but I do think they use far more than 30% of "classic needles" for fullness. However, if you are not so close, you can't distinguish unless you look for the classic needles behind. After adding the ornaments, that should be fine.
I'm glad to hear it might have worked out OK for you after all! It does take a lot of fussing, but it's worth it in the end. :)
And yes, every time you look at it, you'll find another bit to fuss with. Once the decorations go on, you might not notice the smaller "bare" spots.
I suggest you buy one with inbuilt lights, it will save you heaps of hassle.