Consumers buying artificial Christmas trees are under the impression that these Christmas trees will save them time, money, and effort, compared to having real Christmas trees. Artificial Christmas trees don’t shed needles, they don’t need water, they don’t rot, and they can be reused for years. True enough, this is what designers of artificial Christmas trees have in mind.

However, artificial Christmas trees differ when compared to each other. Some look more real, some don’t. Some shed needles, some won’t. Some are fluffy, some look stiff. With so many factors to consider, consumers need to know the signs of a high quality artificial Christmas tree.

One may judge the quality of an artificial Christmas tree by the following factors:

• Composition
• Construction
• How it is stored
• Features and services that come with a Christmas tree purchase

Let’s discuss these factors further...

1. What is the artificial Christmas tree composed of?

   The usual composition of an artificial Christmas tree is plastic and metal. A high quality artificial Christmas tree has a center pole or trunk made of sturdy metal to support its branches. The branches should be made of flexible metal for easy reshaping, but should also be strong enough to hold ornaments. The tree stand should be made of metal, and should be stable and secure enough to avoid the Christmas tree getting toppled over.

   The branch tips, or needles, are made of plastic. Some artificial Christmas trees have needles made of Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC). Artificial Christmas trees with PVC needles don’t resemble real Christmas trees, as they have different shapes, thickness, softness, and colors. Some PVC trees even have squared edges, though some manufacturers have rounded tips to make these Christmas trees more realistic.

   The more life-like artificial Christmas trees have needles made of Polyethylene, or PE. The reason that PE Artificial Christmas trees look real is because PE is a durable and flexible plastic, and when injected into molds of real christmas trees, allows the PE to hold the unique shape of that tree mold.

   Some measure the quality of artificial Christmas tree needles by the quantity. Some online retailers use the “tip count”, a convincing argument that a higher tip count means higher quality. This is not often the case, as different styles have different tip counts. Some trees range in the hundreds tip count, some in the thousands. What counts is if these tips are strong enough to support ornaments, and if the needles, and branches can cover up the trunk or the pole of the Christmas tree. If a website has a high-resolution picture of the tree and a zoom-in feature, use this to look closely to the artificial Christmas tree and check if the center pole is well hidden or if it can be seen on spots. www.balsamhill.com [change this to Balsam Hill and link the word; don’t show the link] is one website with excellent zooming capabilities for its high resolution photos.

2. How is the artificial Christmas tree constructed, and how is it set up?

   An artificial Christmas tree comes in two types, according to how it was constructed: hinged or hooked. Hooked Christmas trees are those where branches are individually attached, or hooked, to the central pole of the tree. These are usually color-coded to know which branch goes into what hook. These are very tedious to set up.

   Hinged Christmas trees are those with tree branches permanently hinged to the center pole. Some have two, three, or four sections, depending on the total height of the tree. The hinged artificial Christmas tree is set up by putting these sections on top of each other, starting with the bottom part connected to the stand, the second and the third tier, and the top section or the tip of the Christmas tree.

   Not only are hinged Christmas trees easy and convenient to set up, they are also of the higher and better quality than hooked ones.

3. How do you store your artificial Christmas tree?

   Construction and composition are only half of the equation to getting and keeping high quality artificial Christmas trees. One should also know how to store them properly after use. Manufacturers already offer storage bags for their artificial Christmas trees, as storing them in only the original box diminishes the quality, and puts you up for reshaping.

4. What other features and services can I get with the artificial Christmas tree?

   One popular innovation in today’s artificial Christmas trees are the pre-lit Christmas trees (See http://www.balsamhill.com/Prelit-Artificial-Christmas-Trees-s/24.htm for examples). As the name suggests, this artificial Christmas tree include a string of lights that are attached to the branches. In choosing pre-lit Christmas trees, ensure the quality and the quantity of the light bulbs, and how they are attached to the tree. Light bulbs should be solid without any cracks, and secure on its bases and light strings. They would come in 80 to 100 lights per foot of the tree. High quality pre-lit Christmas trees should have these light strings securely attached to the branches.

   As high quality Christmas trees are usually costly, because of the features and the close resemblance to real Christmas trees, they should come with a warranty of at least 3 years. For pre-lit Christmas trees, it should be a warranty of 3000 hours of usage.

So, before buying an artificial Christmas tree, make sure you have researched the tree in mind, using this article as a guide. Tthis way, you’ll not only have a high quality tree, but will gain peace of mind as well.