To buy a £300 Christmas tree?

[CredulousThickos]

A Balsam Hill one.

I deeply dislike the look of fake trees usually which means we spend £50+ every year on a real one, which then spends January forlorn in the garden before we get round to chopping it up and getting rid of it. It’s a ball ache.

I’ve read lots of amazing things about the BH realistic ones, and I’ve seen one we like online but it’s £318! I don’t mind investing in it but I’ve never seen one in real life and I’d rather not chuck them £30 for a sample as that seems an utter pisstake.

Does anyone here have one? Do they look super real or is it hype? The reviews are good tbf but I wanted to canvas opinions before we commit to it.

I really want one too, but I'd wait until the 50% off next year. Get a real one for one last year.

It’s already 40% off though so if you factor in the cost of a tree this year I wouldn’t be saving anything.

I have 2 fake trees and then get 1 real one. In all honestly I prefer my fake ones. They look very real and they’re easier to care for. One of mines is a BH one and it genuinely does look real, I love it and it’s better to buy expensive as it will last. This is mines 10th year and looks as good as new:

Katie that’s great news. If they last that long then it’s a no brainer really. Thanks.

Not unreasonable at all if you can afford it and it’s something you are going to use and enjoy for many years.
Garden centres often have a selection of high quality fake trees, might be worth a look if you prefer to see before you buy.

We bought a BH fraser fir , 7’ with lights in the 40% off sale in July for £320 and when it arrived dh put it up to check we liked it and it is absolutely gorgeous and that’s before it’s been properly fluffed out . As a comparison I was in a local garden centre yesterday and saw a 7’ pre lit one for £429 that is nowhere near as realistic or nice . BH customer service is also excellent IME .

They've still got money off? That's interesting... I really can't afford a BH tree on top of everything else but I'm so tempted now!

Well if you use it for ten years you've saved yourself £200 on what you'd have spent on real trees

We bought one in the january sales 7 years ago that was marked down from £450 to £200. Its still good as new and as fake ones are at least £20 aslong as it lasts 10 years we break even.

If you have the disposable income go for it.

I love the balsam hill ones but couldn't afford the upfront costs, DH is also a real tree nut and spends ages looking for the perfect one

• real trees

Up to you really. I would look round for something cheaper, but if you have that sort of money to spend, why not? If you're spending £50 a year then it will have paid for itself in 6 years. A decent artificial tree should last for much longer than that as long as you take it apart and store it carefully.

We attempted to buy one last year.
It never arrived.
Poor customer service.
Online reviews vary.
I still want one...but wont😓

I can’t stand the smell of real trees and can’t risk any needles with my dog .

After years of watching real Christmas trees die in front of our very eyes, we have had a pre-lit one for a couple of years now and love it. Makes decorating the tree so much easier with no lights to wrangle into place. Bliss.

They are used at work, too, where they look great. I'm sure i recognise them in hotels and several west end department stores too. Enjoy.

uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.balsamhill.com

I would say having looked at the first few reviews on the link posted that the majority seem to be in the USA ( prices in dollars / contact my attorney etc ) . As I said I’ve returned a tree to them which I felt was not as described with no hassle and dh has ordered extra bulbs with no problems from the UK team .

Or you could buy a £50 one and send me the change!

I bought one last year in their November sale. It turned up the week before Christmas and their customer service was absolutely shocking. I was furious with them but I do love my tree. It was worth the money, but just beware you may not get it any time soon, and the customer services department treat you like you’re an absolute idiot for asking it’s whereabouts!

Sympathise. Always have real ones, smell great and they make great logs when weathered and the needles are good firelighters. But if all you can do is chuck them out to tips, I'd be going for an unnatural one if I had a place to store it for 364 days. Given real ones are increasingly expensive - I'm paying £35 for a 7 foot tree at mates rates but I've seen double that quoted and even more for blue ones which are mostly imported. The price you're being quote OP sounds a bit much.

I nearly got one but decided against it only due to the fact they didn't have the right sized for us, I went with another make because of that and it's brilliant and cost a lot less! Might be worth shopping around for other realistic trees.

Saw some gorgeous trees in John Lewis today. Even DH who is adamant that we get a real tree, agrees that the JL ones look as close to real as they could do and don’t have that awful plastic feel.

The nicest ones are around the £200 mark and you can see them before buying so might be worth a look.

Can I just put a plug in here for this charity tree collection service?

If any of the real tree people on here are in Sheffield, please use them instead of taking your tree to the dump - all the collectors are volunteers, and all the money goes to the Childrens Hospital

www.christmastreecollections.co.uk/

I’m a real tree nut too, and this year I am going to buy a pot-grown real tree (from Dobbies) and see if I can get it to survive a few years, and bring it in each year.

But to answer the OP - it is perfectly reasonable to get an artificial tree, and if you make the investment in a good one, it should last and last - I can see the sense in that.

One of my friends has a BH tree and it’s gorgeous, really beautiful. I am tempted since this year I can afford it, but I only bought our last new tree last year so don’t think I can justify it. Mind you, when that’s on its way out I’m fancying a BH one.