Or do fake trees always look crap?

[heyyyottoe]

So I treated myself to a Balsam Hill tree and I’m honestly shocked at how shit it looks.

All my previous trees weren’t great but I thought buying this brand would be better … how mistaken I was.

so sparse and ugly. If I ever bother to decorate I’ll just get a real tree from now one.

@ToadRage Your tree looks lovely. Very pretty. (In your post at 19.07.)

Well I have learned something from this thread…tree fluffing! I thought our fake tree was looking underwhelming and realised where I had gone wrong. My tree looks beautiful now and it prompted me to remember that I was missing lots of baubles.
Husband now found the expensive huge ones I bought last year that I had forgotten about 🤦‍♀️Thank you MN 😊

Oh, and to the OP @heyyyottoe Of course YABU, and ridiculous! We have had fake trees since the dawn of time. My parents had one, and DH and I have always had them. We have a big (fake) Norway Spruce right now. We have had it for a decade, and it still looks amazing.

I can't bring myself to put a 'real' one in my house. Apart from the fact I couldn't bear the thought of a tree being chopped down for my entertainment, I couldn't stand the pine needles all over the place, and Heaven knows what creepy crawlies are in it, it's high maintenance, it needs watering, you can get mould, and sap all over it, and it's just too much like hard work...

I think some people think having a 'real' Christmas tree makes them more middle class or something, which I always find hilarious, and I love to watch them spend 3-4 weeks sweeping up, and vacuuming twice a day from all the (pine needles) mess...

FAKE Christmas trees were made for a reason! And it's a load of crap that they 'can't' look as good as 'real' ones. Many of them look as good as real ones. Some look better!

As has been said, you need to fluff your tree out more, and put more decorations and tinsel on it! No tree (not even a 'real' one) is going to look good how you have decorated it. There's hardly anything on it!

The poll result says many people disagree with you @heyyyottoe 😎

People saying they look cheap and naff and tacky must be thinking about the ones from about 50-60 years ago when they really did look fake! Many of them look amazing now.

Pic 1 is what (some) posters think a fake Christmas tree looks like... and yes they did look a bit like this, 50-60 years ago!

Pic 2 is what (most of them) look like now! They haven't looked naff and cheap and tacky for about three and a half decades!

Mine's fake and beaufiful

We get real trees. And I think the exact opposite to you. I hate it, they’re uneven, sparse in places, sometimes lean, you can’t use every branch, they droop with heavy ornaments, they look a mess underneath, there’s no space for presents. I literally hate them and think they look so shit.
i much prefer a good fake tree.

Not sure why you needed felt the need to reply like this!

You asked a question on a public forum. And all you have done is put the tree and out on a few decorations. You haven’t separated any of the smaller parts on the branches. It took me an hour to fluff my tree and it’s just half a tree.

Just seen a message on a Facebook page about someone who bought a 'real' Christmas tree yesterday, and they've discovered it's covered in weevils.

WEEVILS! All over the floor (when they got up this morning...) Some dead, some alive... EEEEEEEEEK! 😱

The live ones have been feeding on the sap that was leaking from the tree.

Nooooooooooooooo.........!!

I love (real/live) trees as much as the next man (or woman,) but NOT IN MY HOUSE! It all seems a bit Victorian, having a 'real' Christmas tree. It's just really not necessary now, as there are so many beautiful fake ones, (that look as nice as a real one, and sometimes better!) And there are so many down sides to having a real one. As has been illustrated on this thread.

.

OP – If what you’ve been sent is rubbish, then you’re well within your rights to complain. I think you’ve got a good reason to ask for a refund.

Everyone else – Please be kind. Lots of us can’t have real trees, so fake ones are a lifesaver. My autistic child has pica, so fallen needles would be a real risk. It’s not great being told that all fake trees look shit.

I bought a tree from Balsam Hill some years ago, it looked awful when assembled out of the box. It needed fluffing and looked much better.

The photo clearly showed sparse branches. It clearly hasn't been fluffed enough.

Team real tree here! They look beautiful, fake trees are too uniform in shape and have no lovely smell. We only top up the water a couple of times a week, no dropped needles or bugs here.

But yes OP, that doesn't look like the photo. If spreading the branches doesn't work, send it back and get one you're happy with it

My Balsam Hill tree still looks great after 5 years but it does need lots of separating and fluffing.

I bought my 6ft fake tree 28 years ago from Woolworths for £9.99.

It’s still going strong now and looks great.

I think the whole concept of thinking a fake tree is odd, is really odd…

And I think the whole concept of thinking that the concept of a fake tree is odd, is really odd…

How long can we keep this one going for? 😉

Calm down. Perhaps people can’t afford to buy a real tree every year? Or that some have said they’re allergic? Or some don’t want the mess of needles and sap and having to crawl under it every night to top up the water?

It’s not the same as fake grass as it’s just basically an indoor decoration - it won’t affect wildlife or rain run off. If you use it over several years it’s probably as eco friendly as growing and chopping down young trees en masse.

More sustainable? Really? 🤔

And yet I’ve had my fake tree for 28 years and it will likely keep going for years to come. So it’s being ‘re-used’ every year and I’m not contributing to trees being chopped down.

But sure, the real tree that only lasts a couple of weeks is more ‘sustainable’ 🙄

That gif😳😳😳

One thing i need is a large square plant pot to stand our fake tree in. I hate the bottoms of trees.... and real dislike material covers, too. Any suggestions? TIA

God forbid we should all have preferences.

I like real trees - because I do. Other people like fake trees - because they do. I have zero space in my head to worry or care about other people's choices. It's their Christmas, I want everyone to do what makes them happy.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you get through it!!😂

well this one is 26 years old and cost £6.99 in Homebase back then. It has 26 years worth of decs on I buy a new one each year and it is beautiful to me

We have a fake tree. Its tall but narrow as we have limited space. I hate the stand on fake trees, ours has a basket.

DH spends some time arranging the branches.

Yes its plastic but its served us 20 years and will for many more so not sure its less sustainable than real.

I'm very surprised - this is our Balsam Hill tree and it's been great.

This is our balsam hill one — new this year. They take so much fluffing — every single branch separated on each stalk, some up and some down. I probably spent 1.5 hours fluffing this 8ft. It’s a pain, but first year is always the worst. You just need to more fluffing - watch a balsam hill video on how best to do it.

We always used to get a real tree and I was horrified the year my Mum bought a fake tree - but to be fair it looked really good and we could keep it up all of December without worrying about it dying.

The one in my flat looks a bit crap when it's bare 😂I make up for it with lots of decorations. Don't have a lot of choice though as I don't have enough space for a spectacular one.