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Original poster

Balsam Hill Xmas Tree

41 replies

cocomelonhead · 10/09/2022 16:21

Which one should I buy? Which ones do you have? Bonus points for pictures!

Been promising myself one 'next year' for years now but our old one really is on its last legs (was my in laws when my husband was a kid!), so this year I'm gonna do it and hope it lasts as long as the old one.

OP posts:
LottieTx · 10/09/2022 16:33

Following this thread for the pics!! I would love one but they’re a bit too pricey for us and we get a real one while the kids are small (they like to go and help pick it etc). Looking forward to some lovely Christmassy pictures 🤗

Dannexe · 10/09/2022 16:34

I don’t like mine. They’re no better than other artificial trees. Mn made me buy one

Suzi888 · 10/09/2022 16:41

Thinking about it too. I want to see them though, I hate ordering online. I want a tall, thick, bushy tree!

shinynewapple22 · 10/09/2022 16:59

Make sure you order it early then . We ordered one a couple of years ago and after a series of emails (sometimes in French, sometimes in German) advising there were some stock difficulties but assuring me I would most definitely get my tree before Christmas- they eventually cancelled the order about 10 days before Christmas.

Luckily we were still able to get ourselves a real tree that year, and bought a much cheaper (but still nice) pre-lit artificial one last year - at about a quarter of the price .

They are still sending me French and German emails .....

SheldontheWonderSchlong · 10/09/2022 17:06

Dannexe · 10/09/2022 16:34

I don’t like mine. They’re no better than other artificial trees. Mn made me buy one

Same here. It's ok, but no where near as full as the picture showed, no matter how long I spend fannying around with it. Plus loads of the realistic tips have come off even though I treat it with more tender care than a bloody baby!
If I ever get another artificial tree (the price of this one means it'll probably be buried with me!) I would definitely want to see it in the flesh first.

I have the Silverado Slim btw.

fourquenelles · 10/09/2022 17:15

I bought a 4ft, white LED festooned, spruce type about 6 weeks ago in their sales for around £125. This is to replace the tree I have had for about 20 years bought from Homebase. I haven't set it up yet but it looks and feels no better in terms of quality than my old one. However, integrated lights will mean no socket juggling and I am a founding member of the "throw stuff at it and hope it sticks" tree decorating guild. I am hoping that once set up it'll be fabulous.

Redhollyhocks · 10/09/2022 17:17

I also don’t rate mine. It isn’t very realistic and is a faff to put together. White Company have the best ones I have seen.

Floralnomad · 10/09/2022 17:23

We love ours , we’ve got a 7’ pre lit slim Fraser fir and a 4.5’ pre lit cathedral fir that goes on a sideboard in our smaller lounge . They are very easy to put up and both look beautiful but very different . The Fraser is bushy , the cathedral is sparse which is what I wanted . For what we paid ( sale price ) they are much better than anything comparable in JL / garden centres / DIY places .

MaisyMary77 · 10/09/2022 17:23

I bought a pre-lit grandview fir in the January sales. Built it as soon as it arrived so I could see what it was like. It’s really nice but to be honest I can’t tell the difference in quality to my other tree, which came from a garden centre.
It’s worth waiting until the January sales. Mine was £279 for the 7 foot one. It’s currently selling for £489.

Dannexe · 10/09/2022 18:00

I genuinely think it’s one of those where people spend so much money they have to convince themselves it was worth it by raving about it.
everhots are the same.

Floralnomad · 10/09/2022 18:09

Dannexe · 10/09/2022 18:00

I genuinely think it’s one of those where people spend so much money they have to convince themselves it was worth it by raving about it.
everhots are the same.

I disagree , mine were bought in the sales , I paid about £200 for the big one and £80 for the small one , so the same sort of price or less than I’d have paid in JL or a garden centre and they really look fabulous .

Original poster
cocomelonhead · 11/09/2022 08:24

Ohhhh noooo! I'm second guessing myself now after some of the comments! I don't want to waste my money but I am happy to spend it for a good quality beautiful tree that will last. I don't know what to do!

OP posts:
Dannexe · 11/09/2022 08:39

Honestly they are fine but the way people rave about them on here you’d think they are different to other artificial trees. They’re not. I have two (bought at the same time) they’re fine but I feel like I bought into the hype and could have had the same thing for a lot less money. The lighting isn’t good on mine. It’s best described as “feeble”.

princessbear80 · 11/09/2022 08:46

I know you asked about BH trees, but as alternatives - John Lewis where you can see and feel the trees in real life is a good bet, or I bought mine online from WeRChristmas and I’m incredibly happy with it.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 11/09/2022 09:01

Ours is very nice, and worth what we paid. Also we have a little house with high ceilings, and they do a number of talk, narrow trees that suit those spaces better than lots of the other trees. However we stalked the sales and got I think 60% discount. They're overpriced for much of the year, including January as people think to look the, so the January sale isn't all that.

HermioneWeasley · 12/09/2022 17:09

Another one who doesn’t think it’s worth what we paid. Can’t see the difference between ours and one I saw for £60 in Morrisons

Wammawink · 12/09/2022 17:16

I have a 7ft one and it's not bushy like the pictures at all. We spent about 4 hrs in total fluffing it out. Very disappointed tbh

Alucadekena · 12/09/2022 17:50

I love mine. Have had it several years and I get it to look exactly like their photo. If you watch their video you will see how each branch should be fluffed and where people go wrong, the example in the middle. Mine is the blur spruce.

I will admit that I do something that helps with branch fluffing but it is because it also aids me stringing the lights. However, putting up the tree has always been a family thing so I have help but everyone knows what to do so each person gets 2 branches per layer to fluff. There are 4 of us.

When you get your BH tree it comes in sections and each section is held together with some ribbon. When I put the bottom section into the stand and let down all the branches I then tie back up all the other branches bar the bottom layer. This means I can easily see each branch and there are 2 designs of branch. You just go up and sideways with each bit just like the video below and because there are 2 designs of branch there is a set way to do it. There are never any gaps.

I then wind the lights up and down each branch, from trunk to tip but up and down each tip too and back to the trunk. I use a 1000 lights on a 6ft tree. Take down the next layer and do the same again, fluff and light. Yes it sounds like a faff but to be honest I am not going to want to sit looking at a sad tree for several weeks. When we pack the tree each layer is tied up with strips of fabric from an old sheet. It sounds like more effort than it actually is. When putting up the tree we listen to Christmas music, chat and have fun doing it. I also taught my children when they were little how to decorate a tree so it looks cohesive rather than just flung together. There are lots of videos on YouTube showing how to decorate a tree to make it look amazing.

I know from this thread that people are very negative about BH and I can't upload a photo as it has all my metadata in the files. Here is the branch fluffing video. The trees are used on day time TV shows here and in the US, they are well regarded.

Alucadekena · 12/09/2022 17:51

And I definitely bought it in the sale I think in the summer.

Alucadekena · 12/09/2022 17:52

@Wammawink have you seen the video on how to fluff? Also my tip of just letting down one layer at a time to make it easier to get to every branch?

Dannexe · 12/09/2022 18:04

But the point is that if you spend many hours fluffing up any other artificial tree it will also look better.

all I can say is they have an extremely good PR machine..

FlutterbButterfly · 12/09/2022 20:26

Mine is stunning, the Pre lit Fraser Fir, probably a bit too perfect. I'd probably get the Nordman when I'm ready fir a new one but that's years off.

Poodlepompom · 12/09/2022 21:11

Just thought I would add, we got ours from B and Q last year. Still pretty pricey but it's really lovely quality, nice and full and wasnt too difficult to put together. It is also pre lit which is a godsend! I'm excited to get it out again this year.

Alucadekena · 12/09/2022 21:46

@Dannexe I agree but it doesn't take hours. The first time you unpack any tree that has been squeezed into a box it needs attention. After that the BH bag is so generous in size you don't need to flatten the branches, I just fold each layer up and wrap it. But I do have help. When I was a child we 3 children but the tree up, it was a lovely experience every year and so we have all recreated this with our own children. My children have been decorating the tree since KS2 age. One is now an adult and the other almost an adult. It is our tradition.

Dannexe · 12/09/2022 22:42

Well my bags aren’t that generous. They still need an enormous amount of fluffing every year

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