It’s Christmas! OK, well not quite but our Christmas tree has gone up and the advent calendars are out, which qualifies for some festive cheer. For the first time this year we’ve gone for an artificial tree instead of a real one. I was a bit skeptical about whether I would like it but actually, I love it! Here are 5 reasons why:
1. Space saving
We live in a small cottage and we really don’t have a corner that a tree can go in. So for the last five years, we have been setting it in the living room and skirting around it, knocking of needles as we go. It’s difficult to find a real tree that is a decent height but not bushy around the bottom. The artificial tree we chose from Christmas Tree World is 5ft but designed to be slim so it fits perfectly. They even have ‘half trees’ that you can back against a wall.
2. No needles to clear up
Last year, I took the tree down the day after boxing day as I was so tired of my house being covered in pine needles! We cut the bottom off, gave it water to stand in and it still just shed constantly. I was worried that an artificial tree would look really fake but I was pleasantly surprised. You can spread the branches out so they look bushy and unless you inspect it closely, you really can’t tell the difference.
3. Allergy friendly
I love the smell of a real Christmas tree but I don’t love the fact that we spend all of December with slightly watery eyes, itchy throat and sneezing. To be honest, it affects me more than the children and I’m really happy to enjoy the tree this year without any of the side effects.
4. Children. Cats. Dogs
Never work with animals or children – especially not when trying to put up or look after a Christmas tree! I do love the ritual of going to pick a real Christmas tree but it usually descends into some kind of drama and this year was so easy. The artificial tree we chose even comes prelit and takes minutes to put together. Plus you don’t have to remember to water it or worry about cats or dogs swishing it with their tails or claws
5. Cost effective
We usually spend about £40-60 on a real Christmas tree and while this one was more expensive to buy – £120 – it is well made and will last a long time so it will be very cost effective in the long run. Plus, as the lights are built in that means no losing them, breaking them or buying extra because we forgot we had any!
Do you have an artificial tree? Would you consider buying one?
Disclosure: We were gifted the Christmas tree to include in this post. All photos and opinions are our own.
Oh this is interesting as we’ve actually gone the other way this year and got a real one! I’m intrigued to see which one we prefer more – all your points make so much sense which is why we’ve chosen fake year after year!
I love our real tree but agree about the needles getting EVERYWHERE! We have an artificial one in the porch that we adore,
We have a real tree this year, but we’ve had artificial ones in previous years and you’re right, they’re so much less messy!