We have always had fresh, real, noble fir trees as we live in the Christmas tree capitol of the world. Feeling a little strange the last few years about cutting down a live tree, only to watch it die in our living room, and then be cast outside on a burn pile, not to mention to the ever rising cost of a nice, fresh cut tree. We finally decided on a live tree in a pot. We got two years out of that one, now it's time to go in the ground.
So this year, we decided to look at fake trees for the obvious reasons. No fire hazard, not killing a live tree, no watering, no needles or sap to deal with etc. To our surprise, we found a beautiful pre-lit 7.5' spruce. It was 40% off, maybe because most people already have one, who knows. I still wasn't sold on the idea, as I don't particularly care for things that are trying to be something they are not . . . I was really reluctant, but it was simple to put up, and really beautiful. It really bears close inspection and is well made.
I never thought I would be happy with an artificial tree, but they sure have it down when it comes to making them look real! No more real trees for us, as this one is very nice, and really hard to tell the difference.
Ed