Flocked Artificial Christmas Tree

Every year, my family fights over which kind of tree we are going to put up and decorate in the living room, and this year we decided that the pine needle hazard from living trees was not worth the hassle, so a brand new flocked artificial Christmas tree is on our shopping list.

A lot of families with nice carpeting might also want to do the same and buy one of the 'fake trees' as my daughter is calling them now, but I also heard that babies and toddlers in the home, and curious pets, too, are great reasons to not have a needle-dropping centerpiece in the house. It only takes one needle stuck in a little child's throat or your beloved pet to ruin the season for your entire family. Also, loose needles can stay in the carpet for months and resurface long after you have forgotten about the possible dangers of them, leaving little ones unprotected.

These beautiful replicas make it look like it's been snowing and you have recently brought it in from the snowy forest. However, the snow on these variously sized masterpieces never melts away. No need to worry about needles dropping in droves or about water dripping all over your floor, presents, or causing problems with strings of lights. Honestly, the water underneath the trunk always concerned me – the electrical hazards, let alone the probability of mold growing under the bowl scared me, and it was still a point of fear for me. There's nothing like worrying if your overgrown but temporary plant is too dry and poses a fire hazard or if its water bowl is contaminating your home to ruin the holiday spirit, trust me. Having a nonliving one solves those issues for me quite nicely. My son has tried to explain to his sister that this version does not use up natural resources as living specimens do, but she still wants a live one this year. Nobody else wants the hassle, though.

I plan on putting ours in the traditional spot, right in front of the bay window. It always looks perfect there, from both inside and outside. The bay window reflects the lights back, too, making it seem even more special. I know some people put theirs in the den or in their game room, but any place with a big window to showcase it for the neighbors to see can work great, too.

The day after Thanksgiving is when most families we know start putting up the decorations, but we wanted to use ours for a background for some family photos. We don't get to see everyone during the year, so we wanted some good pictures of us all in front of the lights and everything to put on some custom greeting cards. They will show recent photographs and arrive just in time for me to send them out early. There's no reason to wait for Black Friday to start decorating, in my book.

Anyway, I settled on five different ones that might work for us this year and over the next several ones. These have snowy whiteness all around them. Some have a very generous amount, which might be too much for some people, and others have a much lighter blanket of snow. They also vary from one another in that some have their own lights while others do not. Lighter snow-coverings means that these also have some green showing through, and I love that look.

However, they all have stable metal frames and a multitude of points, which is what they call the needles. Three come in various heights that you can choose from. The most natural-looking one also has snow-covered pine cones, which is only part of why it seems the most real. I also like how the bases vary in how full they are. While I love the bushier versions for their width, other people might not have the same amount of space. With kids, we want a lot of space underneath to stash presents.

7.5 Foot Carolina Pine Flocked Artificial Christmas Tree