GoKawiilLast November, the WIRED Reviews team held a blind-judged competition of fake Christmas trees in which we had three interior designers pick the best-looking from among 10 popular pines (and firs).
The overall winner was not a surprise to anyone who follows these things: Balsam Hill’s Vermont White Spruce. Balsam Hill also took fourth place and won for the quickest assembly.
Some hyped premium brands live up to their billing, making products that are genuinely nice enough to be worth the price. Balsam Hill is one of those brands.
As we wrote in that piece:
“Balsam Hill trees are well-known among fake-Christmas-tree enthusiasts for their ability to mimic the look and feel of fresh-cut evergreen trees. The company has been around since 2006 and is often found atop lists of the best artificial trees. We found that the brand twinkled brightly in a blind competition, without relying on reputation.”
We're six months away from reasonable people wanting a Christmas tree in their living room, which may be why the brand is clearing out old stock with a huge Amazon sale. You can save 50 percent on lots of trees, including getting the prelit version of Balsam Hill's entry-level 5.5-foot Classic Blue Spruce for $300 and the 7.5-foot unlit Balsam Fir for $569 (the lit version took fourth place in our test).
Photograph: Martin Cizmar
I took a 7.5-foot Balsam Hill home for long-term testing after our competition and can attest to the fact that it was easier to assemble than any fake tree I've ever owned, despite being the largest, and it got compliments all season long. It is a product I would buy with my own money without hesitation. The only issues I have are that it's quite large and heavy (very good build quality), and it's so big that I nearly ran out of ornaments (I've been collecting them on vacations since I was in grade school).
If you don't mind lugging a fresh purchase up to the attic and not thinking about it for six months, you can save a lot by buying now.