Artificial Christmas Trees

Come Yuletide and half the world is busy preparing things to make their festival the joyous occasion it is supposed to be. However, it can be quite an expensive time. The list of Christmas necessaries is quite long too, and for most families, celebrating Christmas could put a year end dent in the pocket with which they might have to usher in the New Year.

It has been estimated that freshly chopped pine trees will soon be a rarity, with the way artificial trees are gaining popularity. Let's find out why it is so!

In the past few years, there has been a considerable shortage of real Christmas trees, automatically spiking the rates and forcing people to opt for artificial trees. The use of artificial trees are on the rise. Survey shows, 21.1 million artificial trees were sold in 2017 and households will spend a staggering $1.01 billion on these trees this season.

In 2017, the average cost of an artificial tree was $78 while the average cost of a real tree was $46. They are made from materials like plastic, feathers and even wires and sticks. The artificial trees available today are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a derivative of petroleum. These materials are strung on a central stem, made of plastic or wood.

There are other ways in which these Christmas trees can help you economize on things. These trees are not perishable like the real ones, so you can keep them year after year. All artificial Christmas trees can be customized, so you can play with the lighting and decoration on the trees and make them look different each year.

These trees are designed in a modular pattern, much like the playing blocks kids use. Hence, when the festive period is over, you can simply dismantle the tree and stock it in some corner of the house for the next year, making storage even easier.

The artificial trees available today do not appear fake. With the number of innovations that have taken place over the years, artificial trees look as gorgeous as real trees. The second most important reason, after the price, is the space.

Artificial Christmas trees are made smaller in size, so they can very well fit into the small apartment space that most people live in nowadays. Smaller trees may not look as grand as the real ones, however, they are the only options for people living in condominiums.

Artificial trees, unlike the real trees do not have to be watered. Moreover, they also don't leave pine needles all over the floor, thereby reducing the work during the holiday season. Since artificial trees do not emanate any pine smell, people allergic to it are not troubled.

As the materials used in making these trees are light and flexible, it can be easily packed and transported, thereby, reducing the transportation expenses. So in order to make your artificial Christmas tree even better than the real thing, you can use these mentioned simple tips.

For the decoration: Be creative while decorating the tree. For a snowy effect you can spread some cotton onto the branches. However, these days you also have the option of purchasing frosted Christmas trees, which look fabulous.

For the lighting: The prelit Christmas trees look splendid. You can either purchase these or the plain artificial tree and light it up using some LED lights. LED lights are small, available on strings, and can be easily wound on the Christmas tree. They are cheap too, so you can have different sets of LED Christmas lights to put up on your trees each year.

But then there are some things you need to know before investing in an artificial Christmas tree. Since these trees are made from petroleum, they cannot be recycled and thus are not environment-friendly. Moreover, these trees are also known to shed lead dust.