We have used artificial trees for years. We get years of use out of them, and I've used some of the branches for decorating when they're no longer good as trees. If I used a real tree, I wouldn't feel guilty about that either, since they are a crop, and someone makes a living by growing and selling them. I am kind of allergic though, and get nasty red bumps on my arms from handling them. I also worry about the fire danger. When I was a kid the tree was up for only a week or so, I now keep my up for maybe a month. Like all of you I do miss the smell. Nothing that comes out of a can, or a candle, smells that good, or says Christmas and takes you back to your childhood, like the smell of a real tree. Then there's that thing about bringing live things into the house. I never used to worry about it, but I think now days I'd be checking it for bugs all the time. When I was a kid, we would buy our tree, and there was always a bad side and you had to turn the tree and try to figure out which side was best. Today when I see the green trees, they really are nearly as perfect as artificial ones. Truthfully, I say to each his own. I know artificial works best for us, but I don't have any problems with anyone who prefers real, or better yet live trees.

Hello all, I have just set my pre-lit up. Bought 2 years ago at Lowes, 7 feet (I think), beautiful fluffy tips, they really have a nice selection there. Not cheap, but mine was the last one of that kind and they gave me 50% off. PLUS the added advantage of not having to set it up that first time. So now my problem... the tree comes in 3 parts -> all the power sources (extension plugs) are on the middle part. The top part had one male plug dangling, so that was easily plugged in, and it's working. But the bottom part has 3 plugs. 2 are the male/female connect-thru plugs, the kind to piggy-back. I plugged them in and those 2 strands work. But the one remaining plug is a female end-plug. Where am I supposed to plug that to? Makes me wonder if there is a male plug out there somewhere with power on it, which is impossible. I must be missing something, but can't figure out what. Suggestions, anyone? I'm baffled.

Uxorial, what a fantastic idea. Except for only having them in the house for about a week, I would be very interested in a living tree. I put up 3 trees last year. One 6.5' artifical in the entryway with just lights, and one each in front of the window in the living room and den. Both these rooms are on the front of our house and face the road, so both trees were visible to the street. The den tree was very traditional, all the ornaments we've been collecting for years, etc. In the living room, I tried something different just for fun. Hubby thought I'd lost my marbles when I came home with feathers, lol. Here is the living room tree. and a close up of the top: I like a really tall tree, right to the ceiling. I went back through my pictures, and for some reason I don't seem to have any of the other 2 trees...

I know it's too late for this year, but I'm adding my experience for those who find this thread next year. We had a Frontgate or Grandin Road tree for about 5 years and it was OK until one part of the lights went out and it was pretty hard to figure out how to fix it. The Light Keeper tool mentioned above would probably have worked, but the tree was damaged during our move over the summer anyway. Plus, I have higher ceilings now so I wanted a taller tree. I found the website christmastreeforme.com quite informative about the construction and lighting of artificial trees. I was going to buy from them, but the one I liked only came with multi-colored lights and I wanted clear. I ended up finding one on the vickerman.com website. Vickerman is a wholesale company and they have a good search engine for finding the size tree you want. I then used the model number to find it online at elightbulbs.com. They had very good prices, and I noticed a Vickerman tree on the christmastreeforme.com website for a couple hundred dollars more than it was at elightbulbs.com. I ordered on a Wednesday and had my tree 5 days later, on Monday. I was nervous about getting it because I ordered less than 2 weeks before Christmas. When I emailed elightbulbs.com to check on the status, they responded quickly. I'd order from them again. The tree was easy to set up. Mine came in 4 sections and the lights had to be connected in a few places, but everything was well marked. The branches are all hinged, and it took well over an hour to fluff them out after I put the tree together. I chose a tree with Vickerman's "Dura-Lit" lights because they are supposed to stay lit even if multiple bulbs are removed or burned out. With 800 lights on the tree, I don't want to have to do a lot of troubleshooting so I hope the lights work for several years. I thought about getting LED lights that would last much longer, but I've seen some unfavorable reviews about the color and intensity of the light. My next tree will be LED, I'm sure. Overall I am happy with this tree. It's the 8.5'H x 60"W blue albany spruce. I bent some of the lower branches up a bit so it would fit in a smaller space, so it is probably closer to 54"W. I found 8.5'H is good for my almost 10' ceilings. By the way, I like to put an angel on top of my tree and most artificial trees can't support the weight of it. I found a tree topper extension kit from balsamhill.com for $20 that worked well. I was able to put my angel exactly where I wanted it. Balsam Hill had quick shipping as well, and I got my extension kit the same day I got my tree.