| You walk through the aisles of your big box | | | | Before you decide on any tree, decide shape, |
| retailer and you see dozens of Artificial | | | | style and height. If you like long needles or |
| Christmas Trees. It's hard not to think of | | | | short, bushy or narrow, flocked or natural - |
| the convenience and low maintenance of a fake | | | | these are just a few of the choices you need |
| tree this year. The retailer has a large | | | | to make. |
| selection of trees in many price ponts. | | | | |
| What's the difference between the trees. | | | | What's a "tip"? A "tip" is the end of a |
| | | | Christmas Tree Branch. Instead of leaves an |
| First, be warned that large retailers are not | | | | evergreen has needles and tips. One branch is |
| about quality they are about price so the | | | | filled with several tips and each tip has |
| trees in their stores represent the bottom of | | | | hundreds of needles. |
| the market. There is a place for trees like | | | | |
| this, but if you are looking for a realistic | | | | Traditional Christmas Trees (unlit): To |
| looking artificial tree, you need to look | | | | select an unlit tree you can judge the |
| elsewhere. You can either go to a local | | | | fullness my the number of "Tips" that are on |
| nursery, most also sell fake Christmas trees | | | | the tree. Generally a 6' tree will have |
| or if you want the broadest selection shop | | | | 800-1000 tips to look very full. An 8' tree |
| online. | | | | will have over 1200 tips. To give a very |
| | | | rough rule of thumb the best quality trees |
| Artificial Christmas Trees are sold in both | | | | will have more than 100 tips per foot in most |
| lit and unlit versions. I'll give pointers | | | | traditional styles. |
| for both lighted trees and traditional trees. | | | | |