The Vermont White Spruce artificial Christmas tree is the best fake you can buy, and that’s not just our opinion. Last month, we rented a studio, secured 10 of the most popular artificial Christmas trees on the market, got 10 volunteers together to put the trees together and fluff them, then invited three interior designers to blind-judge them.
The Vermont White Spruce won the competition, getting very close to a perfect score. This is the best fake Christmas tree you can buy, based on the most thorough test we’ve seen. However, like other Balsam Hill trees, it’s not cheap. The list price is $1,700, though it’s normally listed as on sale for a few hundred bucks. Right now it’s priced at $999, which is the cheapest we’ve seen it this year.
It’s not the only sale: Balsam Hill’s other trees are up to 50% off. Balsam Hill’s other trees are up to 50% off right now.
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Photograph: Jeremey Theron Kirby
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Photograph: Jeremey Theron Kirby
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Photograph: Lexi Wehrmeister
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Photograph: Lexi Wehrmeister
Balsam Hill
Vermont White Spruce
Maybe your tree is already up for the year, or maybe you don’t want to spend a grand on a fake Christmas tree, but this is a great deal on a tree you will likely have for a decade or more.
- Like other Balsam Hill pre-lit trees, you don’t have to fuss with any wires to hook it up. The three parts of the three click together and make an automatic electrical connection, so when you plug it in and press a button, it’s ready to decorate.
- It’s extremely lifelike. Light a spruce-scented Yankee Candle, and you may even fool some guests in the right light. This is a full and lush tree where you can’t see straight through to the metal trunk.
- You get lots of nice little perks like free shipping over $350, a very sturdy plastic carrying bag, and even gloves to protect your hands while you fluff it (budget at least an hour for adjusting the branches).
After the trees were tested, we let the people who assembled them take them home—my friend Lexi Wehrmeister reports that the tree was easy to deal with in her house. She cautions people not to throw away the plastic end caps that come with it, as the sharp metal click-together connection of the tree slashed right through her carrying bag.
