Community Chat

[wvumountiefan]

What brand do you gals think is the best quality? We are going to Lowes and Walmart later to look, but wanted to get your opinions. TIA

[ValuSkr]

I haven't bought one in about ten years so can't recommend a brand.  Just be sure it has a good warranty relative to the price of the tree (i.e., more expensive = better warranty), and that's it's easy and inexpensive to obtain warranty service.  Also that blown bulbs can be easily found and replaced.

[tends2dogs]

@wvumountiefan  I don't know any brands per se, but I walked through our local Walmart on Wednesday and looked at their trees.  They had a beautiful selection.  Every size and shape imaginable.  I think it is a matter of which tree calls out to you.  They offered trees with and without lights.  They had every height tree from 3 " to 12".  They also had all white branches, flocked green branches, and green branches.  Also many different "type" pine trees (needle size). 

Make it a fun day.  I wasn't in the market to purchase a tree, but the display was so beautiful, I had to walk around it and take it all in........a couple of times .

BTW  I would guess that Lowes will be just as nice.......tis the season and all......

[Moonchilde]

@wvumountiefan, my niece bought the QVC TSV tree several weeks ago and while she loved the look of the tree, it malfunctioned out of the box (wouldn't UNassemble) so she packed it up and sent it back (about as fun as you'd imagine).

She found a similar tree at Lowe's she likes very much. It's up and lit now, very pretty even undecorated (that comes later today). Sorry I can't tell you the brand, but it has the natural-looking pretty LED lights, not a "slim" model. No one's up yet but me so can't ask. Lowe's trees are 25% off today.

[wvumountiefan]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

@wvumountiefan, my niece bought the QVC TSV tree several weeks ago and while she loved the look of the tree, it malfunctioned out of the box (wouldn't UNassemble) so she packed it up and sent it back (about as fun as you'd imagine).

She found a similar tree at Lowe's she likes very much. It's up and lit now, very pretty even undecorated (that comes later today). Sorry I can't tell you the brand, but it has the natural-looking pretty LED lights, not a "slim" model. No one's up yet but me so can't ask. Lowe's trees are 25% off today.

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Thanks @Moonchilde. Honestly, most of the trees on QVC do not get good reviews. I'm excited to go look!

[gardenman]

I bought a 7' Duncan Fir tree from Walmart  for $88 three years ago and it's been fine. It's a bit skinnier than I'd really prefer, but it decorates up nicely and is a really nicely made tree. I've had no problems with the durability or lights. This is the third year with it and I'd highly recommend it if it suits your needs. Just spend some time fluffing the branches when you pull it out of the box and it'll look great. (And be advised, you'll likely never get it all stuffed back into the box after getting it out and fluffing it up.)

Also invest in a LightKeeper Pro, if you haven't already, if your tree uses conventional (not LED) lights. That little gadget was made to keep prelit trees lit and works very well. I haven't had to use it on my tree yet, but I've used it on other light sets and it makes your life much easier. 

Warranties on things like Christmas treees sound like a good idea until you have to pack it back into the box and ship it back for service. You're generally better off just forgoing the warranty.

I just set it up yesterday and here's a somewhat blurry photo of it up and decorated. (The photo's a bit blurry due to the tree being on a rotating stand. It's a moving taget.) The silver stuff on the walls behind it are simply two mylar heat blankets available in any dollar store. Crumple them up to get them nicely wrinkled and they make a pretty neat reflective surface behind the tree. It looks especially impressive at night in a dark room. With the rotating tree it brings back memories of the old disco lights from the seventies.

[wvumountiefan]

@gardenman Wow! That's a beautiful tree. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Mary Bailey]

Three Christmas's ago I bought a floor sample from Lowe's.  It was an ITwinkle tree.  I can't wait to set it up today! 

One thing I noticed when shopping back then, the trees had a "lifetime" warranty, lights were only one year.

[Abrowneyegirl]

Ballard Designs has some of the best artificial trees I have ever seen in my life.

We are due for a new tree and we will buy from Ballard.

When shopping compare amount of lights and tips.  As PP stated the lights are usually only warrantied for 1 year.

[abbyinidaho]

I bought a Santa's Best 7.5' Smart-Tech Tree from either Lowe's or Home Depot a couple of years ago. It was a little pricey, but it's so beautiful, full, and the colors are just amazing.