Balsam Hill Christmas tree, anyone have one?

Just curious if anyone has one, and if you feel it's worth the money?

I'll soon find out myself as we have one in transit :)

If not, what do you use? Real, artificial, aluminum..?

We've been using fake trees for since we got married 26 years ago, twice we broke down and bought real trees, and twice regretted it, the dead needles, adding water, the mess getting it out, sap in the carpet...

We've had 3 fake trees in the past 6 years, all okay but they got ratty, lights quit working, and none have been 'realistic'. Our biz has been off the charts this year so we thought we'd spend good money and buy, hopefully, our last fake tree :) I checked several websites and tree companies before going with a Balsam Hill. I think we'll be happy :)

9' artificial. The previous on lasted about 5 years but had odd-ball bulbs that were difficult to find replacements. The current one is pre-lit with LED and should last a lot longer when it comes to lighting. It was purchased from Home Depot online, end-of-season, at really high discount. :)

We have an artificial one that looks very good and we've had it for 20+ years if you can believe it. Got it at Sears. No lights on it so we put them on each year. The point that turns me off on a new one is that most of them come with lights and....as has been mentioned here ...when they burn out you are out of luck to get new ones... I'll stick with this one for another 20 years if it lasts!!

We get a ~10+ ft Frasier fir from the boy scouts every year. Smells and looks wonderful. Needle cleanup is at most a 5 minute job. I bought a tree stand that is the Oneway of tree stands-- all made from heavy steel, weighs about 40 lbs (https://www.amazon.com/10-12-Christm.../dp/B0016IYGPA)-- an absurd price, but it supports a 10-12 ft tree with three cats climbing it no problem. Huge water reservoir and very easy to use. I put felts on the feet and can slide the whole tree easily when needed. It has made putting the tree up a joy. Screw the base on, one flip, tweak for straightness, and done. I put on a thousand or so lights and it is glorious.

My kids know there is only one ironclald rule-- No. Fake. Trees. In. Our. House.

Festivus pole here.


















in reality, we have a artificial tree from the 1950’s - chrome silver. It is carefully put away each year. We got it about 20 years ago. It was new old stock when we got it. How very Southern Californian, huh?

We always had real trees but, as you said, they're messy and have a lot of maintenance and you're still cleaning up from the last tree when the next Christmas rolls around. So after we moved last year, we went out and got a fake tree and they're much easier to deal with. I'm too old to be dealing with real anymore. Now it just goes into a box and into the garage.

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Originally Posted by Barry McFadden

We have an artificial one that looks very good and we've had it for 20+ years if you can believe it. Got it at Sears. No lights on it so we put them on each year. The point that turns me off on a new one is that most of them come with lights and....as has been mentioned here ...when they burn out you are out of luck to get new ones... I'll stick with this one for another 20 years if it lasts!!

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We might have the same tree. Bought from Sears years ago and still looks great. I would love to have a real tree but LOML’s allergies won’t allow it. :(

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Originally Posted by Shawn Pixley

in reality, we have a artificial tree from the 1950’s - chrome silver. It is carefully put away each year. We got it about 20 years ago. It was new old stock when we got it. How very Southern Californian, huh?

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So do you also have the color wheel spotlight to go with and if so do you use it. :eek:

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Originally Posted by Lee Schierer

So do you also have the color wheel spotlight to go with and if so do you use it. :eek:

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I had an old auntie with one of those.....

My parents bought an aluminum tree, think I was in first grade which was 1960-'61... Loved that thing :)

So our BH tree arrived, and I must say it's a NICE tree, looks very real, and definitely not cheesy! Came in 2 boxes, and I had to chuckle once I got them open, as each section is numbered 1 thru 4. But, section 3 was labeled 1 (as was section 1), section 2 was labeled 3, and section 3 had no label :) Being fairly mekanikly inclynd, it wasn't to tough to figure it out, but many people might have had a bit of a rough time with it. The automatic section-to-section electric connections for the lights is sure nice, that was a pet peeve of mine with our last 2 trees, finding and plugging in all the plugs and sockets. I've noticed a lot of trees have this feature now.

The wife's got most of the presents all bought too, so we're ready for the season!