The Best Artificial Trees for a Mess-Free Holiday Season

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Things I love: holiday music, twinkly lights, ginger cookies, Home Alone marathons, snow flurries (a distant dream since I moved to Florida). Suffice it to say, I fall firmly in the camp of “it’s the most wonderful time of the year”—but there is one thing I could go without. I’ll be honest: I dread trimming and tending to and taking down the tree, and so does my husband. So this year, we’ve decided to spring for an artificial one—and I have my sights set on a few from Walmart, like the Pre-Lit Holiday Christmas Pine that’s currently a whopping $295 off. Bonus: It’s got over 1,700 4.5-star reviews from fully converted faux fans.

Pre-Lit Holiday Christmas Pine Tree — $160.00

Originally $455, currently 65 percent off for $160

Large, full, and balanced all the way around
Comes pre-strung with warm white lights for never-been-simpler assembly
Snow-flecked branches give all the cozy vibes
Comes in three sizes (7.5, 9, and 12 feet) to fit any living space
Cost-efficient when used year after year
No watering, tending to, or messy cleanup included

Pricey when not on sale, but definitely worth the investment
No winter fir fragrance (psst: there are candles for that!)

Why am I going faux, you wonder? For starters: As a holiday stan, I’m very particular about my tree. I want the just-right proportions of height and girth without uneven sections or cockeyed branches. For years, I’d drag my family to the tree farm where I’d spend hours (yes, hours) searching for the one, only to lug it home, unwrap it, and find a replica of the leaning tower of Pisa in my living room.

Alongside its shape and size, I need my tree to handle a very serious lineup of ornaments, lights, and ribbons—and I’ve always been anxious that my pick won’t be sturdy enough to hold the weight of these non-negotiables (okay, reading horror stories about toppling trees doesn’t help). With an artificial tree, I know I’ll get that near-perfect silhouette every time, and can decorate to my heart’s content.

Tree maintenance is also a major factor. I wouldn’t exactly call my thumbs green, and I find myself forgetting to water the base—and then panicking, and then overcompensating by way of drowning it—year after year. That tends to lead to a very sad plant that can hardly hold on through New Year’s—a travesty! A faux fir eliminates that fear (read: I can pull out my tree before Thanksgiving without worrying about it drying out) *and* makes the dreaded clean-up at the season’s end a sap-and-needle-free breeze.

Last but definitely not least: After running the numbers, I’ve realized how cost-efficient investing in a synthetic tree is. In the past, we’ve dished out at least $100 for a real one—and that’s not accounting for the string lights that we seem to replace annually. Walmart’s artificial trees range in price point—but no matter what, we realized that after just a few holiday seasons, our savings would be significant.

I’ll admit that I do live for fresh fir fragrances this time of year. But after weighing the pros and cons of a synthetic tree, I’ve decided I’ll settle for a new collection of evergreen candles to deliver the seasonal scent and seriously up the cozy vibes throughout my house.

Ready to go faux with me? Check out some of Walmart’s best artificial trees (plus tabletop decorations, garlands, and smells-like-the-real-thing candles) and ring in the holidays with less mess and way less stress.