More than 95 million U.S. households last year made a Christmas tree the centerpiece of their holiday celebration. However, finding the “perfect” tree is no longer as simple as driving to the neighborhood tree lot. Consumers have more choices than ever, given the wide variety of fresh-cut trees transported from farms in one part of the country to sales lots in another and artificial trees that look so lifelike you would swear they’re the real deal.

Tim O’Connor, executive director of the National Christmas Tree Association, a trade association for tree farms, calls buying a real tree “a magical experience and a way to build memories.” Mac Harman, chief executive of Balsam Hill, the leading brand of artificial trees sold directly to consumers, counters that for some consumers, a real tree isn’t an option or requires too much effort to bring home, care for, string lights on and dispose of. He started Balsam Hill because his brother-in-law was severely allergic to live trees…[READ MORE]

Source: How To Pick a Christmas Tree, Whether It’s Real or Artificial | washingtonpost.com