My Balsam Hill Christmas tree is the crown jewel of holiday decorating

Is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas?I grew up measuring Christmas by the tree.Cut-your-own, grocery-lot deals, even in my young adult years, Manhattan bodega carry-aways à la “When Harry Met Sally.” I take the tree very seriously.No tree meant the season hadn’t started.Today I’m closer to Billy Crystal’s actual age in said holiday classic, plus I travel more, host more and share the living room with a couple curious dogs.

The charm of watering and a needle duty have worn off.I need the look without the mess, which is how I landed on Balsam Hill Christmas trees.I wasn’t anti-artificial so much as pro-tradition.

However, once I did the merry math on time, needles and disposal, I decided it was worth it to test the brand I kept hearing about.If an artificial tree were going to convert me, it needed to look real enough to fool my blurry-eyed nieces on Christmas morning (and maybe their blurry-eyed parents on Christmas Eve) and hold up to years of packing and unpacking and decorating.If you had told me, even just a few years ago, I’d be trading in a freshly cut tree for a flipping fake fir, I’d have said you were out of your mind.Yet, here we are.The tree I chose is the 7.5-inch BH Balsam Fir Flip Tree.

That’s right – if I’m going artificial, I’m going to do it right.I want something that not only looks real but is really easy, too.

Outside branches use the brand’s True Needle foliage for texture and color variation.Classic Needles sit deeper in the tree to add fullness.

I also found this to be the case with another major artificial Christmas tree I reviewed from the King of Christmas premium collection.The mix sells the illusion.Pros:Cons:There are three levels of realism for Balsam Hill Christmas trees:If you aren’t sure where to start, it’s OK.

I wasn’t quite sure either.Given this is what Balsam Hill is known for, it should be no surprise that it has a comprehensive, easy-to-use guide on how to pick a tree.When perusin...