Oh, Christmas trees...
Can a real fir be trumped by the convenience of a good artificial version? TRICIA PHILLIPS and RUKI SAYID rate fakes billed as pop-up and go…
6ft Pre-Lit Snow Tipped Christmas Tree, £60, Argos Simple to set up but we did get covered in the fake snow taking it out of the box. The branches on the lower half are hinged so they almost sort themselves out, without leaving gaps. Looked snowy and Chrismassy immediately and you could get away without using extra decorations. George Home 5ft Pop-Up Pre-Lit LED Christmas Tree with baubles, £25, Asda
We had this up in less than five minutes. It’s got all the classic and traditional elements of green tree with red and gold baubles, and warm and soft lights. Just a matter of putting the base together, adding a pole and dropping the tree over it, then plugging in.
6ft Green Pencil Christmas Tree, £15, Argos
Easy to put together – just three bits and it’s pretty sturdy. But it takes a bit of time and it’s fiddly to pull all the branches into place. Decent tree, good for a small room. It needed lots of baubles and bits to brighten it up. Be wary of using big baubles. 6ft Mixed Cones and
Berries Tree, £50, Wilko
Sturdy and a bit heavy to carry. Simple to put up and the branches are on arms and wires so they fell into place easily. Branches are chunky and substantial and the cones and berries are a nice addition. A few baubles and lights and it looked good. If it had come pre-lit this would have got our top score as it is a good tree. 6ft Green Baubles & Lights Christmas Tree, £35, Marks & Spencer
We loved the fact you could buy everything as a bundle. A simple slot-together tree, basic but decent quality. The baubles were a mix of posh-looking numbers in green and clear glass, along with glitter finish, shiny and matt ones. 5-6ft Non-Drop Nordman Fir Tree, £19.99, Lidl For those who just can’t live without the real deal, Lidl has branched out this year to offer the genuine article... just be sure you can dispose of it properly when the festivities are over.