Fabulous Fakes

Half of all Americans who buy Christmas trees are getting artificial ones, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. Usually shipped almost fully assembled, the faux firs never need watering, nor do they drop needles or drip sap all over your living room rug. Often, they're even prehung with lights, sparing you any scary moments teetering atop a stepladder.

What’s more, the current crop of fakes, with full branches and rounded needle tips (sometimes hand-painted), do a good job of fooling the eye. Of course, finding space to store the tree when the holidays are over can be challenging, but at least you don't have to drag it to your sidewalk or drive to your local dump to dispose of it.

Five- to 7-foot fakes generally sell for $200 to $500, and last between 6 and 10 Christmases. At the bargain end, Target (target.com) offers a prelit, 6-foot version for around $200. It's not as full or real-looking as more expensive trees, but is a good deal for the money. If you're up for a splurge, amazonfoliages.com sells an extremely real-looking, prelit, 9-foot artificial Austrian pine -- with tons of branches and needles — for $962.

But before you plunk down your money, ask these questions:

Is the tree prelit? Some 90 percent of artificial trees are, and this saves you a lot of time.

Are there enough lightbulbs on the tree? A high-quality tree includes about 700 smaller lights or 300 larger lights.

What is the warranty on the tree? Obviously, the longer, the better.

Next page: Want to go au-natural?