Realistic artificial Christmas tree: what makes the difference

An artificial tree almost always gives itself away in the same place: the needles. The rest matters too, but they are what people look at first.

The needles

On an ordinary artificial tree, the needles are flat, too long, and they shine. You can see it from across the room, and feel it as soon as you touch it. A realistic tree has short, dense, matte needles, soft to the touch, and the same across the whole tree.

Full all the way down

Many trees are full at the top and sparse at the bottom. Yet the lower branches are the ones you see most, at the level of the presents.

The base

Most artificial trees stand on a metal cross you spend the evening hiding under a cloth. A weighted pot lets you set it down as it is, or slip it into a planter.

Storage

A good artificial tree goes away in January and comes back unchanged in December, with no needles on the floor and no branches to reshape.

The HOPER tree

Real touch, UV-treated, delivered in its weighted pot, for a console, an entrance or a corner of the living room. Sizes and price are on the tree page, and the whole collection, wreath included, on the Christmas page.