Dazzling Prelit Artificial Christmas Tree

A few years ago, before we had a prelit Christmas tree, I was pretty fed up with the entire concept of Christmas decorating.

My husband and I would spend hours untangling the Christmas lights before we got them up on the tree, and in working condition.

By the time we were done, neither one of us was in the mood to put up any of the delicate German Christmas ornaments that we recently acquired.

Looking through the newspaper one morning, I saw a beautiful prelit artificial Christmas tree advertised at discount price.

Wow! That would save us a lot of hassle setting up the lights every year.

So, although we already had our Christmas tree up and decorated, I rushed to that store to take advantage of the sale. An hour later, I came home with a prelit Christmas tree packed into the back of my SUV.

The following December, I was actually eager to get started on the Christmas decorating. So, I went to the attic and brought down the box that contained our brand new prelit artificial Christmas tree. My husband was skeptical about how nice looking it would be, but I knew that he was secretly pleased that he wouldn't have to struggle with Christmas light decorating that year. We did have to put a little effort getting the prelit Christmas tree put together, as we'd never set up an artificial tree before, but it ended up looking very nice when we were done.

The real test came when we needed to plug it in and see how it looked. I plugged it in and suddenly, the prelit artificial Christmas tree lit up! My husband smiled with relief realizing that it really did look pretty. We then hung up the beautiful German Christmas ornaments and other Christmas decorations. While I had worried that there would be cords or wires poking out since it was a prelit Christmas tree, there were none. The lights and cords were glued securely to the branches alleviating the fears that it would look "too fake".

Throughout the holiday season, we had numerous parties and get-togethers at our house. We didn't tell anyone (except my sister, whose story you will read later) that we had purchased a prelit Christmas tree or that it wasn't real. To be quite honest, unless you knew or studied it up close, you would not have guessed that it was a prelit artificial Christmas tree! No one even asked about it, but we did get many compliments on how nicely the tree was decorated.

Our guests were greatly interested in the artistic blown glass German Christmas ornaments which sort of detracted their attention from the tree itself. One relative asked my husband if he'd had any more battles with hanging the Christmas lights this year and my husband smugly replied "no". We just smiled at each other. Our prelit artificial Christmas tree has been a wonderful investment and remains our little secret. So, don't discount artificial Christmas trees because you think they don't look real.

I often dream of a white Christmas, but living in the Southwest, my options are quite limited. I would love to cut down a nice Douglas Fir for my Christmas celebration, string it with Christmas tree lights, and just watch the snow fall outside, but except for the lights bit, all of this is nothing more than a pipe dream. It seems that the best I can do is to get my own prelit artificial Christmas Tree and display a miniature Christmas village. Like you, I also love German Christmas ornaments, so I have a few hanging on my tree. Although a prelit Christmas tree is quite far from what I really want, it is better than nothing.

Christmas in the Southwest didn't exactly begin with prelit Christmas trees, but they certainly did gain a bit of authenticity with it. The fact is, before people started going in for their prelit artificial Christmas trees, there were authentic Southwestern Christmas traditions. Funny as it might sound, besides the usual Christmas light for house decor and outside Christmas decorations, we would also decorate cacti with Christmas lights. And why not? You may laugh, but do you think that it was really snowing in Bethlehem of all places, on the original Christmas eve? Certainly not!

The idea of the Christmas tradition that we have is a Northern European adaptation, no less silly and arbitrary than a lighted cactus, or a prelit artificial Christmas tree for that matter. What really matters is the same thing that always does, and that is to make sure that whatever you do is truly what is important to you, and not what others tell you that Christmas should be about. If you want a prelit artificial Christmas tree, wonderful! If you decide to leave the prelit Christmas tree in the close, and string up a cactus this year, more power to you! Just remember to enjoy yourself, and that's all that counts.

If you do decide to get a prelit Christmas tree, you should take a great bit of care in picking it. Make sure that it's something that you want to use for at least a few years. After all, they are not exactly cheap Christmas trees, and who would want to get another one the very next year? For every real Christmas tree species that you can use, I would say that there is at least one prelit artificial Christmas tree model, but probably more like three or four. So, your options are pretty wide, and you need to choose carefully. You should also shop around to find discounts on artificial Christmas trees which abound around the holidays.

Have fun trimming your Christmas tree, whether real or artificial, and have a wonderful holiday season!

Other items of interest

Animated Outdoor Christmas Decorations       Elegant Victorian Christmas Decorations     Dazzling Christmas Decorating For The Home

Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament      Christmas Light Sculpture     Glass Christmas Ornament     Balsam Christmas Tree

© 2006 and Beyond,  www.dazzlingholidays.com - Prelit artificial Christmas tree