Nordmann Fir, European Fir, or Sanibel Spruce: Which Balsam Hill Christmas Tree is Right for You?
This is a sponsored post, however all opinions are explicitly my own. This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, you can read my full disclaimer here.
Are you trying to decide which Balsam Hill Christmas Tree is the right one to order for your home? You’re in the right place!
I partnered with Balsam Hill to do a side by side comparison of three of their most realistic looking Christmas trees. The Nordmann Fir, the European Fir, and the Sanibel Spruce.
I had such a hard time choosing a Christmas tree on Balsam Hill’s website! I wanted something very realistic looking, very life-like.
Something that would fit the country cottage farmhouse aesthetic we’re going for in our newly re-built 1800’s farmhouse.
But there were so many options online, and all of them look absolutely beautiful in photographs.
I wanted to know what each of these trees really look like? How realistic can they really be? Are they as pretty in person as they are in the photos?
I couldn’t find that exact post online, so I decided to write it myself!
So if you’re on the fence like I was, trying to narrow down your options, this post will hopefully help make that decision a little easier for you!
Comparing Balsam Hill’s Most Realistic Christmas Trees
In today’s post I’ll be comparing some of Balsam Hill’s most realistic Christmas trees.
The Nordmann Fir, the European Fir, and the Sanibel Spruce.
We’ll look at the realism, the branch appearance, the fullness vs sparseness, the color, the time it takes to fluff the trees, the lights, and more!
But I wanted to point out that I’ll first be showing you these trees undecorated. They’re bear, or “nekkid” as we say in the Carolinas! And that’s on purpose!!
Sometimes it’s hard to see the actual tree underneath all the ornaments and tinsel and garlands… So I thought I’d share a few photos of these Christmas trees in all their natural glory.
Of course I’ll still show you how I decorated each tree at the end of this post! But I wanted to explain the thought process behind showing them “nekkid” first.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s dive into the trees!
Balsam Hill’s BH Nordmann Fir Christmas Tree
Let’s start with the Nordmann Fir Christmas tree! It’s a gorgeous tree, and it listed as one of the most realistic trees on Balsam Hill’s website.
I would say the Nordmann Fir is also a pretty full tree, other than at the very tip top. Though I actually like that about it because I think it makes it look like the live Fraser Firs I grew up with!
One of the coolest features of this tree is that it comes with color changing lights.
With the click of the button, you can choose between all white lights, all colorful lights, or a mix of both!
The trunk of the Nordmann Fir Christmas tree is very life-like in person with the brown color and the textured finish. It truly looks like a live tree trunk!
Especially at the top where the branches get a little more sparse and you can see through to the trunk!
(FYI, I put my phone in between the tree branches to take this photo. It’s not as sparse as this picture would suggest, but I wanted to show you the trunk up close.)
The branches and the needles are a very pretty deep green. They look very similar to the needles on the live Fraser Firs we see at tree lots here in North Carolina!
One thing to note about this tree: In order to get it to look like it does in the photos, you have to fluff it!
It took me maybe 2 hours or so to fluff each branch. But oh my was it worth it! I’ll share more thoughts on fluffing in a bit…
Balsam Hill’s European Fir Christmas Tree
Next up, let’s take a look at the European Fir Christmas tree!
The European Fir tree was designed to look “like a tree you would find growing in a European nursery, and not one that has been pruned way back into a perfect conical shape”.
This tree comes pre-lit with white lights, and I would describe it as a very full Christmas tree.
It truly looks like a real live Christmas tree in person! I think the lively shape of the tree really plays up the realism factor.
The deep green color and shape of the needles on the European Fir are very similar to those on the Nordmann Fir.
But I would say the actual branches themselves are a little bit longer and bigger, especially on the bottom half of the tree.
The European Fir also takes up a little bit more room than the Nordmann Fir because it is a wider tree at the bottom.
Now let’s chat more about fluffing!
Fluffing is everything! It’s worth taking the time to fluff each individual stem on each individual branch. This tree, like the Nordmann Fir also took about 2 ish hours to fluff.
Let me show you a quick “before” and “after”.
Big difference right? Truthfully, I even fluffed this tree a bit more while decorating it!
I probably should have taken a before & after fluffing photo for each tree! But you get the idea. In order to make these trees, or any artificial tree for that matter, look like the photos… you have to spend time fluffing them.
Balsam Hill’s Sanibel Spruce Christmas Tree
Last but not least, let’s chat about the Sanibel Spruce!
This tree looks different from the other two trees because it’s a spruce, and not a fir. It’s a beautiful tree though just the same! I opted for the pre-lit tree and have been very happy with the amount of lights on this tree.
The Sanibel Spruce is a little bit lighter in color, and the needles are slightly shorter as well.
The needles point away from each individual stem in all directions, where as the needles on the two firs point out to the sides and up.
Hopefully how I worded that makes sense! But if not, just look at the photos and that should show you what I’m talking about.
While I wouldn’t consider this tree to be sparse, it is more sparse than the Nordmann Fir and the European Fir.
There aren’t really any noticeable holes and gaps, but it’s just not quite as full either. It’s more spriggy on the edges which I think makes it look more realistic!
The best part about this tree, in my opinion, is that it took me half the time to set up and fluff. Maybe even less. I should have timed myself!
The branches on the Sanibel Spruce are stiffer, and they kindof pop into place when you are setting it up. So you are mainly fluffing the interier branches, and then pulling the sections into place.
If you’re not wanting to spend as long fluffing, the Sanibel Spruce could be a great tree to consider!
My Favorite Balsam Hill Christmas Tree
I tried to be as objective as I could comparing all three trees up to this point. But it’s time I tell you which one I love the most!
My favorite of the three, and the one that has my heart is the Nordmann Fir!
It reminds me so much of the live Fraser Fir trees from my childhood Christmases.
It has that traditional live Christmas tree look – and then there’s the color changing lights!
You just can’t beat being able to change the color of the lights with the click of a button. Our entire family loves this tree and thinks it’s the most magical thing to go back and forth between white and color lights.
See our Nordmann Fir tree’s color changing lights in action below:
My second favorite Christmas tree is the European Fir! The shape of this tree is so unique from all the other artificial trees I looked at.
I’ve had a handful of people comment and message me over on Instagram saying they “thought it was real” and that it looked like it was “plucked straight from the woods”. Such a perfect description of the European Fir!
The European Fir gets really wide at the bottom, and spriggy at the top. It has so much life and character to it!
The Sanibel Spruce was my least favorite of the three, but I think that says more about my love for Fir trees vs just not liking the Sanibel.
I do like the Sanibel! It is a beautiful tree, don’t get me wrong! I personally just wouldn’t choose it over the Nordmann Fir or the European Fir.
The Sanibel is a little more sparse than the other two trees, it’s lighter in color, and the branches have a different look to them than the fir trees.
But it’s also designed to look like a spruce. Not a fir. So it should look different!
And again, this tree took me way less time to set up and fluff. So if fluffing isn’t your favorite, this might be a good one to consider.
But if you’re willing to take the time to fluff, and you want a really authentic and realistic looking tree, either of the Fir options are the way to go! And my favorite of the three is the Nordmann Fir.
My Overall Experience with Balsam Hill
The overall experience with Balsam Hill honestly exceeded my expectations. Yes the trees are absolutely beautiful! But I expected that.
It’s all the extras, all the little details that really made the experience above and beyond what I expected it to be.
Every Balsam Hill Christmas tree comes with it’s own tree storage bag. Plus a separate smaller bag to hold your tree stand, extra light bulbs, and the remote.
The trees were packaged very carefully and in a way that really protected the electrical components. See the cardboard piece wrapped around the tree trunk?
For the pre-lit trees, the lights connect from one section of the tree to the next through the tree trunk. (This makes it so much easier than searching through the branches for a loose cord!)
Anyways, that cardboard piece helps cushion and protect the electrical components in transit.
I actually saved those little cardboard pieces so I can use them again when we store our trees after the holidays are over!
It seems like small stuff when you’re setting everything up. But I know I’m going to really appreciate all these little details even more come January when it’s time to pack it all away until next Christmas!
Decorating our Balsam Hill Christmas Trees
Ok, I’ve talked your ears off long enough! Let me show ya how we decorated each of the trees!
They’re all a little different. But in their own way, each Christmas tree still reflects that homemade, hand-me-down cottage farmhouse style I love so much!
How We Decorated our BH Nordmann Fir
I make a DIY bottle brush Christmas tree topper with this pretty tree in mind!
I layered on a few different strands of white garlands I’ve collected over the years.
Then I added a handful of vintage white ornaments that I found at the Liberty Antique Festival along with a few mercury glass balls.
The tree skirt is actually one of my Great Grandmother’s hand-made heirloom wedding ring quilts!
I thought the little pop of color would be a fun touch. And also a nod to this tree’s color changing lights!!
We all have our own tastes and preferences when it comes to decorating Christmas trees! Some like an ornament on every branch. Some like to see a little more tree, and a little less decor.
I opted for to show a little more tree than decor this year, because when the trees are this realistic, I didn’t want to cover up all that natural beauty!
How We Decorated our Balsam Hill European Fir
I wired two antique corbels together, and attached them to the highest branch to create my own chippy corbel tree topper!
Am I crazy?! Or brilliant?! I’m not sure what others will think of this idea, but I for one love it! I think it’s unique and unexpected.
After I got the corbels attached, I added my DIY heirloom salt dough ornaments.
They turned out so stinking cute. I can’t wait to order another cookie mold and make a whole new design of these next year!
I had a lot of extra ribbon leftover from various projects. So I cut up a bunch of ribbon into long pieces, and layed the ribbons over the ends of some of the branches.
Kindof like you would place tinsel!
After that, I went back and added some battery operated tree candles for extra glow!
By this point, you probably already know I didn’t use an actual tree skirt!
I swirled an old white quilt around the bottom of the tree. Then I topped the quilt with a large antique crocheted table cloth for texture!
I swoon over this! The crocheted tablecloth belonged to my great grandmother, and I couldn’t think of a more special way to incorporate it into our home this Christmas!
How We Decorated our Balsam Hill Sanibel Spruce
My original plan was to use this antique grainsack as a DIY table runner. But bows are everywhere this year!
I’ve been seeing huge bows on Christmas trees, like as a tree topper. And I LOVE it!
So I thought it would be fun to make a bow out of my antique grain sack. How do you think I did?
After attaching the grain sack bow tree topper, I added a few simple ornaments. Some are newer, and some are a DIY I’ll be blogging soon. (I’ll link them here when that post goes up!)
I also added a few different types of red and white striped ribbon.
Rather than tying smaller bows all over the tree, I draped the ribbon pieces over the ends of some of the branches for color and visual interest.
And to pull it all together, I used another one of my Great Grandmother’s heirloom red and white quilts as a tree skirt!
Save Money on Your Balsam Hill Christmas Tree
The best part about working with Balsam Hill this Christmas is that, as a part of this campaign, I get to pass along a little savings your way!
So if you’re in the market for a new tree this year, and you’re considering one from Balsam Hill, be sure to use the code: WHITEANDWOODGRAIN50 to save $50 off your purchase of $350 or more!
Whether you prefer the Nordmann Fir, the European Fir, or the Sanibel Spruce, you really can’t go wrong with a Balsam Hill Christmas tree!
Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today! I hope this post brought a little Christmas cheer to your scroll today.
And if you’re shopping for a Christmas tree for your home this season, I hope it helped you narrow down your options!
Until next time…
I love all 3 trees Brittany. Maybe because you decorated them unusual which looks very pretty. The Toppers are eye-catching!
Happy Thanksgiving,!
Thank you so much Nancy! I’m glad you enjoyed them too. 🙂 Hope you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!!