Sparkling six: Fake firs

This year, sales of neon bright, snowy white, gold and pre-lit fake firs have taken off, as stores have twigged on to the fact that we all secretly pine for no fuss, no mess, so long as it’s unashamedly artificial and isn’t pretending to be the real deal.

Green plastic imitations are naff but John Lewis, which is selling no fewer than 27 varieties, has had a soaraway success with its white Bonsai. The gnarled white resin dwarf tree is sold online with the pitch that it will add “Eastern promise to your Christmas”. Original, certainly.

If stark white is your thing, it’s also worth checking out Cox and Cox’s magical paper tree, so pared-back that you won’t dare let a bauble within a mile of it, or Next Home’s pre-lit Snowy tree, available in several sizes, which comes with a blissful dusting of fake snow and pre-fitted with hundreds of LED lights.

Stewart Walton, at The Hastings and Bexhill Wood Recycling Project, has come up with another winner — turning unwanted wood into funky wooden trees and painting them using recycled paint. He claims to have a commission to make next year’s for Downing Street and will colour and build to order, charging by the metre. The gold award goes to M&S for its Gold fabric leaf tree, glittering yet almost tasteful, while the urban sophisticate will relish the elegant, space-saving lit cone from Next Home.

1. Next home lit cone, £60, nexthorne.co.uk

2. White bonsai tree, £75, johnlewis.co.uk

3. M&S, 6ft gold tree, £125, marksandspencer.com

4. Red wood tree, £100, recyclingwood.org.uk

5. Pre-lit snowy tree, £60-£85, nexthorne.co.uk

6. Magical paper tree, £40, coxandcox.co.uk