If you celebrate Christmas, then you're probably about to buy a Christmas Tree if you haven't already. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans bought 28.2 million real trees last year compared to 11.7 million artificial ones. Real trees are traditional, smell great, and after the season is over you just throw them away. But with artificial trees you don't have to shop every year and there is no clean up as with real trees. But which ever way you're leaning, there are ways to get the best for less.

You can obviously buy an artificial tree online but did you know you can buy real Christmas Trees online also? This makes price shopping easier but you don't want to buy a real tree online because you will not be able to inspect the tree quality. Instead look online for tree farms and see what price listings they have, then visit that tree farm to choose your tree.

Here are some tips for shopping for a real tree :

1) Pull some pine needles and see if they come off the branch, they shouldn't come off very easily.
2) Pick the tree up and hit it against the ground and see if any needles fall off.
3) Take a branch and bend it, it should bend and be supple, it should not snap.

Artificial trees come in every form, all types of colors and even upside down.
Tips for shopping for an artificial tree:

1) Make sure the branches are full and cover the center pole
2) Look for one that mimics a real tree like a noble fur
3) Take into consideration how hard it is to put the tree up and take it down and how much room does the storage box take up.