The decoration of Christmas trees has evolved and undergone many changes, much like many of the early traditions of the Christmas season. Christmas tree lighting that started out with real candles underwent probably the biggest change when electric light became commercially available and special Christmas tree lights were manufactured. It is therefore not surprising that today you can set up Christmas trees that are expertly decorated with little or no effort.

While many people choose a fresh Christmas tree for its scent, many others simply want a beautifully decorated Christmas tree and will choose an artificial or man-made tree. Artificial trees have been available in America since the start of the 20th century. Many artificial trees are made to have a similar appearance like real Christmas trees, but changes have been made to them to make them decorative and different from regular Christmas trees. As an example, in the 1950s some artificial Christmas trees had branches made of aluminium-coated paper to give them a shiny metallic look. For those who like to have a Christmas tree with a unique look, trees with a similar shiny, metallic appearance are available today. They are however made with a different material because the older trees were a fire hazard.

For the people who are very busy and don't have the time to spend carefully placing Christmas lights on trees, there are several pre-lit models of Christmas trees on the market today. A standard type of these Christmas trees look like their real counterparts except multi-coloured fibre-optic lights can be found scattered throughout the limbs and branches of these trees. This arrangement saves time and effort of having to undo or untangle strings of Christmas tree lights. Another type of pre-lit artificial Christmas tree is those that are made completely of fibre optics so that the tree appears to be shaped out of strands of light that are wispy. Some of these brightly-lit fibre-optic trees also come equipped with pre-recorded Christmas songs and carols and speakers to give the added pleasure of music.

Many pre-lit Christmas trees have electric Christmas tree lights however which need to be plugged into a real electrical outlet. The advantage of these trees is that the lights are already strung on them from the factory and you need only to follow the instructions about how to assemble the tree and plug in the different parts for it to appear lighted. Once this is done correctly, the tree will look as if it was decorated with lights manually or professionally.

Another ready-made decorative feature of artificial Christmas trees is to have the appearance of snow-covered branches. That trend is an evolution of faux snow that is often sprinkled in garlands and wreaths to add a Christmas quality to those decorations. Icicle ornaments are also used to decorate real and artificial trees and icicle lights are commonly used along rooflines and outdoor areas for additional lighting decoration. These decorations, along with the ready-made snow-covered branches of artificial trees, all convey the frosty, icy and cold feel of the winter season when Christmas occurs.

Christmas trees that arrive from the factory with lights also have decorations such as apples and minute red berries to provide additional colour, and real pinecones that may or may not be frosted or sprinkled with faux snow. They may also be pre-decorated with red or gold bows, round ornaments, flower-like patterns, dried bow and twigs and gold frosted branch tips to give an appealing, sparkling appearance. The trees also have varying hues of green similar to real Christmas trees.

Pre-lit and pre-decorated Christmas trees are therefore an excellent way to brighten the holiday in your home and enable you to gain more time to enjoy the festivities of the season.