Half Christmas trees spark mixed reviews

Chances are you've been hanging your Christmas tree lights wrong (iStock)

British stores are now selling artificial Christmas half-trees and some of them will set you back more than $130.

The bizarre Christmas tree craze is designed for people who don’t have much space, and we can’t work out if it’s utterly bonkers or a little bit genius.

The designs aren’t new — British home improvement chain B&Q first stocked them almost a decade ago – but it looks like more retailers are jumping on the bandwagon. The artificial trees sporting only half of their branches have been spotted on the shelves in British stores such as Wilko, Argos, Very and posh tree supplier Balsam Hill.

SILVER SPRINKLES ARE NOT EDIBLE, FDA SAYS

Completely branchless on one side, the trees are designed to sit against your wall at home in rooms where there is limited space. But in the process of practicality, the trees look like they’re not finished, or as if they’ve been chopped in two. Thanks to its flat size, the tree can be mounted on or pushed up against the wall.

While we can see the logic behind them — you don’t see the back of a tree anyway, so why waste space with it? — we can’t get over how sparse they look.

Argos is selling a 6-foot pre-lit half-tree for $40.

18 CHRISTMAS TREE ALTERNATIVES THAT ARE (ALMOST) AS FESTIVE AS THE REAL THING

“Half a tree might sound a bit off, but bear with us, there’s method in our madness,” the tongue-in-cheek description reads on their website. “The half design allows you to sit it flush against the wall, so it’s perfect for small rooms. And when you don’t often see the back of the tree anyway, we think it’s a great compromise.”

But one customer who reviewed the Argos tree pointed out that it struggled to stay upright once it was decorated thanks to it being much heavier on one side.

They wrote: “Lovely half tree with plenty lights only problem is it leans when all decs are on it.”

A 5-foot festive fir from Very — which describes the tree as “space saving” — is on offer for $25, and has already attracted a string of comments from savvy shoppers who’ve figured out that the design means they have less to decorate.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

After a photo of the Very tree was posted on Facebook by money-saving website PlayPennies, one user wrote: “Look, half a tree so you only decorate half,” while another pointed out, “Half the tree, half the hassle.”

A more luxurious version of the 6-foot tree from Balsam Hill will set you back a whopping $281 — and that’s on sale, down from $537.

Which does seem a little pricey for a Christmas tree, even if you do get to use it year after year.

Buying half a tree doesn’t necessarily halve the price as you can get cheaper whole trees. Argos is selling a complete 6-foot artificial tree for $20 and Ikea is hawking a fresh fir for just $6.

This article originally appeared in the Sun.