(NAPSI)—For hundreds of years, the Christmas tree has been a popular symbol of the holidays. A survey conducted in late 2014 by the American Christmas Tree Association showed that 78 percent of U.S. households display a Christmas tree in their home during the holiday season. Of those trees, 81 percent—more than 76 million—are artificial.

Artificial trees have recently gained popularity for their practicality and ability to reflect modern decor and advances in technology. A simple Internet search reveals Christmas trees in a rainbow of designer colors, ultrarealistic models with hi-tech LEDs and even real trees that are fresh cut by hand and express shipped on the day specified by the buyer.

Now, Tree Classics of Wisconsin is celebrating 40 years of selling lifelike artificial Christmas trees with its new Snap Tree, a tree storage and assembly solution that requires no heavy lifting. The Snap Tree stores upside down on a built-in rolling stand in the included custom storage bags. To set it up, you simply lay the tree base on the ground, snap the stand in and tilt it back up. The tree also comes pre-lit—just plug it into the wall to deck the halls. The unique color-changing LEDs can be programmed to shine clear or display colors.

Artistry and technology make Balsam Hill’s artificial Christmas trees, wreaths and garlands the most advanced and realistic around. The California-based company recently branched out into home decor for fall and Halloween as well.

“Our designers carefully craft our trees to mimic nature using cuttings from live trees as their guides,” says founder and CEO Thomas Harman, who was inspired by a family member who was allergic to live trees. “The light string connections are made automatically inside the tree’s trunk as you stack the sections and we offer an array of lighting styles, from remote-controlled Color + Clear to our Candlelight LED lights that have a beautiful, soft glow.”

The widest selection of colorful artificial Christmas trees online is found at Treetopia.com. The fashionable and funky colors are featured annually in popular magazines, television shows and in designer homes.

For 2015, the most popular nontraditional Christmas tree color is white, but Treetopia’s Cranberry Crush tree is a fashionable nod to Pantone’s 2015 Color of the Year, Marsala. Designers also favor pink, royal blue and black as a stunning backdrop for ornaments. Ombré is also popular in fashion, textiles and even Christmas trees.

For your convenience, artificial Christmas trees can be ordered online, and now holiday shoppers can also find real, fresh-cut trees on the Internet. The wonders of technology and express shipping let the owners of GreenValleyChristmasTrees.com offer a variety of premium tree species, grown in their native soil at farms across America. Shoppers pick the date they want their tree to be hand cut and it’s shipped from the farm to their front door within 48 hours. These ultrafresh and fragrant trees can last until Valentine’s Day with daily watering.

With so many easy and fun Christmas tree options, many homes are opting to display more than one tree—perhaps starting a new tradition.

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)