Since our building has decided to start enforcing a "no real Christmas tree" policy, I've been forced to break with the habit of a lifetime and get myself a fake tree. I'm used to spending about $50 on a nice tree so I was surprised to find that if you want a nice artificial tree you are going to have to spend a lot more than that.

So I took my in-laws recommendation and went down to Costco on Dundas St E, Mississauga and found this tree for $200 CAD + Tax. I felt cheated and I am notoriously hard to extract money from but it doesn't do to look tight-fisted in front of the In-laws does it.

The things very heavy but once I'd managed to wrestle it up to the 7th floor of my building and got it unpacked I thought "huh, that's not actually that bad looking".

The tree comes in 3 separate pieces plus the base stand. The tree just slots together, it doesn't have a mechanism to lock the part in place. I thought that this was going to be an issue but once the tree was assembled it was reasonably sturdy. A determined household pet or medium sized child would be able to knock it over but overall it's pretty sturdy.

While you wouldn't mistake it up close for a real tree it's quite convincing. It has a nice natural pattern to it and no real repeating features that would make it look artificial. It's got nice high-quality construction so the branches don't clump together. They are also repositionable if you do want to play with the layout.

The lights are built into the tree and there are close to 400 bulbs. It's LED light so you can even change the colour between bright white and multicoloured. The small remote control easily allows you to change between sets, of which they are 7. Stable light, flashing lights, and patterns in both colour schemes.
I thought the flat white light looked the best. The lights can be switched on and off by the remote as well as the foot switch which is very convenient if you want to play with the lifetime while laying on the couch stuffed with chocolate.

Overall a good high-quality alternative to the real thing. It' pleased my wife and she is very picky about such things. It has the feel of something that will last 20 years but I'll still go for a real tree if I have the option. Very good product and, on balance, worth the purchase price. No downsides to report. Easy to assemble, and fully functional as well as looking great? Perfect.