Rachael Ray

Growing up, we always had a real tree at Christmas. The whole family would visit our favorite tree vendor to pick out the best tree that was just a little taller than Dad—we used him as our ruler so we didn’t buy something too tall. We would bring it home and our place would smell just like a New England forest.

I still love real trees, but my busy schedule makes having a real one difficult because the tree needs to be watered. The past few years I’ve come home to a dried out fire hazard because no one has been around to tend to the thing, so I decided it was time to get something artificial.

I figured if I was going to get an artificial tree I might as well go all out. I visited treetopia.com because they have such a huge variety of styles and colors. I really loved the blue one, but I didn’t think it would look good in my green living room, so I agonized over silver or gold. They were both so shiny and beautiful. It was hard to settle on just one. I finally picked gold.

When the tree arrived at my doorstep, I unpacked the box and put my favorite Christmas album on the turntable.

I poured myself a nice small batch rye over ice and got to work.

What’s nice about this tree is it comes with a storage bag, so when it’s put away for the rest of the year it doesn’t get covered in dust and cobwebs.

My cat especially loved the bag.

This tree is so unbelievably easy to put together I was able to do it all by myself. It comes in three sections with a stand.

Simply, put the stand roughly where you want the tree to go, unfold it and insert the bottom section into it.

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Then, stack the other two sections on top. Everything plugs into the center section, and there’s an additional outlet at the top of the tree for a light-up tree topper.

There are so many lights on this tree there’s really no need to add any extras. I have to say, I don’t miss untangling light strands and wrapping them around the tree. I feel like I always spent so much time adjusting the lights, filling in holes and trying to make them even. This pre-lit tree takes all that hassle out of the process, and there’s even an easy on off switch, so you don’t have to get down on your hands and knees to plug everything in when you want to light it up.

Even without decorations this tree is absolutely beautiful, but it wouldn’t be Christmas without the traditional ornaments, so up to the attic I go.

I use an old tablecloth as a tree skirt. It has a hole right in the center, so it’s not a great tablecloth anymore, but it looks nice wrapped around the tree stand.

I have so many ornaments I could decorate two trees easily, so now I just pull out my favorites. Some came from my grandmother. Some are from antique stores and some I bought new or made for myself because I just love Christmas decorations.

This tree is so spectacular, the only thing I miss about having a real one is the smell. However, a wreath on the door and some boughs wrapped around the stairs should take care of that.

When the season is over, there will be no pine needles to sweep up and no tree to dispose of. I’ll simply pack up my ornaments, disassemble the tree and store it in its bag for next year. How great is that?

Happy holidays!

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