With Thanksgiving in the bag, the week that follows is often dedicated to setting up the Christmas tree. While we have nothing against real trees or even traditional artificial ones, we went with a pre-lit version this year.

18 Great Gift Ideas for Kids of Any Age

Read article

Why? Speed—after all, we’ve got a whole house worth of lights to hang up. After opening the box, we had the Twinkly spruce upright and blinking in about three minutes flat (without reading the directions). Like most pre-lit trees, the Twinkly comes in three sections that are wired, in this case with 600 multicolor LEDs. But each segment of the tree clicks together, completing the electrical connection all the way up the tree, so there’s no fussing with wires or plugging light strings together.

Courtesy Image The tree has a nice shape and color, but looked even better after bending some of the 3,404 branch tips. That said, the magic is in the Twinkly app and those LED lights. Once you sync the tree to your phone or tablet, you can change the lights to any of about 35 included patterns—from top-down color changes that mimic falling snow, to scrolling flag patterns, to striped rainbow effects. The app lets you tweak the colors and the effects or add your own custom designs. You can also schedule the tree to turn on and off (no separate timer!), and if you have other Twinkly LED light strings, the colors and patterns can be matched throughout the room. Really, the only thing the tree is missing is the ability to control it away from the tree—you have to be within the tree’s WiFi network to use the app—and a plug near the top to power a tree topper. [Twinkly 7.5 ft. Pre-Lit LED Swiss Mountain Spruce; $548; homedepot.com]

For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!

More News

					Surly Releases Preamble: New All-steel 'Pavement Bike'					



					Enjoy Gorgeous Picture With This LG CineBeam Portable Projector					



					Kick Back With The RENPHO Foot Massager During Downtime					



					Keep Your Food Fresh With This Food Storage Containers Set					



					Fix Home Problems Yourself With This Cartman 148Piece Tool Set					



					Dream Garage: The Car and Truck Auctions We'd Bid on Right Now					


			All Stories

More Videos

							The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More							





							Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey							





							Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City

With Thanksgiving in the bag, the week that follows is often dedicated to setting up the Christmas tree. While we have nothing against real trees or even traditional artificial ones, we went with a pre-lit version this year.

18 Great Gift Ideas for Kids of Any Age

Read article

Why? Speed—after all, we’ve got a whole house worth of lights to hang up. After opening the box, we had the Twinkly spruce upright and blinking in about three minutes flat (without reading the directions). Like most pre-lit trees, the Twinkly comes in three sections that are wired, in this case with 600 multicolor LEDs. But each segment of the tree clicks together, completing the electrical connection all the way up the tree, so there’s no fussing with wires or plugging light strings together.

18 Great Gift Ideas for Kids of Any Age

Read article

18 Great Gift Ideas for Kids of Any Age

The tree has a nice shape and color, but looked even better after bending some of the 3,404 branch tips. That said, the magic is in the Twinkly app and those LED lights. Once you sync the tree to your phone or tablet, you can change the lights to any of about 35 included patterns—from top-down color changes that mimic falling snow, to scrolling flag patterns, to striped rainbow effects.

The app lets you tweak the colors and the effects or add your own custom designs. You can also schedule the tree to turn on and off (no separate timer!), and if you have other Twinkly LED light strings, the colors and patterns can be matched throughout the room.

Really, the only thing the tree is missing is the ability to control it away from the tree—you have to be within the tree’s WiFi network to use the app—and a plug near the top to power a tree topper.

[Twinkly 7.5 ft. Pre-Lit LED Swiss Mountain Spruce; $548; homedepot.com]

For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!

More News

					Surly Releases Preamble: New All-steel 'Pavement Bike'					



					Enjoy Gorgeous Picture With This LG CineBeam Portable Projector					



					Kick Back With The RENPHO Foot Massager During Downtime					



					Keep Your Food Fresh With This Food Storage Containers Set					



					Fix Home Problems Yourself With This Cartman 148Piece Tool Set					



					Dream Garage: The Car and Truck Auctions We'd Bid on Right Now					


			All Stories

More Videos

							The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More							





							Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey							





							Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City

More News

					Surly Releases Preamble: New All-steel 'Pavement Bike'					



					Enjoy Gorgeous Picture With This LG CineBeam Portable Projector					



					Kick Back With The RENPHO Foot Massager During Downtime					



					Keep Your Food Fresh With This Food Storage Containers Set					



					Fix Home Problems Yourself With This Cartman 148Piece Tool Set					



					Dream Garage: The Car and Truck Auctions We'd Bid on Right Now					


			All Stories

More Videos

							The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More							





							Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey							





							Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City

More News

					Surly Releases Preamble: New All-steel 'Pavement Bike'					



					Enjoy Gorgeous Picture With This LG CineBeam Portable Projector					



					Kick Back With The RENPHO Foot Massager During Downtime					



					Keep Your Food Fresh With This Food Storage Containers Set					



					Fix Home Problems Yourself With This Cartman 148Piece Tool Set					



					Dream Garage: The Car and Truck Auctions We'd Bid on Right Now					


			All Stories

More Videos

							The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More							





							Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey							





							Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City

More Videos

							The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More							





							Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey							





							Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City

More Videos

							The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More							





							Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey							





							Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City