{"id":1928103,"date":"2023-11-10T09:09:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T15:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=1928103"},"modified":"2025-04-04T09:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T14:01:46","slug":"smart-christmas-tree-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/smart-christmas-tree-review\/","title":{"rendered":"We Tried the Viral Twinkly Christmas Tree and \u201cSmart\u201d Is an Understatement"},"content":{"rendered":"I grew up in Northern California, where conifers are plentiful and real Christmas trees are the norm. Each year, sipping on hot cocoa<\/a>, dead-set on heading home with what we deemed the best tree, we'd wander the rows of a local tree lot or lose ourselves in the expanse of a nearby tree farm.\r\n\r\nIt wasn't until I moved out of state and into my own apartment that I realized the merit\u2014and even the necessity\u2014of artificial Christmas trees<\/a>. Although I still love going to my parents' West Coast home for Christmas and smelling authentic pine needles as soon as I step in the door, I proudly rock a fake Christmas tree (alongside pine-scented wintry candles<\/a>) in my duplex.\r\n\r\nThankfully, faux Christmas trees have come a long way since the scratchy, lopsided fake trees of yore.\r\n\r\n\"Many now feature molded PE (polyethylene) tips designed to mimic real evergreen needles, giving the tree depth and authenticity,\" explains Hannah Bartlett, Christmas expert, trend researcher and founder of Jolly Festive<\/a>. \"They\u2019re built to handle years of setup and pack-down without losing shape and often come with storage bags and care kits to help keep them looking their best.\"<\/span>\r\n\r\nPerhaps none demonstrate this quite as well as the Smart Twinkly Christmas tree<\/a> from Balsam Hill, which I was lucky enough to assemble, test and admire.\r\n\r\n[SINGLE_AFFILIATE_PRODUCT superlative=\"We Tried It\" product_name=\"Smart Twinkly Christmas Tree\" short_description=\"The Smart Twinkly Christmas Tree, with its special, customizable, remote-controlled lights, lets you decorate and dazzle like never before.\" image=\"1929908\" image_credit=\"VIA MERCHANT\" pr_name=\"Balsam Hill\" pr_url=\"https:\/\/go.skimresources.com?id=131817X1598243&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.balsamhill.com%2Fp%2Fbh-fraser-fir-artificial-christmas-tree%3Fsku%3D2810278\" pr_display_text=\"Shop on Balsam Hill\" \/]\r\n

What is the smart Twinkly Christmas tree?<\/h2>\r\n\"setting\r\n\r\nThe smart Twinkly Christmas tree<\/a> is a collaboration between Balsam Hill<\/a>,\u00a0one of the leaders for faux Christmas trees, and Twinkly<\/a>, an Italian-based brand that specializes in smart lighting. It has the perks of all the best Balsam Hill tree<\/a> offerings, such as true-to-life coloring, natural-looking needles and branches, a metal base and a storage bag. Plus, there's the fact that it's adorned with as many as 1,750 Twinkly LED lightbulbs, depending on the height of the tree. We'll get into the mind-blowing capabilities of these lights (and their accompanying phone application) in the next section.\r\n\r\nFor the purposes of this review, I tested the Balsam Hill 7.5-foot Fraser Fir, with the Twinkly Light Show Easy Plug option. I'm a fan of full, classic trees, so this was a great fit for me. However, you can purchase a few trees with these showy lights, including the Silverado Slim<\/a> and the Balsam Fir Narrow Tree<\/a>.\r\n

Smart Twinkly Christmas Tree Features<\/h2>\r\nAs for the tangible features, you'll find three tree sections that click together, as well as a stand, storage bag, fluffing gloves, extra hardware and instructions. It is also dressed with 540 LED Twinkly lights and boasts nearly 3,300 branch tips. Per our measurements, the tree stands exactly 7.5 feet tall and has a diameter of 58 inches. That's one full tree!\r\n\r\n\"smart\r\n\r\nThe excitement surrounding this tree primarily lies within the lights. And trust us\u2014there's no shortage of nifty features. The smart Christmas tree comes with five preset light functions that the included control box turns on. The functions are Rainbow, Snow, \"UpDown,\" Fireworks and Glow. If you want to get even more festive, though, download the Twinkly app with your smartphone. From there, you can display countless more effects on your tree.\r\n\r\nWith the fairly user-friendly phone app, there's the option to stick to more general controls, such as adjusting your lights' brightness, setting a timer, turning the lights on and off from afar or selecting a specific unchanging color. For fancier functions, explore the gallery, which is divided into categories such as art, ambiance and favorites. Altogether, there are about 60 light effects from which to choose\u2014and that's before you tap into the FX Wizard tool that allows you to upload or draw your own effects. Plus, the music function lets you sync up a few of the preset functions with surrounding sounds (e.g., Christmas movies, music and, yes, even talking).\r\n\r\nMoreover, each of these dozens of preset functions is customizable. Say you select the Candy Cane function, which defaults to red and white stripes that pan across the tree. You can then \"edit\" the effect by adjusting the speed of the pan as well as the width and colors of the stripes. You also have the option to create a \"playlist\" of rotating light effects.\r\n

How We Tested It<\/h2>\r\nWe've been testing the Balsam Hill Smart Twinkly Christmas tree<\/a> since October 2023. First, we performed comparison tests in our Milwaukee office, and then I took it home for additional light testing. After that, it reached its final destination with long-term tester Dylan Fischer, who enjoyed it during the 2023 holiday season.\r\n

In-Office Testing<\/h3>\r\n\"setting\r\n\r\nFirst, we built and toyed around with this tree at Taste Recipes<\/em> headquarters. With the help of a colleague, I assembled this tree in under five minutes and fluffed it in another 10 minutes or so. A majority of the fluffing took place with the inner branches, as those toward the outside of the tree weren't very flexible. When all was said and done, the smart Christmas tree looked similar to the listing online: a full, realistic-looking tree with a delightful abundance of lights.\r\n\r\nWe also measured the tree to confirm that it met the listed height of 7.5 feet (it did!) and decorated it with ornaments of varying weights. This tree held the 1-ounce and 2.5-ounce ornaments securely and without much drooping. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the 5-ounce ornament. For weightier ornaments, we'd recommend hanging them on the lower branches of the tree and inward toward the trunk.\r\n\r\nOur interest was so piqued by the lights, however, that we knew someone needed to take this home for further testing. So, we broke it down and stuffed it in the storage bag\u2014easily, I might add\u2014and I hauled it home. (Check out the Balsam Hill flip tree<\/a> that our Senior Shopping Editor tested, too.)\r\n

At-Home Testing<\/h3>\r\n\"smart\r\n\r\nI rebuilt the tree by myself in my own space, so I can confirm that assembly is a one-person job for an able-bodied adult. (Note: I did need help carrying the bag up my stairs.) And just a few stray needles needed to be swept up after the fact.\r\n\r\nNext, I downloaded the Twinkly app and created an account with my email address. I tried to figure out the app connectivity sans instructions, but after about five minutes, I gave up and turned to the included pamphlet. It seems many users struggle with app-related connectivity, particularly when syncing the tree with Wi-Fi. Issues range from the app losing connection or affecting the stability of the user's home Wi-Fi network. Nevertheless, no problems with our tests.\u00a0The setup process entails plugging in the tree, selecting the type of device from the app's menu, syncing up your tree and the app via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and then mapping your tree.\r\n\r\nMapping your tree lets you better utilize your lights. Select the number of lights on your tree, then take a static video of the entire tree\u2014base to tip\u2014on the app. This generates a diagram of the tree with markings to indicate where the lights are located. You can redo this as many times as needed. This whole process, including the physical assembly of the tree, took about 20 minutes.\r\n

Lights Testing<\/h3>\r\n\"three\r\n\r\nFinally, the fun part! I could've played on this phone app until Christmas day, so I'll just share the highlights. Although I did find the seemingly endless customization options a little overwhelming, there were a few functions I really loved. I don't care for cool-toned LED lights, so in the general controls tab, I added a default pale yellow color that suited my tastes. I also saved my own effect with this color that I named Warm Shimmer. When selected, the pale yellow lights would twinkle and dance around the tree. As for the presets, my favorites were Glow, Carnival, Plasma and Wednesday Blues.\r\n\r\nOh, and the music function was too much fun. I'm pretty firm about not turning on Christmas tunes until December 1st, but I couldn't resist cranking \"A Very Kacey Christmas\" and watching the Rainbow effect go wild during her high notes. The one downside is that the app needs to be open in order for the music function to work.\r\n\r\nAs much as I loved some of the functions, others were a miss for me. For example, the light effects under the Art category include pop art of Marilyn Monroe and The Birth of Venus painting. However, when I selected these presets, the lights bore no resemblance to their purported inspiration, in my opinion. Perhaps I was being too literal, but I just didn't see the vision. I'd recommend sticking to the simpler light effects for the best results.\r\n\r\nIf this tree testing taught me anything, though, it's that smart Christmas trees and their decor are incredibly subjective, so take all this with a few grains of green and red sanding sugar! There's certainly something for everyone when it comes to these Twinkly lights.\r\n\r\nPsst! If you like the flashy look of this smart Christmas tree, you'll love this hottest holiday trend: prismatic Christmas decor<\/a>.\r\n

Long-Term Performance<\/h3>\r\nProduct Tester Dylan Fischer used the tree in his home during the 2023 holiday season. Overall, he notes that the tree performed phenomenally! He finds it easy to set up since it's just three pieces that connect to each other. It took about an hour to move branches around to get it to look \"full,\" which is typically on par with most artificial trees.\r\n\r\n\"The app is definitely the big game-changer for this tree. Being able to change the colors to whatever you want is so huge\u2014because of this, it could definitely be used as a 'year-round' holiday tree with different ornaments,\" says Dylan. \"There are also a lot of weird animations you can select from the app (like pong, floating hearts, or memes, like the monkey side-eye) that project onto the tree itself. There's no way you can actually tell what's being projected on the tree when the patterns are too complicated, but it's still really cool to see the lights reacting to something like that.\"\r\n\r\nUltimately, Dylan settled on some colors he really liked and was able to easily save them as a \"Lights Profile\" in the app. This makes it much easier to select them later. He enjoyed playing around with multiple different colors over the month he used it.\r\n\r\n\"Really, really enjoy this tree. As long as the buyer knows they'll be working out of the phone app to adjust the lights, I can't see any reason they wouldn't enjoy this product,\" he says.\r\n\r\n\"smart\r\n

Pros<\/h3>\r\n