I'm very picky about my Christmas trees and have never purchased or even considered a fake tree - but when we remodeled and opened up our kitchen into our family room, I wanted one but didn't want the hassle of another real tree.  This one is really nice!  When it arrived and the tips of the branches were plastic I was a bit skeptical but once it went up it's perfect for what I was looking for.  You don't notice the plastic tips and it actually makes the overall silhouette of the tree look very realistic.  I'm very happy with my purchase.