I bought 2 of these to put in planters I have outdoors on my front porch.  They are very nice looking but it takes time to adjust the branches like on any artificial tree.  You can’t be in a hurry. Or you will get discouraged and not finish.  It took me 3 days of occasionally positioning the branches where I wanted them. (But I’m obsessive).  Walking away from it and adjusting later are the way I found for any artificial tree or decoration.  The lights are dim at first but with some adjusting they stand out much better.  I’m happy with these planters.  If you have some room to store them after the holidays you won’t have to crunch everything together again and they’ll be ready for next year.  The batteries are fine unless you live in an extremely cold area.  They don’t last that long.  I guess they could be brought inside every night.  I have had this problem with other batteries outside.