Tree looks magical. We added two strands of clear lights and some red cardinals etc and it looked like the outdoors had come inside. It fit nicely next to our fireplace, very slim tree but it still holds the classic triangle Christmes tree shape. My wife made a burlap ribbon for the topper, anything else would probably be to heavy for the top to support. Some of the flocking will come off. It will be messy putting up and taking down, but it's worth a little extra cleaning. Also, I am someone who ONLY liked real Christmas trees, but now we put the real tree in our living room and this one in our family room!