We had real for awhile until my sisters allergies got really bad and we switched to fake. We got our fake one in the after christmas sales the last yr we got a real one. Now that I have my own place I have invest in a fake one. I went to Lowe's today to pick up the 6.5 ft pre-lit tree they were selling for $25 but they had already sold out and I was looking forward to decorating this wkend