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“Alexa, turn on the Christmas tree.”
This holiday season, you’ll be able to use that command to get your Christmas tree to light up without lifting a finger, thanks to the debut of the Mr. Christmas 7′ Alexa Compatible RGB LED Christmas Tree from Amazon.
A Good Morning America article currently reports that the “smart” tree will be available to order through the online retailer this November for $303.38. If you visit the Amazon page, however, you’ll see the tree is listed as temporarily out of stock. Hopefully, it’ll be back soon!
The 7-foot artificial tree is in the style of a Douglas fir and is pre-lit with LED lights. When paired with Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant that works with the company’s smart speakers, you can select the lighting color, turn the tree lights on and off and schedule your tree to turn on at the same time daily.
The Mr. Christmas product description promises realistic-looking, life-like foliage. It has 13 lighting functions, and you can choose from red, green, yellow, blue, purple, cyan, white, multi-color, multi-fade, multi-twinkle, multi-sparkle, blue sparkle or red sparkle.
While you may be nostalgic for heading out on a snowy day to cut down your own Christmas tree, this is a fully 21st-century Christmas decoration we’re talking about. There’s no saw required. Simply slide the tree sections together, and the pre-wired pole-to-pole connection — a built-in power pole — makes for automatic lighting without the look of messy cords.
According to Amazon, “Connecting to Alexa is as simple as plugging it in and using your voice.”
If you don’t yet have an Alexa device, snag the third-generation Echo Dot, on sale now for just $29.99, marked down from an original price of $49.99. You could also use an included remote, which is wired directly into the power cable, to control the tree.
Once you have this smart speaker in your life, you’ll wonder how you got by without it. In addition to using it to operate the lights on your Christmas tree, it will come in handy in all kinds of situations throughout the holiday season — from pulling up your favorite cookie recipes to playing festive tunes to get you in the jolly spirit.
Are you in holiday mode yet? If not, buying and decorating this tree might get you there!
Kate Streit lives in Chicago. She enjoys stand-up comedy, mystery novels, memoirs, summer and pumpkin spice anything. More.
