DIY unfinished ceramic christmas tree 11.4-inch

I really, really wanted to love this item. We had one of these ceramic trees in my home growing up. I purchased two of these kits at $50 each - so my sister and I could make them together. It was an expensive craft project, but it's a lot fewer calories than baking Christmas cookies. We had been reminiscing over our childhood Christmas decorations like the green ceramic tree with all the delightful plastic pegs that our mother had made with her sister many years ago. I was thrilled when I found these kits to make our own! Unfortunately, this did not live up to our expectations. First, the items were poorly packaged, with very little padding to support the delicate ceramic. As a result, one of the trees had several chips broken out of it, and the other had its top completely broken off. I glued these back together, and I hope this will stand the test of time. The worst discovery came at the end, when the paint was finally dry, and we were so excited to light up our trees. The light kit provided with the tree does not fit the tree provided. The hole for the light bulb to clip into the tree is too large for the clip to fit. The holes for the cord to go through the base are way too small for the cord to fit. In other words, the thing is completely inoperable, no matter how you attempt to assemble it. As soon as I opened the light cord package, I could easily see this would never work. Unfortunately, I only bothered to open the bag AFTER we had painted both of our trees. Thus, we were unable to return them for a refund. I have been scouring hardware stores for a small flashlight that puts out enough brightness to make the tree glow. I found one mini flashlight that seems to help a bit. For now, this serves as a new memory of a lesson learned: check to make sure all the parts fit BEFORE you start painting. My sister and I did have a good time painting our trees, so I gave it two stars for the new memories we created.

Was just what I wanted to bring a piece of my childhood Christmas to my son. Searched high and low. The light assembly was a pain and I was unaware I needed to do it myself until setup time. The package also came with tree toppers which I wasn't expecting based on the picture so needlessly bought separate. My base arrived broken. White ceramic pieces in a box full of white packing foam was terrifying to reach in to. But the seller IMEDIATELY got back to me and sent me a new base. Great customer service. My one complaint was after a week of painting and sealing so it was PERFECT, when it was time to put away, a few of the lights melted inside and chipped off my hard work when I fought and got them out. But I should have thought and not let my kiddo turn on the tree at his whim. Definately replacing the bulb next year.

The tree is exactly what it says it is. The bulbs are bigger than normal, but don't look to bad. The only problem was the light cord. Both the tree and base had holes for the cord to fit through, but the cord was already assembled and there was no way to get it through the holes. I had to cut the cord, put it through and then strip it and tape it back together.

Tree and base themselves are great however the bulb and socket do not fit any of the holes in the tree or base.

I am very upset about my Darice Christmas tree. After I spent hours painting it the top cracked off when I put a light that came with it in it. The hole was too small. The light kit that came with it does not work as you can need feed the cord trough the small hole in the base of the tree because there is a light on one side and a plug on the other and the hole in the base is smaller than a dime. I am so upset.

The tree was great (actually I got 2) and just a great gift or great to keep for your own home. I decorated mine two different ways for two different recipients. I recommend these trees...buy in January so you don't have that last minute push to have them ready for Christmas. They arrive well packaged for safety and with an assortment of lights too.

The tree itself is really cute but they sent us the wrong light cord!!! It isn’t the one shown in the picture and there is absolutely no way to make it work. Seriously....we both have Ph.Ds and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t work until we logged in and looked at the product detail again. The really sent us the wrong cord! We had to order a separate cord. Waste of money. I was really excited about this tree too.

The tree was beautiful, but placing the light bulb was an issue. I had to order a different kit and then expand the opening. It was too expensive for such issues.