I bought a live tree again this year like my family has my entire life. This is the first year I can remember getting a tree I didn't feel comfortable leaving the lights on when I went out to dinner. When I bought the tree, I thought it felt a little dry, so I loaded the stand with 2 gallons of water and waited. It was taking water, but the limbs started sagging really bad. We took it down last week and bought an artificial tree. In 34 years, this is the first artificial tree I have ever had in my house. I didn't trust the live trees this year. I know many other people have had the same problems with live trees also.