Last year, I, a woman of average strength and skills, successfully set up my Christmas tree all by myself in under a minute. When my husband came home, I literally stood next to the tree and said, “Ta-da!” like a magician.
I got this new one-person-setup stand after a tree emergency: The old stand cracked. It was a hunk of plastic with the usual quartet of screws at the base that I’d bought because it seemed just fine. But it wasn’t fine when it started leaking water all over the floor.
I jammed my tree into a ceramic planter for the time being and ordered a new stand that night. Two days later, the Krinner Tree Genie arrived and gave me my first gift of the holidays: never having the tree set-up argument ever again (“Stop pushing it.” “You’re making it lean.” “Are you sure you’re not pushing it?”).
How I Set Up My Tree With Zero Help
The stand required no setup; it was ready to go right out of the box.
Our Christmas tree was somewhere between 6 and 7 feet tall, so I lifted it out of the makeshift stand/planter and into the new stand myself. To secure it, I stepped on the foot pump until the wire running through the claws around the base of the tree had tightened. A little red button on the foot pump keeps you from accidentally bumping the pedal and releasing the tree. (You can also padlock it for extra security.)
The tree was in the stand and locked in place within a minute. When I stepped back and saw it was a little crooked, all I had to do was release the tree, adjust it, and lock it back into place. It only took another minute. I can’t overemphasize how accomplished I felt.
Never Get Tangled in Your Tree’s Branches Again
Thanks to this tree stand, you no longer have to get tangled in your tree’s branches to set it up or blindly feel for the water level. A floating bobber indicates when the water level is at maximum (“STOP” in red), how much the water level has gone down, and when you definitely need to water it.
Even to fill the water reservoir, you don’t have to get on the ground. I did it standing with the help of a large watering can. (I did fill it while sitting down the first time I filled the reservoir, but that was because I was using a tiny watering can.)
Why It’s Worth It
The Spruce / Sarah Vanbuskirk
The Krinner tree genie was not the $25 I was initially hoping to spend when I was researching what stand I should get. But I’d bought a $25 tree stand before—and I got what I’d paid for. It took two people to set up the tree, it didn’t feel sturdy, I had to refill the water reservoir every day, the stand took up a ton of room, and it only lasted a few years.
My only regret is that I didn’t buy the tree genie sooner. Getting a good tree stand has been an investment in making the holidays easier and less stressful.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/KrinnerTreeGenieXXL-72667c038189433b8cdd0103f7aceb76.jpg)
The massive water reservoir: The 2.5-gallon water reservoir is so big, that I only had to refill it every few days. At the end of the month when the tree had slowed down on drinking, I went away for 10 days, and when I came back there was still some water in the tank.
Capacity: Even though my tree is about 7 feet tall, it can hold a tree up to 12 feet tall (my dream is to someday have a tree where I need a step stool to reach the top).
Size and storage: It’s smaller than a lot of stands out there (no massive metal legs to stub your toe on), but it’s so sturdy. It is on the heavier side (18 pounds), so rather than put it up on a high shelf, I store it under the bed in the guest room.
Style: It’s a good-looking stand, and it can easily be covered with a tree skirt. (Just leave the floating bobber uncovered.)
