If you are anything like us, preparing for the holiday season is half the fun, and choosing the right Christmas tree is the decision the whole room gets built around. Setting up the outdoor lights, hanging ornaments, and adding festive touches all follow from that one green (or flocked, or slim) centerpiece.
There is no question that the pride and joy of every holiday home is the Christmas tree. Whether yours is adorably miniature or extra-tall, it is the most important piece of decor you own. But when it comes time to shop for a new one, the process can feel a bit daunting. How do you pick the perfect tree?
Your go-to holiday experts at St. Nick’s Christmas & Collectibles have put together a quick and simple guide to buying the best Christmas tree for your upcoming festivities.
How to Choose the Best Artificial Christmas Tree
There is a certain charm to a live tree, but a growing number of people are switching to artificial trees, and the convenience is hard to beat: no messy needles, no daily watering, and today’s high-quality faux trees look incredibly authentic, worlds away from the obviously fake trees of yesteryear.
Use these guidelines to find your match made in holiday heaven:
- Invest in a quality tree made to last. A budget tree’s materials and construction make it easy to tell it is faux. Many beautifully made artificial trees are the better investment, including affordable options that will not break the holiday budget.
- Know what realism looks like. If there is a live species you have always loved, search for a faux version with a similar profile, and look for mixed needle styles and a higher tip count; both add realism. The specialty trees collection is where the distinctive profiles live.
- Choose a tree that fits your space. Bigger is not always better unless you have a tall room to fill, in which case a very tall tree is a stunning showstopper. The rule: the tree should be the center of attention without overtaking the room. Measure first, then shop.
- Consider mini trees for small spaces and extra rooms. Limited space does not mean no tree; a small tree fits holiday cheer into any home, and minis bring the season into bedrooms, playrooms, offices, and even bathrooms.
Find Your Tree Size in Sixty Seconds
The rule of thumb: leave at least six inches between the top of your tree topper and the ceiling. For a standard 8-foot ceiling, that means a tree up to about 7 1/2 feet. We organize the whole tree lot by height, so you can shop only the trees that actually fit your room:
- 5 foot and under: tabletop, potted and apartment-sized trees
- 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 feet: the classic size for most living rooms
- 7 to 8 1/2 feet: the most popular range, made for 8 and 9 foot ceilings
- 9 feet: for high ceilings and two-story entryways
- 10 to 11 1/2 feet and 12 to 13 1/2 feet: great-room and lobby scale
- 14 feet and taller: true showstoppers for atriums and storefronts
Tight on floor space? Look for trees labeled slender or pencil; they keep the height but slim the footprint, which is why so many of our customers with open staircases and corner spots choose them.
A Few Families Worth Knowing
Every tree on the lot earns its spot, but some families deserve an introduction. The Frosted Jade Mountain comes pre-lit in four sizes from 6 1/2 to 12 feet and delivers the snowy, flocked winter look without the flocking mess. The Leyland Spruce is our thick-and-lush workhorse, available in seven sizes from 4 1/2 to 14 feet with clear lights, multicolor or unlit. And the feather bristle tree, in green or white, spaces its branches wide on purpose: it is the tree ornament collectors choose when every piece deserves its own stage. For lit birch trees, tinsel slims and potted spruces, browse the specialty trees collection, and check the tree sale for current markdowns.
Keep It Standing, Keep It Working
A good tree deserves good hardware: revolving and heavy-duty stands, rolling storage bags, extension poles and woven tree collars all live in accessories and storage. And here is the part almost nobody else offers: if your artificial tree stops lighting, do not throw it away. Our Christmas tree repair service brings trees back to life every season, often for far less than a replacement.
Tips for Setting Up Your New Tree
Once you have found your perfect tree, it is time to get it assembled, lit, and decorated. Let’s dive right into the holly jolly fun.
Shaping an Artificial Christmas Tree
It is completely normal for an artificial tree to look a little flat straight out of the box; it was packed carefully to fit. With a little fluffing, you will have a stunning tree ready to decorate in no time.
- Assemble the bottom section first, shape it, and work your way up section by section.
- Secure the branches above your work out of the way; a bungee cord is perfect for this.
- Shape the very top of the tree before placing it. Holding the top until last, and shaping it before installing it, makes the job much easier.
- Fan most branch tips upward with a few pointing down; the combination reads most natural across the whole tree.
- If the tree is pre-lit, plug the sections in before you fluff and keep them lit as you work; handling every branch is the best bulb inspection you will ever do.
- Take your time. Fluffing dramatically changes the final look.
- When you think you are done, step back and circle the tree, fixing gaps and oddly bent branches as you find them.
Lighting a Christmas Tree
Lights, Christmas, action, or something like that anyway. Once the tree is freshly fluffed, turn your attention to lights.
A pre-lit tree is nearly always the best choice for convenience and aesthetics: no tangles, and the lights are perfectly spaced for a gorgeous glow. Replace burned-out bulbs promptly to extend a pre-lit tree’s life; a Light Keeper Pro makes that annual task quick.
Stringing your own? Estimate about 100 lights per foot of tree height (a 7-foot tree wants at least 700), start at the lower branches and weave upward, and always use a surge protector. Our full guide on how to hang Christmas lights covers the whole process, indoors and out.
Selecting and Hanging Ornaments, Garland, and Other Trimmings
Now for everyone’s favorite part: decorating. The possibilities are limitless, from glamorous sparkle to kitschy vintage fun.
Collecting ornaments makes a wonderful annual tradition, whether you choose personalized holiday ornaments or add to a themed collection. Ribbon is the fastest route to a professionally styled tree (our ribbon guide shows every technique), and special touches like a holiday train and track, scented icicles, or a rotating base turn the tree into an event. When the collection outgrows the branches, our ideas for displaying ornaments off the tree keep every favorite in the light.
Choosing the Right Christmas Tree Starts at St. Nick’s
The very best way to find a tree that measures up to your magical expectations is to shop with a holiday retailer you trust. Quality construction, premium materials, and thoughtful design make a world of difference, and when it comes to the centerpiece of your holiday home, excellent quality is a must.
St. Nick’s Christmas & Collectibles makes holiday shopping easy, enjoyable, and affordable. Online or in person at our Colorado Christmas store, you will find an outstanding variety of trees, ornaments, decor, gifts, and more, backed by the kind of service that repairs trees instead of replacing them.
Deck the halls and trim the tree with a collection as beautiful as it is meaningful. Explore our entire collection of Christmas trees online and visit our Littleton holiday decor store today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Leave at least six inches between the top of the tree topper and the ceiling, so a standard 8-foot ceiling takes a tree up to about 7 1/2 feet. Measure the spot’s width too; a full-profile tree needs floor space, while slim and pencil trees keep the height and shrink the footprint.
A mix of needle styles and a higher tip count are the two biggest tells. Trees modeled on a specific live species carry the most convincing profiles, and quality construction keeps branches from drooping into obviously artificial angles after a few seasons.
Nearly always. The lights arrive perfectly spaced, there are no tangles, and setup shrinks by an evening. The one habit that protects the investment is replacing burned-out bulbs promptly, which a bulb tool makes quick, and a tree whose lights eventually fail can often be repaired rather than replaced.
A tree with a narrowed profile that keeps its height while taking far less floor space. Slims and pencils suit corners, staircases, and rooms where a full-width tree would crowd the furniture, and they have become a favorite for second trees around the house.
Bottom section first, shaping as you go, with the branches above bungeed out of the way. Fan most tips upward and a few downward for a natural look, shape the top before installing it, and keep pre-lit sections plugged in while you work so bulb problems show themselves immediately.
About 100 lights per foot of height as a minimum, so a 7-foot tree wants at least 700, and a densely lit look can double that. Start at the bottom, weave upward over and under each branch, and plug into a surge protector.
A quality tree serves for many seasons with basic care: gentle fluffing, careful teardown, and dry storage in a proper bag or box. Lights usually age faster than branches, which is why bulb replacement and repair service can extend a good tree’s life well past its warranty.
Usually, yes. Individual bulbs and fuses account for most failures and are replaceable at home with a bulb tool. For bigger problems, St. Nick’s runs a Christmas tree repair service that brings pre-lit trees back to life every season, often for far less than a new tree.
In a rolling tree storage bag or its original box, sections separated, somewhere dry with steady temperatures. Storage bags beat attics and damp basements, and labeling the sections makes next year’s assembly a ten-minute job instead of a puzzle.
St. Nick’s in Littleton, Colorado carries a full lot of artificial trees organized by height, from tabletop minis to 14-foot showstoppers, plus specialty profiles, accessories, and a repair service, online and in the store year-round.
Find It at St. Nick's
St. Nick’s Christmas and Collectibles has been Littleton, Colorado’s Christmas store since 1976. Shop online, visit us in person, or call 1-800-875-8865 with any questions.
