What Size Christmas Tree Do I Need? Height, Width, Lights & Ornaments

Take your ceiling height and subtract about 12 inches: that's the tallest Christmas tree that fits with its stand and a topper. An 8-foot ceiling takes a 7-foot tree; a 9-foot ceiling takes an 8-foot tree. Then check the width — a full tree is about two-thirds as wide as it is tall — and make sure the room still has a path around it.

Here's how to size the tree, and how many lights and ornaments to plan for once it's up.

Height: start from the ceiling

A tree needs headroom for two things the listing height may not include: the stand, which lifts it a few inches, and the topper, which usually adds 6 to 12 inches. A foot of clearance covers both.

Ceiling height	Tallest tree
7.5 ft	6.5 ft
8 ft	7 ft
9 ft	8 ft
10 ft	9 ft
12 ft	11 ft

Check whether a listing's height includes the stand. If the stand is sold separately or the topper is tall — a large star or a bow — leave a little more. In a room with a sloped or beamed ceiling, measure where the tree will actually stand, not at the highest point.

Width: the number people forget

Height decides whether the tree fits under the ceiling; width decides whether it fits in the room. Artificial trees are listed with a diameter at the widest point, near the bottom, and it varies a lot by shape:

• Full trees run about 55 to 75 percent as wide as they are tall. A 6-foot full tree is typically 40 to 45 inches across.
• Slim or slender trees are about half as wide as they are tall. An 8-foot slender tree can be around 50 inches across — narrower than many full 6-foot trees.
• Pencil trees are narrower still, for corners and entryways.

Mark the diameter on the floor with painter's tape before you buy. Leave at least 30 inches clear on any path people walk through, plus room in front of the tree for presents. For more on keeping walkways open, see our guide to arranging furniture in a small living room.

How many lights

A common rule of thumb is about 100 lights per foot of tree height for a classic look: roughly 600 for a 6-foot tree and 700 for a 7-foot tree. Go higher for a dense, glowing tree, or lower if you like a softer, sparser look.

Pre-lit trees list their bulb count, so you can compare against the same rule. Check the light color (warm white or multicolor) and whether the strings stay lit when one bulb fails before you buy.

How many ornaments

Start with 10 to 20 ornaments per foot of height: about 60 to 120 for a 6-foot tree. Smaller ornaments need the higher end, larger ones the lower. Hang a few larger pieces deeper inside the branches to give the tree depth, then fill the outer tips with smaller ones.

Tree collars and skirts

A tree skirt or collar hides the stand. A collar is a ring that sits around the base; choose one wider than the stand's legs, and check that the tree's lowest branches clear it. Collars are commonly 18 to 28 inches across, so a full tree with a wide stand usually wants one toward the larger end.

Full, slim, flocked or pre-lit?

• Full suits an open room where the tree can stand clear of the walls.
• Slim suits a corner, a narrow room or a small apartment — you keep the height without losing the floor.
• Flocked trees have a white, snow-like coating on the branches.
• Pre-lit trees come with lights already strung, which saves the most time each year.

Shop this guide

• 6' Full Flocked Pine Christmas Tree
• 8' Slender Flocked Pine Christmas Tree
• 28" Natural Weathered Gray Plank Christmas Tree Collar

The short version

Size the tree to the ceiling first: ceiling height minus about a foot. Then check its diameter against the floor — full trees are about two-thirds as wide as they are tall, slim ones about half — and keep a 30-inch path around it. Plan on roughly 100 lights and 10 to 20 ornaments per foot of height, and pick a collar wider than the stand. Shop Christmas trees or browse ornaments.