The Complete Guide to Choosing an Artificial Christmas Tree
Choosing the Christmas tree is one of those moments when Christmas starts to feel real. Once it is standing, shaped and decorated, it becomes the centrepiece of the room and the backdrop to Christmas at home.
A quality artificial Christmas tree can be enjoyed year after year, but choosing the right one involves more than simply deciding which tree looks nicest. Height, width, shape, foliage, lighting and the space available in your home can all make a considerable difference.
At The Christmas Store at Johnstown Garden Centre, you'll find a wide selection of Artificial Christmas Trees, from compact and slim designs to large statement trees, alongside pre-lit, snowy and realistic styles.
Here's what to consider before choosing yours.
Start by Measuring Your Space
Before deciding on a tree, decide where it is going.
Measure from the floor to the ceiling and then measure the width of the area available. Remember to account for furniture, fireplaces, doors and walkways around the tree.
It is also worth considering how the room changes at Christmas. If an occasional chair or side table is normally moved to make room for the tree, measure the space as it will actually be arranged during Christmas.
Taking a few measurements now can save you from discovering that your perfect tree is considerably larger than expected once it is assembled.
What Height Christmas Tree Should I Choose?
The height of your ceiling should be your starting point.
You don't want the top branches pressed against the ceiling, and you'll need additional space if you plan to add a star, angel or another Christmas tree topper.
A 6.5ft or 7ft Christmas tree is a popular option for many homes, providing plenty of presence without requiring exceptionally high ceilings. A 7.5ft tree creates a larger display where space permits, while 8ft and 9ft trees are better suited to larger rooms and higher ceilings.
For spacious entrance halls, open-plan interiors and properties with particularly high ceilings, larger trees can create a spectacular Christmas centrepiece.
Don't Forget About the Width
Height gets most of the attention, but the diameter of a Christmas tree can be just as important.
A full-profile artificial Christmas tree creates the generous silhouette associated with a traditional Christmas tree, but it naturally requires more floor space. For example, Johnstown's 9ft Rocky Ridge Pine Christmas Tree measures 180cm in diameter, so both its impressive height and substantial width need to be considered.
If floor space is more limited, look at our Slim Artificial Christmas Trees. These retain much of the height and impact of a traditional tree while using less floor space.
For particularly narrow spaces, a pencil tree can be an excellent alternative. The 2m Green Pencil Pine Christmas Tree, for example, is approximately 2m tall but just 56cm in diameter.
This makes slim and pencil trees particularly useful for apartments, hallways, dining rooms and smaller sitting rooms.
What Makes an Artificial Christmas Tree Look Realistic?
Artificial Christmas trees have changed enormously over the years, and premium designs can recreate many of the characteristics of natural fir, pine and spruce trees.
One of the most important things to examine is the foliage.
Traditional artificial trees commonly use PVC foliage, while more realistic trees can include moulded tips designed to reproduce the shape and texture of natural branches. Some trees combine different foliage types, allowing realistic tips to feature prominently on the outside while additional foliage towards the centre creates fullness and depth.
If realism is particularly important to you, explore Johnstown's 'Feel Real' Artificial Christmas Trees.
For example, the 6.5ft Slim Lawrence Fir 'Feel Real' Pre-Lit Christmas Tree uses realistic fir-style tips, varied green tones and 1,725 branch tips to create a dense, natural-looking tree.
When comparing trees, look closely at the branches and needles rather than judging realism solely from the overall shape.
Does the Number of Branch Tips Matter?
You'll often see a tip count included in the specifications of an artificial Christmas tree. It is a useful indication of how much foliage a tree contains, but the number needs to be considered alongside the tree's height, width, profile and type of foliage.
A good example can be seen by comparing several trees from our range. The 6.5ft Slim Kingswood Fir Pre-Lit Christmas Tree has 719 branch tips and a particularly narrow 71cm width, while the 6.5ft Slim Lawrence Fir 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree has 1,725 branch tips across a wider 105cm profile.
The difference becomes even clearer among trees of the same height. Our 7.5ft Slim Newberry Spruce 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree has 1,405 branch tips and measures 112cm wide. The fuller 7.5ft Lawrence Fir 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree has 4,228 tips and measures 147cm wide, while the generously proportioned 7.5ft Bellewood Fir 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree has 5,099 branch tips across its 165cm width.
Tree height also changes the numbers considerably. The 9ft Newberry Spruce 'Feel Real' Pre-Lit Christmas Tree, for example, has 3,251 branch tips, but those tips are distributed across a much larger 274cm-high tree with a 178cm diameter.
This is why a higher tip count doesn't automatically mean a better Christmas tree. Tip count is most useful when comparing trees of similar height, width and construction. The type of foliage, branch spacing and overall shape all contribute to how full and realistic the finished tree appears.
Whichever tree you choose, proper shaping is just as important. Carefully separating and positioning the individual branches and tips after assembly can make a substantial difference to the tree's finished appearance.
Full, Slim or Pencil Christmas Tree?
Once you've measured your room, the next decision is choosing the Christmas tree profile that works best for your available space.
A Full Christmas tree provides the broad, traditional silhouette many people picture when choosing their Christmas tree. The extra width creates plenty of space for baubles, ribbons, picks and larger statement decorations. One of our most popular choices is the Newberry Spruce 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree, a best-selling range at Johnstown with realistic foliage and a beautifully full shape.
If you love the appearance of the Newberry Spruce but have less floor space available, the 7.5ft Slim Newberry Spruce 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree offers a narrower alternative. At 112cm in diameter, its slimmer profile allows you to retain the height and realistic appearance of a substantial Christmas tree without requiring the same amount of floor space.
A slim Christmas tree can also be a great option for sitting rooms, dining areas and other spaces where furniture limits the available width. You can explore our complete range of Slim Artificial Christmas Trees, including both pre-lit and unlit designs.
For an even narrower space, a pencil Christmas tree has a particularly slender profile. Our 2m Green Pencil Pine Christmas Tree measures approximately 2m tall but only 56cm in diameter, making it particularly useful for hallways, apartments, corners and smaller rooms where a conventional tree would occupy too much space.
If you're short on floor space, don't immediately assume that you need a shorter Christmas tree. Changing from a full tree to a slim or pencil profile can allow you to keep the height you want while considerably reducing the amount of floor space the tree occupies.
You can compare the different shapes, heights and styles in our complete Artificial Christmas Trees collection.
Should I Choose a Pre-Lit or Unlit Christmas Tree?
This is one of the biggest decisions when choosing an Artificial Christmas Tree.
A Pre-Lit Christmas Tree has lights incorporated throughout the branches, reducing the amount of work required during decorating. Once the tree has been assembled, shaped and connected, the lighting is already evenly distributed.
This makes pre-lit trees particularly appealing if you want to reduce decorating time or simply dislike untangling and arranging strings of Christmas lights every year.
An Unlit Christmas Tree gives you greater creative freedom. You can choose the number, colour and style of lights yourself and completely change the lighting scheme in future years.
Neither approach is inherently better. It comes down to whether you value convenience or flexibility more.
If you choose an unlit tree, explore our Christmas Tree Lights to create your preferred lighting effect.
Green or Snowy Christmas Tree?
A traditional green artificial Christmas tree gives you an incredibly versatile foundation for decorating. Classic red and gold, champagne, burgundy, white, silver, natural tones and colourful decorations can each create a completely different look against rich green foliage.
For a traditional green tree, the 7.5ft Newberry Spruce 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree is a great example. Its realistic spruce foliage and full green profile provide a classic backdrop that can be restyled with different decorations from one Christmas to the next.
A snowy artificial Christmas tree creates much more of the finished atmosphere before you've added a single decoration. Frosted or flocked foliage introduces a wintry, snow-covered appearance that works particularly well with warm white lights, metallic decorations, natural ornaments and softer neutral colour schemes.
For a statement snowy tree, the 7.5ft Snowy Dorchester Pine Pre-Lit Christmas Tree combines snow-dusted foliage and natural pinecones with 600 warm white LED lights, creating a richly decorated appearance even before baubles are added.
Another option is the 7.5ft Frosted Newberry Spruce 'Feel Real' Christmas Tree, which combines realistic spruce foliage with a more subtle frosted finish. This allows the natural green colouring to remain visible beneath the snowy outer tips, creating a different effect from a more heavily snow-covered tree.
Ultimately, the choice comes down to the atmosphere you want to create. Green trees give you maximum flexibility with your decorating scheme, while snowy trees make the winter effect part of the tree itself.
Think About Your Decorations Before Choosing
Your Christmas decorations can help determine which tree suits you best.
If you've built up a large collection of baubles and treasured ornaments over many years, look for generous branching and enough space to display them properly.
Larger statement decorations need room between the branches, while smaller baubles can be distributed through denser foliage.
A tree with a more open, natural branch structure can make individual ornaments more noticeable. A densely filled tree, meanwhile, creates a rich backdrop for abundant decorating.
Think of the tree and decorations as one complete display rather than choosing them independently.
Think About Your Christmas Lights Too
If you're buying an unlit artificial Christmas tree, consider how you want it to look once illuminated.
Tree height isn't the only consideration. A wide, densely branched tree will generally require more lights than a slim tree of the same height to achieve a similar lighting density. You should also decide whether you want a gentle traditional glow or the densely illuminated appearance of a professionally decorated tree.
Our Christmas Tree Lights include options for different tree sizes, colours and lighting effects. Once you've chosen your tree, read our Christmas Tree Lights Guide to find out how many lights you need for your tree, compare different types of Christmas lights and learn how to position them through the branches for an evenly illuminated finish.
Don't Judge Your Artificial Tree Straight Out of the Box
This is one of the most important things to remember when setting up an artificial Christmas tree. The branches and individual tips are compressed tightly for storage and transportation, so when your tree first comes out of the box it can look considerably narrower and less full than the finished tree.
Most larger artificial Christmas trees are supplied in three main sections: the bottom section, middle section and top section. The bottom section is the largest and widest, so start by placing this securely into the stand. Add the middle section followed by the smaller top section, making sure each section is properly seated before you begin shaping.
For the best result, shape each section as you assemble the tree rather than waiting until all three sections are in place. Begin with the bottom section and work from the lowest branches upwards. Separate each main branch before spreading the smaller tips individually, directing some upwards, some outwards and some slightly to the sides. Avoid simply pulling every tip forwards, as this can leave gaps deeper inside the tree.
Pay particular attention to the foliage closest to the trunk. Spreading these inner tips helps disguise the central pole and creates depth, while the outer tips should be arranged to form the tree's overall silhouette. Work your way around the entire tree rather than completing only the branches facing into the room.
Once the bottom section is shaped, insert the middle section and repeat the process, using its lower branches to blend the join between the two sections. Finally, add and shape the top section, gently spreading the upper branches to create a natural transition towards the tree's tip.
When all three sections have been shaped, step several metres back and look at the tree from different angles. Visible gaps are much easier to spot from a distance. Adjust individual branches and tips where necessary, checking that the tree looks balanced from the front, sides and any other angles visible in your room.
Don't rush the first shaping. A few extra minutes separating and positioning the foliage can make a substantial difference to how full and realistic an artificial Christmas tree appears. The first setup generally requires the most attention; in subsequent years, the branches will usually need reshaping after storage, but much of the initial positioning has already been established.
So, Which Artificial Christmas Tree Should You Choose?
Start with the practical considerations.
Measure your ceiling height and available floor space. Decide whether you want a full, slim or pencil profile. Then consider whether the convenience of a pre-lit tree appeals to you or whether you'd prefer the flexibility of choosing your own lights.
Next comes appearance. Decide whether you prefer traditional green foliage, a snowy finish or highly realistic branch tips.
Once you've answered those questions, the enormous choice of Christmas trees becomes much easier to navigate.
At The Christmas Store at Johnstown Garden Centre, you can explore artificial Christmas trees in a wide selection of heights, shapes and finishes, including full, slim, snowy, pre-lit and realistic designs.
Explore Artificial Christmas Trees at Johnstown Garden Centre and find the right tree to become the centrepiece of your Christmas for years to come.
