How To Choose The Right Artificial Christmas Tree For Your Home

Written by Cara Wheeldon, Trowell Garden Centre

Are you in the market for a new artificial Christmas tree? This is a question that is always super exciting, until you have the box open in your living room. That’s when you notice that your ceiling has never been that low before, the sofa has never been that colour, and you’ve discovered a new radiator in a place you’ve never noticed it before.

It doesn’t have to be that way though. We here at Trowell Garden Centre have put together a complete buyer’s guide to ensure you get the right artificial Christmas tree for your space this year. If you want to see our collection of artificial trees in person before Christmas then feel free to come down to our UK store and browse the entire range, or shop online to remove the hassle of getting it home.

What Size Christmas Tree Do You Need?

This is a vital question for any Christmas display, as the wrong sized artificial Christmas tree can break the visual look of a space. Therefore, the biggest piece of advice, as many of you will know, is to measure the area before you buy. Begin with the ceiling height, remembering to keep a gap at the top big enough for the topper. This will avoid awkward questions later about why your star is touching the ceiling.

Another important space to measure is the surrounding width. This is because most artificial Christmas trees and realistic trees seem narrower in photographs, and once the branches are shaped and fluffed out, the space can quickly fill. A useful piece of advice we’ve picked up here at Trowell is that marking the footprint of your desired artificial Christmas tree with tape or newspaper allows you to see visually the space you will be working with. This allows you to plan where furniture will go, how much space you will have around the tree and where the presents could potentially go.

As a loose guide, we recommend that artificial Christmas trees and pre-lit trees that measure 5ft suit smaller rooms or corners, whereas larger 6 or 7ft trees are ideal for living rooms and spaces with higher ceilings. For example, our Festive Deluxe Gray’s Peak Pine Flocked Pre-Lit Christmas tree comes in 5ft, 6ft and 7ft. The 5ft lists a 100cm width and 625 tips, while the 6ft and 7ft list 1,113 and 1,631 tips, so extra height brings extra fullness too. To compare sizes, browse our range of artificial Christmas trees.

Full, Slim or Small? How Do You Choose The Right Shape?

This question depends entirely on where you plan to place your artificial Christmas tree this year. What we mean by this is that a full, larger and realistic artificial tree is perfect for your living room Christmas morning and suits a fuller space where it can showcase a room. Slimmer or pencil trees, however, have a much smaller circumference, making them perfect secondary or back-up trees to fill a hallway, an empty space or an office. The Festive Pre-Lit Starlight Lake Fir (5ft) is a slim fir Christmas tree with a listed girth of 91.44cm and 2,330 tips, so a narrow footprint doesn’t necessarily mean a thin tree, if that’s a concern of yours.

Small and tabletop artificial Christmas trees work perfectly in bedrooms, offices, conservatories and on sideboards. The Three Kings Inlit Frosted Fir Tree (40cm), for example, is a lit, frosted fir-style tree small enough for a shelf or side table. So, where you place your Christmas tree depends entirely on the size and shape of the tree, along with your intended purpose.

Should You Choose A Pre-Lit or Unlit Artificial Christmas Tree?

There is never a right answer to whether you should get a pre-lit or unlit artificial Christmas tree. It is entirely based on perspective. A pre-lit Christmas tree has the benefit of arriving with its lights fitted to the branches, meaning you don’t need to touch a thing. This is great for people who, like some of us here at Trowell, struggle with the task of winding lights throughout the tree, getting perfect coverage and ensuring there is enough space between each branch. It also saves you the hassle of having to untangle and find last year’s lights, which is never a small feat. The cables tend to run throughout the branches rather than across them and there are no separate purchases you need to make. This means that pre-lit artificial Christmas trees come with a range of benefits that could suit you.

However, the trade-off is equal in this regard. Pre-lit Christmas trees mean you lack the creativity to change the temperature or position of the light when you desire. If one year a warm glow is what you want and the next it’s a cool glow, you can’t control this with a pre-lit tree. The Festive Pre-Lit Gray’s Peak Flocked Pine Christmas tree (5ft), for example, lists 300 warm white LEDs and 8 functions. The Starlight Lake Fir lists 328 LEDs and a remote control that switches between warm white and multicoloured, meaning you never quite get full control if you want to switch up the design one year.

Neither option is better than the other. It all depends on your taste, style and the control you want to have over your entire display for years to come. If convenience sounds more appealing to you, you can always start by having a look through our pre-lit artificial Christmas trees collection.

How to Choose a Realistic Artificial Christmas Tree

The realism of your new artificial Christmas tree comes down to a few elements. Firstly, and very importantly, you want to look out for the foliage. What we mean by this is that you want a tree that has some differences in texture, colour variation and a spread that is quite irregular. These are all elements that a real Christmas tree would have. When looking at listings, this commonly comes down to a tip count. The higher the tip count generally the more branches, which will give you a fuller, fluffier look.

Aside from a textured and wider tree, features such as pinecones and berries also help add detail, and in some cases can help with the realism of your tree, but if done poorly this could hinder more than help. The Festive Pre-Lit Ben Nevis Pine tree (7ft), for example, lists hinged branches, green foliage with Christmas cones and berries, and 1,361 tips.

The last part is entirely up to you, shaping. It is important to spend time shaping your branches. I know it’s a tedious task and can sometimes feel overwhelming, but the more time you put into shaping your branches, the better the overall result.

Choosing a Traditional, Frosted or Snowy Artificial Christmas Tree

Do you prefer a more traditional colour set for your festive display? If so, then a green artificial Christmas tree could be the right style for you. Green trees commonly suit the festive red and gold colour scheme better, whereas frosted or snowy trees are best complemented by whites, silver, champagne and pale blue ornaments. This means that the colour of tree you choose should reflect the type of ornament and colour scheme you want throughout your display.

We stock a wide range of ornaments, from traditional baubles all the way to festive Gonks and more. So, if you’re lacking inspiration or want to revamp your current setup, have a browse through our wider Christmas collection to find a product that is perfect for you. Our Snow Princess and Winter Cabin sections of our Christmas display both use frosted or flocked trees in varying colour patterns if you’d like to come see some inspiration in person before you buy.

Finish Your Tree With Baubles, Ornaments and Stunning Details

Not everything in your artificial or pre-lit Christmas tree has to match if you don’t want it to. We here at Trowell are massive fans of unique and quirky baubles, such as champagne bottles, wine glasses and festive characters! Our favourite example is the chocolate glass doughnut hanging decoration, which we cannot get enough of. Ribbon and tinsel can also add depth and difference to your artificial Christmas tree depending on how you style it. So, if you want to finish your tree with classic baubles or want to push the boat out and go a little rogue this year, browse our full baubles and hanging decorations collection to build as you go.

What to Check Before Buying Your Artificial Christmas Tree

Shop Artificial Christmas Trees at Trowell Garden Centre

You can browse our full Christmas trees collection online or visit us here at Trowell Garden Centre in Nottinghamshire to see the trees in person. Our range includes pre-lit, slim, mini and frosted or flocked trees. Importantly, if you’re buying artificial Christmas trees in the UK, bring your measurements and compare before you decide. If you want a little more from your trip, then our Christmas display, featuring trees, Lemax, décor and more runs until 31 December during usual and festive opening hours.