Artificial Christmas trees

How to choose an artificial Christmas tree

A good artificial Christmas tree is a once-a-decade purchase. Buy well and it comes out of the loft every December for fifteen or twenty years, looking the same as it did the first time. Buy badly and you're back online the following November, trying to work out why the "7ft" tree hit the ceiling, why the branches drooped under the baubles, or why half the lights gave up on Boxing Day.

This guide explains everything that actually matters when you're choosing: how to size a tree for a British room, what the different shapes are for, what the foliage is made of and why it matters, how to read a tip count, what to check on a pre-lit tree, how the thing goes together and comes apart again, and how to look after it. There's a section on each type of tree we sell, with honest advice on who it suits, and a checklist at the end.

The short version

• For most UK living rooms, a 6ft (180cm) tree is the safe choice. A 7ft (210cm) tree fits a standard 2.4m ceiling but leaves little room for a tall topper. Anything taller needs higher ceilings.
• Check the width before the height. A full-shaped 6ft tree is typically 100–120cm across at the base. If that won't fit, look at a slim or pencil tree rather than a shorter one.
• Mixed PE and PVC foliage is the sweet spot. Moulded PE tips on the outside look real; PVC tips inside add bulk and hide the pole. All-PVC is cheaper and perfectly good when it's done well; all-PE is the most realistic and the most expensive.
• Hinged branches make assembly a ten-minute job. Hook-on branches pack smaller and cost less but take longer.
• Pre-lit saves an evening every year but adds a point of failure. Check the light count, the colour, and whether the guarantee covers the lights.
• Budget around 30–60 minutes to shape a 6ft tree properly the first time. Every artificial tree looks disappointing straight out of the box.
• Used for ten Christmases or more, an artificial tree has a lower carbon footprint than buying a real one every year. Buy one you'll want to keep.

Which type of artificial Christmas tree do you need?

Start here. Most people know roughly what they want before they've thought about materials or tip counts, and the type of tree narrows everything else down.

Traditional full green tree

The default: a conical green tree, unlit, in a classic fir or spruce silhouette, for you to dress however you like. If you have a collection of decorations and lights you love, or you enjoy the ritual of doing the lights, this is the tree. It's also the most forgiving to buy, because there's nothing electrical to go wrong. Everything in this guide applies to it.

Pre-lit Christmas trees

The same tree with lights already woven through the branches, connected section by section, with a single plug. Best for anyone who dreads the lights, has a tall tree that's awkward to reach round, or wants the tree up and glowing in fifteen minutes. Watch out for low light counts (some budget pre-lit trees carry fewer lights than you'd use yourself), cool white lights when you wanted warm, and guarantees that cover the tree for years but the lights for months. The lights are the part most likely to fail, so a well-made pre-lit tree still looks good as an unlit tree if they eventually do. See our pre-lit Christmas trees.

Slim and pencil Christmas trees

Full height, narrow footprint. A slim tree is usually 70–90cm wide at a 6ft height, against 100–120cm for a full tree; a pencil tree is narrower again, often 40–60cm. Best for flats, hallways, alcoves, bay windows, the gap between the sofa and the wall, and anyone who wants a tall tree without giving up a third of the room. They also make excellent second trees for a dining room or landing. Watch out for sparse budget versions – a slim tree needs a good tip count to avoid looking like a bottle brush – and for the fact that short branches hold fewer and smaller decorations. See our slim and pencil Christmas trees.

Snowy and flocked Christmas trees

Green trees with a white coating to look as though snow has settled on them. "Frosted" trees have a light dusting on the branch tips; "snowy" or "flocked" trees have a heavier covering – sometimes a drift on every branch. Best for a Scandi, pale or minimalist scheme, or anyone who likes the tree to do the work so the decorations can be few. A flocked tree looks finished with lights and a handful of baubles. Watch out for shedding: the flock does come off, especially during assembly and on heavily coated trees, and it's harder to vacuum than fallen needles. Heavy flock also makes branches thicker, so hooks need to be larger and heavy baubles may slide. Never put a flocked tree outside. See our snowy and flocked Christmas trees.

Small and tabletop Christmas trees

Anything from 30cm to about 4ft (120cm), often in a pot, hessian sack or weighted base, and frequently battery-lit. Best for hall tables, sideboards, offices and reception desks, children's bedrooms, small flats, and as a second or third tree. Watch out for the floor: a 3ft or 4ft tree standing on the floor of a normal room looks lost. Put it on a table, a chest, a crate or a plant stand and it looks intentional. Battery-lit trees go through batteries faster than you'd expect – a timer function is worth having. See our small and tabletop Christmas trees.

Realistic artificial Christmas trees

Trees designed to pass as real at close range, modelled on actual species – Nordmann fir, Norway spruce, Fraser fir, Scots pine – with moulded PE needles cast from real branches, varied shades of green, visible brown branch structure and sometimes pine cones. Best for anyone who has always had a real tree and wants to switch without it looking like a compromise, and for rooms where the tree is seen up close. Watch out for density: the most realistic trees are often slightly sparser than the bushiest budget ones, because real trees are. That's a feature, but if you want a tree so full you can't see the trunk, a mixed PE/PVC tree will suit you better. See our realistic Christmas trees.

Outdoor artificial Christmas trees

Trees built to live on a porch, doorstep, patio or balcony through a British December: UV-stabilised foliage that won't fade, fittings that won't rust, and – if pre-lit – low-voltage lights with a weatherproof transformer. Best for flanking a front door, greeting guests, or a tree in the garden you can see from the kitchen. Watch out for ordinary indoor trees described loosely as "indoor/outdoor". An indoor tree's steel hinges will rust and its lights are not safe in rain. Also check weight and anchoring: a light tree in an exposed spot will be on its side by Christmas Eve. A covered porch extends the life of any outdoor tree considerably. See our outdoor Christmas trees.

Getting the size right

More returns come down to size than anything else. Three measurements matter, and most people only check one.

Height and your ceiling

A standard UK ceiling is about 2.4m (just under 8ft); older houses are often higher, newer flats and loft conversions often lower. Measure yours. You want at least 15cm clear above the tree, and more if you're adding a topper – a star adds 15–25cm, an angel sometimes 30cm. Tree heights are nominal: a "6ft" tree may be anywhere from 180cm to 185cm, and almost always includes the stand.

Width and footprint

This is the measurement people forget. A full-shaped tree is roughly two-thirds as wide as it is tall at the base, so a 6ft tree is typically 100–120cm across and a 7ft tree 120–140cm. Measure the floor space you've got, remembering that the tree should sit a little away from the wall so the back branches aren't crushed, and that you'll want to walk past it for a month. If the width is the problem, don't go shorter – go slimmer. A 7ft slim tree in a 90cm gap looks far better than a 5ft full tree squashed into the same space.

Draw the footprint on the floor with masking tape, or cut a circle of newspaper to the base diameter. It takes two minutes and it's the single best way to avoid a mistake.

Room proportion

Beyond simply fitting, a tree should suit the room. A tree that touches the ceiling looks cramped even if it technically fits; a 5ft tree in a large room with a 3m ceiling looks like an afterthought. As a rule, the top of the tree sitting roughly where a tall person's reach ends – 2m or so – looks right in a normal room, and you can go taller as the ceiling rises.

Shapes and silhouettes

"Shape" covers two separate things: the overall outline of the tree, and which way the branch tips point.

Outline

• Full – the classic cone, widest at the base. The most decorations, the most presence, the most floor space.
• Slim – the same height with the width reduced by around a quarter. Still reads as a proper tree; fits far more rooms.
• Pencil – very narrow, often under 60cm wide. A tall, elegant column. Striking in pairs either side of a fireplace or door.
• Flatback and half trees – a full-looking tree sliced vertically so it sits flat against a wall, or a quarter tree for a corner. Clever where space is tight and nobody will see the back.
• Parasol or half-height trees – foliage starts a metre or so up a bare trunk, leaving the floor clear. Designed for homes with toddlers and dogs, and for fitting presents underneath.
• Natural or sparse – an irregular outline with visible gaps between branch layers, like a tree in a forest. The most realistic silhouette; shows off ornaments beautifully; needs fewer of them.
• Pop-up – a pre-shaped, often pre-lit cone of foliage on a collapsible frame that pulls up in seconds. Unbeatable for speed and storage; the perfectly even cone is the giveaway that it isn't real.

Upswept or downswept

On an upswept tree, the branch tips angle upwards – the most common style on artificial trees. It looks full, it's easy to hang decorations on because the tips act as hooks, and baubles sit snugly. On a downswept tree, the tips angle gently down and out, as they do on a real fir. It looks more natural and decorations hang more freely, but heavy ones can slide towards the ends. Neither is better; it's a matter of what you're used to. Trees modelled on specific species tend to be downswept; traditional trees tend to be upswept.

What the foliage is made of

This is the thing that determines how real the tree looks, how long it lasts and, more than anything else, what it costs. There are two main materials and most good trees use both.

PVC

Thin sheets of PVC are cut into fringes and twisted around a wire to make a branch tip, like a bottle brush. This is how artificial trees have been made for decades. Done cheaply, PVC foliage is flat, shiny and uniform – the familiar "fake tree" look. Done well, with needles of varied length, a matte finish and two or three shades of green, it looks surprisingly good and has real advantages: it's bushy, it hides the pole, it supports heavy ornaments, and it's inexpensive. Several of the trees that win UK group tests are all-PVC. Some makers describe their soft, wide PVC as "cashmere" and their stiff, wiry PVC as "pine needle" – the latter is scratchy to handle (gloves are often supplied) but very convincing.

PE (polyethylene)

PE needles are injection-moulded in three dimensions, often from moulds taken from real branches. Each tip is a solid, rounded sprig with individual needles rather than a flat fringe, and it looks and feels far more like the real thing. PE is also more resistant to fading. The drawbacks are cost – PE tips are much more expensive to make – and that a tree made only of PE can look a little open near the trunk, because the tips don't fluff out the way PVC does. All-PE trees are the top of the market and are what most people mean by "realistic".

Mixed PE and PVC

The sensible middle: PE tips on the outer ends of the branches, where you see them, and PVC tips further in, where they fill gaps and hide the pole. A good mixed tree gives you most of the realism at a fraction of the cost, with the bulk to carry a full load of decorations. If you're unsure what to buy, buy this. Check the proportion – anything from "PE tips" (a few, for show) to 70% PE is described as "mixed", and the price will tell you which end you're at.

Other materials

Tinsel and fibre optic trees are their own thing – fun, kitsch and fast, but not trying to look real. Feather, paper and wooden trees are decorative objects rather than Christmas trees in the usual sense. All have their place; just know which you're buying.

Tip counts and what they really tell you

The "tip count" is the number of individual branch tips on the tree – not the number of branches. Retailers quote it as a proxy for fullness, and within a single material it's a fair guide: a 6ft all-PVC tree with 400 tips will be noticeably thinner than one with 900.

But tip count on its own can mislead, for three reasons:

• PE tips are bigger. A moulded PE sprig covers far more space than a thin PVC fringe, so an all-PE tree with 800 tips may look fuller than a PVC tree with 1,200.
• Tip length varies. Long, wide tips fill a tree; short, stubby ones don't, whatever the count says. Zoom in on the photos: if the outer tips look short and spindly, the tree will look sparse once you've fluffed it.
• Realistic trees are deliberately less dense. A natural-silhouette tree with a modest count may be exactly what you want.

As a rough benchmark for a 6ft tree: under 500 tips is budget territory; 700–1,000 is good quality; 1,500 and over is very full. Scale up by roughly a third for each extra foot of height. Use the number to compare like with like, then trust the close-up photographs.

Colour and finish

Shades of green

Not all green is equal. Budget trees tend towards a single, bright, slightly yellow green. Better trees mix two or three tones – darker green outer tips, lighter new-growth tips, sometimes a blue-grey cast for a spruce or a silvery underside for a Fraser fir – and the depth that gives is one of the biggest contributors to realism. If your room is dark or the tree will carry a lot of lights, a mid-green reads as natural; if you want the tree to look lush under daylight, a deeper green works. Very dark trees can need more lights and decorations to lift them.

Snowy, frosted and flocked

Covered above under types. The short version: frosted is a light dusting and sheds very little; snowy or flocked is a heavy covering, looks dramatic, and sheds. Both suit pale, Nordic and minimal schemes and need fewer decorations. Both are indoor only.

White and coloured trees

White, black, silver, pink, red and other fashion colours make no attempt at realism and shouldn't be judged on it. A white tree is a blank canvas that makes coloured baubles and lights pop; a black tree with gold is dramatic; a pink tree is a joy in a child's bedroom. Buy them as decoration, in the knowledge that trends move, and that a white tree yellows faster than a green one fades if stored somewhere warm or sunny.

How the tree goes together

Hinged branches

The branches are permanently attached to the central pole with metal hinges and fold flat for storage. The tree arrives in two to four sections; you slot them together, the branches drop into place and you shape the tips. Assembly takes ten minutes before fluffing. Almost all mid-range and premium trees are hinged. The trade-off is bulk: a hinged tree never packs down as small as a hook-on one, and the sections are heavier.

Hook-on branches

Each branch is separate and hooks into a slot on the pole; the branches are usually colour-coded by row. Assembly takes longer – thirty minutes or more for a 6ft tree – but each branch is in your hand as you shape it, which some people find easier, and the whole thing packs into a much smaller box. Hook-on construction is common on budget trees and on some very large ones where hinged sections would be too heavy to lift.

Pop-up and pre-shaped

Foliage and often lights are fixed to a frame that collapses like an umbrella. Up in a minute, down in a minute, stores flat. Very good for anyone who finds assembly physically difficult, or for a second tree. The limitation is the uniform shape.

Sections and weight

A 6ft hinged tree with mixed foliage typically weighs 10–15kg; a 7ft tree 15–25kg; a dense 8ft tree can top 30kg. That's worth knowing if you live alone, have stairs, or store the tree in a loft. More sections mean lighter pieces and an easier job. Check that sections are clearly marked and that pre-lit sections connect simply – ideally through the pole, so the only visible cable is the one to the wall.

The stand

Most trees come with a folding metal stand that the bottom pole section drops into and is secured by a thumbscrew. It's fine for most trees up to 7ft. Look for a plastic stand on a cheap tree as a warning sign – they crack and they don't hold a heavy tree steady. Very tall or heavy trees should have a wide, substantial stand, sometimes with a weighted base. A tree skirt, basket or collar hides the stand and the cables; allow for its diameter when planning floor space.

Pre-lit or unlit?

Pre-lit trees are now the majority of what's sold in the UK, and for good reason: they turn the most tedious job of the season into plugging something in. But it's worth thinking through, because the lights are the one part of an artificial tree that will eventually fail, and they're fixed to the branches.

Choose pre-lit if you want speed, you have a tall tree, you like the lights deep in the branches rather than draped on the outside (something pre-lit trees do well and hand-stringing does badly), or you'd otherwise buy new lights anyway.

Choose unlit if you already have lights you love, you like to change colour or style from year to year, you want the longest possible life from the tree, or you're buying a very realistic tree and don't want cables competing with the foliage.

If you go pre-lit, five things to check:

1. Light count. A 6ft tree with 200 LEDs is lightly lit; 400–600 gives good coverage; 800 and over is bright. Hand-strung, most people use 400–800 on a 6ft tree, so the budget end of pre-lit is sparser than you may be used to.
2. Colour. Warm white is the cosy, traditional glow. Cool or "ice" white is crisper and more modern, and suits snowy and white trees. Many trees now offer both in one set with a switch, plus multicolour. If the listing just says "white", ask.
3. LED, not incandescent. Virtually everything is LED now – cool to the touch, low power, long-lasting. If you see "incandescent" or "filament", it's old stock.
4. Functions and control. Steady-on is all most people want. Twinkle, fade and multi-function modes are nice to have; a timer or foot switch is more useful than either. Remote controls are handy for a tree in a corner.
5. Guarantee. Look for how long the lights specifically are covered, and whether the tree can still be used unlit if they fail – it can on any decent tree, but ask about cable removal.

Our pre-lit Christmas tree guide goes into light types, connection systems and fault-finding in more detail.

Will it look real?

Only you can decide how much that matters – a tree covered in thirty years of family decorations hardly needs to – but if it does, these are the cues that separate a convincing tree from a plastic one. Most of them are visible in a good close-up photograph.

• Moulded PE tips on the outside of the branches, where the light catches them.
• More than one shade of green, and a matte rather than glossy finish.
• Brown branches and a visible trunk. Real trees aren't green all the way to the pole. Many good trees wrap the branches in brown or have a bark-effect trunk, and the natural-silhouette ones let you glimpse it.
• An irregular outline. Real trees have slightly uneven layers of branches with space between them. A perfect, dense cone is the quickest way to spot an artificial tree from across the room.
• Tips that point slightly down at the ends, like a fir, rather than rigidly up.
• Pine cones, berries or a little frosting, on a tree that's modelled on a species where they'd be found.
• A species name that means something. "Nordmann fir" or "Norway spruce" on a tree that genuinely resembles one is a good sign. On a bright green PVC cone it's just a name.

A useful test: look at the listing photo and imagine the tree without decorations or lights. If it still looks like a tree, it's a good one.

Safety: fire, electrics, pets and children

Fire

Artificial trees are much less of a fire risk than a drying-out real tree, but they are plastic. Look for "fire retardant" or "fire resistant" in the specification – it means the foliage has been treated to resist ignition and self-extinguish, and most reputable trees carry it. Keep any tree well clear of open fires, stoves and radiators (heat will also warp foliage and bleach colour), and don't drape anything over lights.

Electrics

Pre-lit trees and light sets should carry a UKCA or CE mark and come with a UK three-pin plug or a transformer. Low-voltage LED sets running from a transformer are the norm and are very safe. Switch lights off when you go out or to bed – a timer makes that automatic. Don't daisy-chain more sets than the instructions allow, and don't run cables under rugs. For outdoor trees, the transformer and any connections need to be IP44-rated at minimum and the transformer itself kept dry; use a weatherproof extension and ideally an RCD-protected socket.

Pets and children

Artificial foliage isn't toxic, but PVC needles that shed can be swallowed, and glass baubles and wires are a hazard in any tree. Practical steps: choose a slim or parasol tree so there's less at ground level, make sure the stand is wide and the tree is upright and stable, tether a tall tree to the wall or a curtain pole with fishing line if you have a climber (cat or child), put unbreakable decorations on the lower third, and keep cables tucked away. Flocked trees are best avoided with pets that chew.

Setting it up and shaping it

Every artificial tree looks flat, squashed and faintly tragic when it comes out of the box. This is normal, and the difference between that tree and the one in the photo is thirty to sixty minutes of shaping – "fluffing", in the trade. Do it once properly and it takes a fraction of the time in later years.

1. Build it where it's going to stand, especially if it's 7ft or over. Fit the stand, then the bottom section, and shape that before adding the next – you can't reach the lower branches once the tree is complete.
2. Wear gloves if the foliage is the stiff "pine needle" type. Some makers include a pair.
3. Work from the pole outwards, bottom to top. On each branch, separate the tips and point them in three directions: one up, one out, one down or sideways. This is what turns a flat branch into a full one.
4. Fill towards the pole first. The job of the inner tips is to hide the trunk and the cables. Bend them in and up so there are no gaps when you stand back.
5. Vary it. Don't make every branch identical. Real trees aren't symmetrical, and slight unevenness looks more natural.
6. Stand back every few minutes and look at the outline from across the room. Fix gaps as you see them; they're much harder to spot up close.
7. If it's pre-lit, switch it on while you shape it so you can see where the lights are bunched and spread them.
8. Lights before decorations, large baubles before small, and hang the heaviest things closer to the pole where the branch is strongest.

Taking it down and storing it

How you store an artificial tree has more effect on how long it lasts than anything else you do.

• Dust it before it goes away. A soft brush or the cool setting on a hairdryer. Dust left on for eleven months bakes in.
• Take it apart from the top, folding hinged branches up against the pole as you go. Don't force branches flat; close them gently in the order they open.
• Label the sections if they aren't colour-coded. Future you will be grateful.
• On a pre-lit tree, don't yank the connectors, and coil any loose cable loosely. Crushed cables are how lights fail.
• Use a storage bag rather than the original box if the tree didn't come with one. The box is sized for a factory-compressed tree and you'll never get it back in without bending something. Upright bags on wheels exist for larger trees and save a lot of effort.
• Store somewhere cool and dry. A loft that hits 40°C in July can soften PVC and discolour white or flocked trees over the years; a damp garage can rust hinges and corrode light contacts. A cupboard or under a bed is ideal; a well-insulated loft is fine; a shed is a gamble.
• Don't stack heavy things on top of it. Crushed tips can be reshaped, but it's a job.

Real or artificial?

If you're still deciding, a fair comparison:

The honest environmental answer is that an artificial tree is better only if you keep it. The Carbon Trust puts the break-even at around ten Christmases against a real tree that's disposed of well – and the average artificial tree in the UK is thrown away after far fewer. So if you're going artificial, buy one good enough that you won't want to replace it, store it properly, and when you do eventually move it on, pass it to someone rather than binning it.

What to expect to pay

For a 6ft tree, as a rough guide to the UK market:

• Under £40 – a basic all-PVC tree, often hook-on, with a low tip count and sometimes a plastic stand. Fine as a first tree or a second tree for a child's room; expect it to look sparse without plenty of decorations, and don't expect it to last beyond a few years.
• £40–£100 – where most people should look. Hinged construction, decent tip counts, mixed or good-quality PVC foliage, a metal stand. Pre-lit versions sit at the top of this band.
• £100–£250 – realistic trees with a high proportion of PE, trees modelled on specific species, well-lit pre-lit trees with 500+ LEDs, and long guarantees (five to ten years is common here).
• £250 and over – premium all-PE trees, very large sizes, and designer brands. The difference from the band below is often fine detail and density rather than something you'd notice from the sofa.

Add roughly 25–40% for each foot of height above 6ft, and 15–30% for pre-lit over unlit. Slim trees are usually a little cheaper than full trees of the same height; flocked trees a little more.

When to buy

Christmas tree stock in the UK is at its best from September to the end of October. Popular sizes – 6ft and 7ft pre-lit, in particular – start selling out from mid-November, and by the second week of December the choice is what's left. If you know what you want, buy early. If you're not fussy and happy to gamble, the sales in the last days of December and early January are the cheapest time to buy a tree for next year, though the range is thin.

Whatever you do, assemble the tree as soon as it arrives rather than leaving it in the box until December. If anything is missing or broken, you want to know while there's time to sort it out.

Checklist before you buy

• Have I measured the ceiling height and allowed at least 15cm, plus room for a topper?
• Have I measured the floor space, and does the tree's base width fit with room to spare?
• If width is tight, have I considered a slim or pencil tree rather than a shorter one?
• Do I know whether the foliage is PVC, PE or mixed, and does it match what I want to spend?
• Have I looked at close-up photos of the tips, not just the dressed room shot?
• Is the tip count sensible for the height, and am I comparing like with like?
• Is it hinged or hook-on, how many sections, and how heavy?
• Is the stand metal?
• If pre-lit: how many lights, what colour, and does the guarantee cover them?
• If snowy or flocked: am I prepared for some shedding?
• If outdoor: is it actually rated for outdoor use, and can I anchor it?
• Is it described as fire retardant?
• How long is the guarantee?
• Where will it live for the other eleven months, and will it fit?