We get a real one and a size that I personally can handle as I usually have to put it up and I definitely have to take it down and haul out to the curb!

Get one as tall is possible as long that you leave it enough space left for the tree topper even 10" from the ceiling ,it will look wonderful and majestic , if you have little children they will love looking up at this tall beauty setting in the room surrounded by Christmas gifts , if you can get an electric train set up at the base you will have a very special Christmas in your new home .

Get a nine footer. There are thousands of toppers!!!. Balsam Hill is great. Don't get led lights whatever you do. Depressingly!!!! cold and dim.

Well your heading asks " what do I do" and not what should YOU do, so with that in mind..... I have a collection of bare branches in a large pot I collected from a humongous rose bush on my fathers grave that we radically trimmed back to rejuvenate. These are nicelyy shaped, arched and multiple-branched in a beautiful way. Love the wintery bare- branched look with lights and ornaments. May be an idea adaptable to larger/ taller height but it would be a creative project for sure.... needs the right nicely shaped branches, not any old ones youd find lying around, and some kind of base that would hold them securely .... esp if you have any bored cats around the house who like to climb!

This is something that's truly up to you and how much tree you want to deal with. You could have a 5ft tree and it would look wonderful, its all personal preference. Also if you have enough ornaments to fill it helps too. :)

Oh, have I got a tree for you!!!! I am very picky about artificial Xmas trees -- most are far too "full" IMO, leaving ornaments placed only on the outside plane of the tree (can't really put them in towards the trunk, as I prefer).

Two years ago, I found the perfect (for me!) 7-ft tree. At that time, the only place selling it was GrandinRoad -- it may be available elsewhere now, tho I don't know. It is called the Noblis Fir Tree, comes in 7' or 8' foot between $200 - $250. (Note spelling of Noblis, for searching purposes)

This tree looks just like a real tree, and can be loaded with ornaments all the way in towards the trunk. Most life-like I have ever found. One small caveat is it does not come pre-lit, or didn't when I got mine. Not such a big deal.

Hope you find what you are looking for. Good luck!

(P.S. -- here is where I admit that I SO loved how it looked when I finished decorating it two years ago, that I have never taken it down. Ta-dah! It is all ready for Xmas right now, lol... Yes, I am completely crazy. But I am also 71 years old, and don't climb ladders any more if avoidable.)

I appreciate all the responses! Your tips and shopping suggestions are helpful. Next time, I'll title it "what does ONE do for xmas tree". :)

Genevieve - Your tree and space are lovely! Thx for the visual.

Roxanna - That's brave of you to admit publicly your tree has been up year-round. I'm sure it gorgeous!

I will try a 9 footer. My husband very much prefers LED lights... I'll see if there are any "warm" LED trees. If our old topper is not a good fit, I'll get something new. Thx for the tips to scrunch the top as needed. Last tree was 12' tall, so I should have more than enough ornamentation for a 9 footer.

If anyone else feels like sharing pics of their pretty tree, I would not mind seeing them. Thx again!

Tall isn't my issue..I just make sure it fits as discussed above. It is more the width that I can't absorb. I finally replaced one for more of a pencil type. Can't say it is a WOW factor, but it fits and we can still live in the house. LOL.

arcy_gw: I don't like wide trees either. I am always annoyed at my in-laws when I have to squeeze past the tree because they just had to have a big tree that only leaves a narrow 18" or so of passage.

I've a live Christmas tree girl, all the way! Fortunately, the place that has the best trees (they have them cut in NC and bring them in 2 days later), immediately cuts the bottoms on their trees and puts them in water, so they are fresh, fresh, fresh. They also deliver! And they move the skirted table for me as well (I do have it cleared off for them). Then I hire a lovely woman who comes and puts the lights on the tree. I like a LOT of lights - DH always got tired of doing them and say there were enough, but I wanted MORE! The next day, DGSs come over and put all the ornaments on for me. They come back around New Years and remove them and I pack them up, and DSIL takes the tree out to the curb and returns the round table to the corner. I put the skirt, lamp and "stuff" back on it.

Yes, it's a big bother, but even artificial trees are a big bother. There is just nothing like a beautiful, fresh Christmas tree.

Live tree lover here, too. I'm lucky to live near many fabulous U-cut tree farms where I cut my own Noble fir every year. Well, I used to cut my own, but now my grandson and son go with to get theirs, too, so he usually cuts mine, too. We take snacks and hot chocolate for when we are finished walking every acre to get the PERFECT tree. It's nice to have them so fresh because they never have time to dry out.

I just picked up a new stand because my wonderful stand from years past just wouldn't hold the tree upright. So I tossed it, did my research and ordered a new one to be delivered to my hardware store - so if it's as good as they say, I'm all set.

I went tall and don't bother with a topper!

Speaking of fresh trees, both Lowe's and Home Depot (and probably other places) will let you have all the free, fresh cuttings you want from their tree lots. I bring home plenty to use for arrangements around the house. More nice smell! :-)

We have 10' ceilings and when I put the tree in our family room I got a 9 footer. Then I decided I wanted BIGGER, lol, so now we put a 13-14 footer in our foyer which is open to the staircase. I can get a huge fat one, and it can be seen from the dining room, living room, AND looks so pretty from outside through our glass front doors.

simstress, after no longer getting real trees as the kids are grown we invested in to artificial trees to date. The lighting has been a nightmare. Given the price of the trees you'd think that the lights would operate properly. 8 foot trees a small fortune then after a few years part is lighted and part is not. Was able to return the last one this past year as it was just under one year old and refunded.

I now have a vignette of 7 lighted birch twig trees in different heights of 7 feet and smaller. I love them.... a bit different to say the least!

This is very similar to what I do, but mine are not in the pots like shown. I have them in a bit wider/taller pieces in varying heights with big alpaca blankets in off white filling the top portion all fluffed up spilling slightly.

Maybe it was out bad luck with the artificial trees, but after paying 800.00 you think it should work consistently!

I do love a live tree... I have this romantic idea of bundling up the kids and going to a tree farm to pick out our own tree one year. But we live in Texas where we often spend Thanksgiving in shorts, and DH doesn't do great with live trees.

@Porter - I love the unconventional "forest" arrangement like the pic you shared, but I've never had the space. I think I finally have the space in this house, and the kids would probably find it fun, but DH feels strongly about the single tree setup. Maybe I'll do a small forest in the front yard (so realistic in Texas! ha!).

In my opinion I wouldn't purchase a pre-lite tree. We have changed our lights a few times over the years and with pre-lite trees you don't have that option. Also if my lights die its no big deal since I have others to replace them, which is a much cheaper option then replacing the whole tree. Plus hanging the lights is a fun part of Christmas tree decorating! :)

what chloebud said, have a platform built to boost the tree. it leaves more room for presents, too.

suggestion for standing up a tall tree, so it doesnt leave a mark on the ceiling: i have a pillow case that i keep with the tree setting up stuff, and i pop it over the top of the tree when we carry it in (and out of) the house, so if its still kinda tall it won't leave a sap trail on the ceiling.

A friend just shared this on FB.... what do you all think of these 'colored' xmas trees?!

simstress, I hear you on the warm Christmas. Growing up on So. Ca. it was always one of our warmest months. We generally went to the beach and I always had that wish of a, "romantic cold day, tree farm, snow lightly falling"............ Be careful what you wish for you might get it and after a while not as romantic from day to day. Nice on the holiday though :)

I'm debating whether to buy an artificial tree or stay with real ones. Some of the artificial ones look really nice now, but in a log home?? Plus there's always storage issues, although I see they can compact real well right now... but i have plenty of other things to compact into my storage!

This year I'll probably stick with a real tree, and make the decision next year. One thing I'll never do is get a "pre-lit" tree. 1) I like changing out tree appearance from year to year - white one year, multicolors another, blue and white a third. 2) putting the lights on is part of the FUN of tree decoration! 3) I already own strands of lights.

One word of "wisdom" is to get a tree that comes close to the height of one's ceiling. Since I have a cathedral ceiling, that would mean my getting a tree close to 12 feet tall. How do you decorate and place ornaments 12 feet off the ground? (With my bad knee, I don't do ladders...) Eight feet will be as high as I will go. Too bad for received wisdom...

(I think I will do a six - 6.5 foot tree of the real variety this year to see how it looks in my new home... then next year consider an artificial one based on my thoughts... quality artificial trees of 7-8 feet or more are out of my price range....)

I LOVE Christmas trees. Always have. When I was a kid, I soooo admired a certain ranch house in our area that had identical trees in every front window (with all white lights, which was very new at that point), and that was a goal of mine: A tree in every room.

After I married and had my own home, we had a large /perfect artificial tree, which lasted a good 12 years and then was too ratty to continue to use ... plus it was really, really large! By large, I mean FAT -- it took up a lot of space -- as someone else said, it's not the height, it's the width. Then we became real-tree people for a while, but we had one malicious tree that seemed to enjoy hurting us with its needles. 2-3 years ago we bought a modest-sized artificial tree, and I'm enjoying it, though it isn't as special as that first artificial tree we had ... but we'll continue to use it as long as we're in this house ... it fits, and we already own it.

However, I've been mulling over a crazy idea for our new house: NO BIG TREE. I know, I know, it's crazy. All my life we've had a big tree. Sometimes we've had other secondary trees: All my adult life we've had a small dresser-top tree in each bedroom ... and we have a collection of unusual lights that rotate around from one person's tree to another ... sometimes a second tree in the formal living room.

I'm thinking that when we move, we may discard the big tree altogether ... and go with a collection of trees throughout the house. Two matching 4' skinny trees in the corners of the dining room? A 2-3' tree on a tabletop in the great room? But without the trees, we'll have to "up" the greenery in other areas: porch, banisters, etc.

I'm thinking that if we go with small trees, I'll wrap them in old sheets and put them away ... so they'll be super-quick to put up /super-quick to take down. I'm thinking that the trees could be themed: My fancy red and gold decorations for the dining room, the Hallmark and kid-made ornaments in the great room.

And if the trees are easier to manage, perhaps I'll use more decorations in other places in the house: My Mom's old gingerbread house on the half-bath vanity? My nativity scene, which shamefully doesn't make it out of the box every year? My Christmas village on the mantle? My grandmother's china angels ... well, someplace up high because those dime-store angels make me remember her. The reality is that I've been spending so much effort on THE BIG TREE that I often don't get these secondary decorations out ... but I love them too.

Will I do this? Don't know yet.

Roxanna - That's brave of you to admit publicly your tree has been up year-round. I'm sure it gorgeous!

I have a friend -- a crazy friend, but crazy in a good way -- who LOVES Christmas and decorates more than anyone else I know. Her home looks like a Christmas shop. She has one tree, though, that stays up YEAR-ROUND. She decorates it for various holidays. Yes, on Valentine's Day, her tree is covered in lacy hearts and pink lights. At Easter, eggs and a bunny topper. On the Fourth of July, red white and blue streamers and stars. It's very "her" -- I wouldn't do it myself.

I like a LOT of lights - DH always got tired of doing them and say there were enough, but I wanted MORE!

That's always a fuss in my house too!

Ah, trees are at their best after dark.

Plus there's always storage issues, although I see they can compact real well right now... but i have plenty of other things to compact into my storage!

Thing is, if you're building your own custom house, you can incorporate the storage that suits you!

i like big trees because they are taller than me, just like when i was a child, and give me that magic feeling of 'anything is possible tomorrow'. if i was taller than the tree, well, whats the point?

we are 'real tree' people and dont bring it inside til the weekend before christmas. but i have a small artificial tree that my daughter used in college. last year i noticed it feeling unloved in its box in our basement, and set it up on a table in our front window. (our living room is in the rear of our house). it really made me happy all of december, knowing the main act would be arriving in 3 more weeks.

For prelit trees, if the lights die can't you pull them off and just string new ones? There may be some cutting and pulling involved but I can't see why it couldn't be done. Am I wrong? I have a very nice looking prelit GE Christmas tree. After almost ten years the lights are still great. I was planning to remove them if I ever had issues. In the future I'll probably need to downsize the tree for something not so tall and W-I-D-E and I'll purchase from Balsam Hill.

Roxanna, I hope you see this. I am this close to ordering the Noblis Fir. My only reservation is it looks kind of wide at the bottom and the description says the diameter is 6'. Is that the case? Does it feel wide? I tend to like a skinny tree, but I really do love the photos of this one. I found some nice ones on Instagram. Thanks.