7ft Christmas trees

For a classic glow, 700 to 900 lights is the usual guide for a 7ft Christmas tree. Our 7ft pre-lit Christmas trees are at the higher end, with 900 warm white micro-LEDs, for a fuller glow across a tree 150cm wide. There are eight settings, from a gentle twinkle to a soft glow or a steady shine, all from a foot switch you can reach without leaning into the branches. If you are lighting the unlit 7ft tree yourself, start at around 700 for a traditional look and work up towards 900 if you want it brighter. Past that point, more strings on 56 branches begin to crowd the decorations rather than lift them.

Only if your ceiling is lower than about 2.35m. Our 7ft trees are 210cm tall, so measure from the floor to the ceiling at the exact spot where the tree will stand, not the middle of the room, and leave space for a topper. Under a ceiling of around 2.3m or less, which is common in cottages, our 6ft Christmas trees are the better fit at 180cm. At the other end, if you have 2.7m or more to play with, a 7ft tree can look slightly lost, and our 8ft and 9ft Christmas trees will fill the height properly. Between those two figures, seven feet is the size to choose.

Allow a circle about 150cm across, which is the spread of our 7ft trees at their lowest branches, plus a little more so you can reach around the back when decorating. That is 20cm wider than our 6ft trees and 15cm narrower than the 8ft. The branches taper as they rise, so the full width is only at floor level, where it matters most for doors, the sofa and the route through the room. A useful trick is to mark the circle on the floor with string or masking tape a few days before the tree arrives and live with it. If it is in the way on day two, it will be in the way on Christmas Eve.

Yes, in most cases. The pre-lit 7ft tree weighs 13.8kg in total, and the unlit version 12kg, and neither arrives as a single piece. Both come in sections that slot together, with the stand included, so the heaviest thing you lift at any point is one section rather than the whole tree. Start with the stand and the base section, build upwards, and on the pre-lit tree join the light connectors as each section goes on. The job that takes the most time is shaping the branches: teasing each of the 56 out and slightly upwards is what turns a tree fresh from its carton into a full one. A second pair of hands makes that part quicker, but it is not essential.