Ireland's Largest Christmas Store!
Facebook Instagram Youtube

Pre-lit Christmas tree buying guide for Ireland (2026)

Choosing a pre lit Christmas tree comes down to four decisions: how tall your room allows, how wide the tree can be, what the branch tips are made of, and whether you want green or snowy. This guide takes them in that order, so you can measure first and browse second. It replaces our earlier guide to choosing a tree, and brings everything from both posts into one place.

A pre-lit tree arrives with the lights already woven through the branches. You skip the untangling, and the bulbs sit evenly from the base to the top. If you would rather choose your own lights, the un-lit artificial Christmas trees are the alternative. Everything below about size and shape applies to both.

Start with your ceiling height

Measure from the floor to the ceiling where the tree will stand, not the room as a whole. Then allow for two things people forget: the stand, which lifts the tree off the floor, and the topper, which adds height at the tip. As a rule of thumb, leave about 30 cm between the listed tree height and the ceiling. That is our suggestion, not a manufacturer’s figure, so adjust it if you use a tall star or a very low stand.

The heights below are taken from the tree pages and size categories on our site.

Tree height Listed height Ceiling to allow, with stand and topper
7.5ft 228cm about 258cm or more
8ft approximately 240+ cm about 270cm or more
9ft just over 275 cm about 305cm or more

Trees at 6ft and 7ft suit lower ceilings and smaller rooms. You will find 6ft, 7ft and 7.5ft models together in the 6ft to 7.5ft artificial Christmas trees category. For a taller room, the 8ft and larger trees start at 8ft and go up to 12ft, and the 9ft Christmas trees give you what the category describes as the big impressive Christmas tree look without hitting the roof.

Then check the width

Height gets the attention, but width decides whether the tree fits beside the sofa or blocks the hall. Two slim trees from our range show how much it can differ:

Both are 7.5 feet tall, but one takes up noticeably less of the room.

Slim and pencil trees for small rooms

Slim trees keep the height of a full-size tree on a smaller footprint. Our slim trees page says they are the ideal choice for apartments, smaller homes, or as a second tree. They work well in a corner, in a narrow hallway, or beside a window where a full tree would crowd the walkway.

Look at the diameter on each page rather than relying on the word slim, because it is a range, as the two trees above show.

Here is what the specifications say for the two slim trees:

Both come in 3 sections, are mains operated, and are listed for indoor and sheltered outdoor use. Both include a free folding metal tree stand.

Frosted and snowy trees

A snowy or frosted tree gives you the white-tipped look without any extra decorating. It also changes how the tree sits in a room: the pale tips catch the light, so a snowy tree looks brighter against a dark wall and a little more formal beside a pale one.

Our snowy Christmas trees category includes:

The 7.5ft Snowy Boston Fir is 7.5 feet (229 cm) tall with 3,170 tips and 600 warm white lights, on hinged branches in 3 sections. If you like the idea of a white and silver scheme, our Frozen Lake decorating theme is a good place to start for baubles and ribbon.

PE or PVC tips

The tips are what you see, so it is worth knowing the difference. In our earlier buying guide, we explained that PE (polyethylene) tips are injection-moulded and give the most realistic look, while PVC gives fullness at better value. Many trees combine both, with PE on the outer branches and PVC for density.

The two slim trees above, for example, are listed as PVC.

Tips, lights and sections

A higher tip count generally means a fuller tree, but only compare counts between trees of similar height and width. A 7.5ft slim tree with 1,405 tips can look full for its shape, while a wide tree needs more to look the same.

For lights, check the colour and the count. If you want to match your tree lights with other lights in the house, our post on warm white vs classic warm Christmas lights explains the difference between the two.

Three sections is common on the trees above.

Setting up your tree

  1. Put the stand in its final position first, on a flat floor, and check the tree has room on all sides.
  2. Assemble the sections from the bottom up, plugging in the light connections as you go if your tree has them.
  3. Fluff every branch before you decorate. Start at the bottom and work upwards, separating the tips and pressing them away from the stem. Our post on how to fluff an artificial Christmas tree goes through it step by step.
  4. Decorate with ribbon and larger ornaments first, then fill the gaps with medium baubles.
  5. Hide the stand with a tree skirt. We have a range of Christmas trees and accessories to browse, including tree skirts.

Which pre-lit tree is right for you?

You can browse every option in our pre-lit Christmas trees category.

Frequently asked questions

What size Christmas tree do I need?

Measure your ceiling height, then leave about 30 cm for the stand and topper. A 7.5ft tree is 228cm, so it suits a ceiling of about 258cm or more.

What is the difference between a slim and a standard tree?

A slim tree has a smaller diameter at the same height. The 7.5 ft Feel Real Carrington Fir Slim Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree is 38 inches (97cm) across, so it takes up less floor space.

Are PE or PVC tips better?

PE tips look the most realistic and PVC tips give fullness at better value. Many trees use a mix of both.

How do I make an artificial tree look fuller?

Fluff each branch before decorating, working from the bottom to the top and separating the tips away from the middle stem.