Quick answer: Enter the height of your tree in the calculator above and choose a look. As a rule of thumb, a 6 ft tree dressed in the classic style needs about 600 LEDs, 70 baubles, 15 m of tinsel or garland and a skirt about 110 cm across, and it needs a ceiling of at least 213 cm.
Last updated: 12 November 2026
The calculator turns one measurement, the height of the tree, into a shopping list. Everything it shows is a rule of thumb: a sensible starting point that you can adjust to the shape of your tree and to your own taste. None of it is a standard, and no two decorators agree exactly.
The three looks
- Light. A simple, airy look that leaves plenty of green showing.
- Classic. Evenly dressed from every side; the usual choice.
- Full. Generous and glittering, with very little green left bare.
The rules behind the numbers
- Lights. About 50, 100 or 150 LEDs for every foot of height, for the light, classic and full looks. The 100-per-foot figure is the most widely quoted guide. The length of lit cable assumes LEDs spaced 10 cm apart; sets with closer spacing are shorter for the same number of lights. Our guide to how many lights a Christmas tree needs goes into detail.
- Baubles. About 8, 12 or 18 for every foot of height. Use fewer if your baubles are large and more if they are small.
- Tinsel or garland. About 1.5, 2.5 or 3 m for every foot of height, enough to spiral round a full-shaped tree at wider or closer intervals.
- Tree skirt. About 18 cm of diameter for every foot of height, so that the skirt is wider than the stand and catches the lowest branches. A tree collar is different: it is sized to fit round the stand, so check the stand's width instead.
- Ceiling height. The height of the tree plus about 30 cm: roughly 20 cm for a topper and 10 cm of clear space.
Adjusting for your tree
The figures assume a full-shaped tree. A slim tree has much less surface, so start from the light column even if you want a classic look. A very wide or bushy tree needs more of everything; move up a column. Pre-lit trees already have their lights, so ignore the lights figure. And if you are mixing sizes, count three small baubles as one large one.
A note on ceilings
Measure your own ceiling instead of assuming a figure, because ceilings vary from home to home and from room to room. As a reference point, the government's nationally described space standard for new homes in England sets a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 2.3 m across at least 75% of the floor area; in a room of exactly that height, a 6 ft tree fits with a topper and a 7 ft tree does not. Our guide to what size Christmas tree you need covers width and floor space as well.
Where to find everything
Trees, stands and skirts are in Christmas Trees; fairy lights in Christmas Lights; baubles, toppers, tinsel and bead garlands in Christmas Tree Decorations. Before you switch anything on, read our guide to Christmas lights safety in the UK. If you are ordering for December, the Christmas delivery dates page shows the suggested order-by date, and the Christmas countdown shows how long you have.