A tree skirt that is too small looks like a doily under a large tree. One that is too big becomes a rug people trip over. The measurement that decides it is not the height of the tree, which is what most people reach for first.
Measure the widest branches, not the height
Stand back and look at the bottom row of branches. The skirt should reach roughly to where those branches end, or a little beyond. A 7 foot tree with a narrow profile and a 7 foot tree with a full one need different skirts, even though the box says the same number.
Our three sizes and what they suit:
- 36 inch round — trees up to about 5 feet, tabletop trees on a wide surface, and narrow pencil trees of any height
- 48 inch round — the standard 6 to 7 foot tree, and the size most households need
- 72 inch round — 8 foot and taller, wide full trees, and any tree with a lot of presents under it
The stand is the other half of it
A skirt has a centre hole and a rear opening so it can go round the trunk without lifting the tree. What it has to clear is the stand, not the trunk. Metal tripod stands are usually 20 to 26 inches across; heavy-duty stands for 9 foot trees can be over 30 inches.
If the stand is wide, size up. A 48 inch skirt over a 30 inch stand leaves only 9 inches of visible skirt on each side, which looks like a collar rather than a skirt.
Presents change the answer
If your household piles presents under the tree from the start of December, the skirt is doing a second job: it is the surface those boxes sit on. Go one size up from what the tree alone would need, so the design still reads once the boxes are down.
If presents appear on Christmas Eve and are gone by lunchtime, size for the tree.
Pets, needles and water
A real tree drops needles and a stand holds water, and a tree skirt catches both. That is a reason to choose quilted rather than anything delicate, and a reason to buy one that fits rather than one that is too small to catch anything.
Cats treat a tree skirt as a bed. Dogs treat it as a rug. Ours are machine washable cold and tumble dry low, which is the only sane specification for something that spends six weeks on the floor near a water reservoir.
How ours are made
Quilted throughout with a bound edge and a rear opening, printed edge to edge so the pattern runs to the outer rim rather than stopping in a border. The design is in the fabric, so it does not crack where the skirt folds for eleven months of the year.
Everything is made after you order it and shipped from the United States. That is worth knowing in December: allow a few days to make before it ships, and order earlier than you think you need to.
Where to start
All of them are in one place: Christmas tree skirts. Nearly five thousand designs, which is more than anyone wants to scroll, so it is worth deciding first whether you are matching a room or buying for a person.
If you are matching a room, look at what colour the tree ornaments already are. If you are buying for a person, dogs and cats are the most given subjects by a wide margin, followed by cardinals and snowmen. The same themes run through our Christmas ornaments if you want the tree and the floor to match.
Real trees and artificial trees need different things
An artificial tree has a narrow, predictable base and a stand that is usually part of the tree. The skirt sits flat and stays where you put it, and you can size it to the branches without thinking about anything else.
A real tree has a wide stand holding several litres of water, and it drops needles for six weeks. The skirt is doing a job rather than decorating: it hides the stand, catches needles, and takes the spill when someone tops the water up. For a real tree, size up rather than down, and treat the skirt as something that will need at least one wash during the season.
Trees in a corner or against a wall
If your tree lives in a corner, half the skirt is never seen. Two things follow. First, you can size down without the room noticing, because the visible arc is what matters. Second, choose a design with an all-over pattern rather than one built around a central scene, since the centre will be behind the tree.
The same applies to a tree in a bay window with furniture pulled up close. Look at the tree from where people actually sit before deciding how much skirt will be visible.
The rear opening
Every skirt has a slit from the outer edge to the centre hole, which is how it goes round a trunk that is already in a stand. Face that opening towards the wall. It sounds obvious and it is the single most common thing people forget on the day, then leave for the rest of December.
Buying one as a gift
If you do not know the size of the tree it is going under, 48 inches is the safe answer — it fits the 6 to 7 foot trees that most households have, and it does not look wrong under a slightly smaller one. The 72 inch is a confident choice only if you have seen the tree.
Once the size is settled, the choice is only the picture. The same subjects run through our Christmas ornaments and Christmas table runners, and for the rest of the room there are Christmas sofa covers in the same themes.
Themes matter more than size here. Dogs and cats are the most given subjects by a wide margin, followed by cardinals, snowmen and nutcrackers. A skirt with the right breed on it is remembered; a generic red plaid is used and forgotten.
From the range
Skirts here come in the three diameters measured above: