A "thrilled" 7 year old is the important part!

Without children around anymore, my interest in full- and over-blown holiday decorating has waned. Our 8-foot tree came sections and over the years I used fewer sections; last year we had a 3-foot tree! (This year I may just use a framed picture of a tree on our coffee table.)

If you think the tree size is overwhelming for the room, maybe you can take out a section...next year.

My DD would be thrilled if I went with a very tall, wide tree but I decided on a 7 1/2' tree and that's as big as I'm going to go. As long as she's happy, that is the most important thing. As Teedup suggested, maybe you could remove a section. Have a Happy Christmas and smile everytime you look at the tree :-)

Mari

We have a 10 foot tree. I have plenty of height to put the tree up, but putting any decorations on it is pretty tricky! I used a step ladder, but it's hard to get the ladder close enough at the bottom where you can reach anything at the top, still a long reach. This is only the second year we've had the tree and I just left it plain with the white lights last year (still pretty). I was surprised I had enough decorations to put on the tree (it hold a LOT)! This was also the first year my dd was interested in helping (she'll be 5 next week).

Robbi

Last year my DH happened to find a large tree at Goodwill -- and brought it home ------ and well ---- it was WAY WAY too big!

It literally filled the dining room corner (and you could NOT get into the kitchen ) where our Christmas tree usually sits ..... we laughed so hard .... and so he took it apart and took it back ......

This year he dug out an old tree from the attic -- seven ft. but slim -- and that is just right for the space!

LOL! This is another case in decorating where even "inches" really do count! ((yes indeed -- size does matter -- in decor!))

After many years of putting up a comically small (for my space) 6 foot tree, I decided to splurge on a big tree, and put it in my 2-story foyer in the crook of the stairs. The new tree is a 9.5 foot "slim" model, and it fills the space beautifully without impeding traffic. Better yet, with the tree tucked in the corner made by the stairs, I can decorate it by climbing stairs (as opposed to using a ladder) AND I can use fewer decorations because almost 1/3 of it is out of sight.

I don't suppose I'd find it as lovely, however, if it weren't pre-lit. The claim is that it has 1,000 lights (!!), and even that barely seems like it's enough. If I (or rather, DH) had to put all those lights on, I think the tree would be history!

Lucky you, callaloo, to have the stairs to aid in your decorating. I find the ladder work a little treacherous on our 9 1/2 foot tree, but it looks really nice in our vaulted space. We bought it out of necessity a few years ago after we limped through the final Christmas with our 20+ year old 6 footer...
DH called me when I was out shopping and said don't ask any questions but stop at a hardware store before I come home and bring him a sandbag. Huh? I did so, and found the sad remains of our old tree when I got home. Each year it seemed that tree looked more sparce so we fluffed more branches in front and left the bare patch against the wall. Apparently that thing was so bare on the back that it should've been hanging on the wall! Turns out DH and our 2 youngest children had been putting on ornaments when it just toppled over, burying the kids underneath. Hubby thought they had been knocked out because there was utter silence, but it turned out they were so terrified they didn't even know how to react. I lost a few of my favorite ornaments that year, and yes, we hid the sandbag under the treeskirt and DH tied the upper part of the tree to a hook in a wall stud.
AH, Christmas memories! Did I mention I really like our new tree? :)