How many ornaments for a Christmas tree (the per-foot number I use)
Plan on about 15 standard 3 inch ornaments per foot of tree height for a full, finished look. That's roughly 105 ornaments on a 7 ft tree and 113 on a 7.5 ft tree. Go down to 10 per foot (70 on a 7 ft tree) if you're also using lots of ribbon and picks, and up to 20 per foot (140) if you want it packed.
Have you ever finished decorating your tree and it still looked kind of empty? If you’ve googled how many ornaments you need, you’ve probably seen answers for a 7 ft tree anywhere from 44 to 170! The 44 comes from a math formula that went around years ago, and I’ll be honest, 44 ornaments on a 7 ft tree looks like you ran out of time. The 170 is a designer tree where you can barely see the green. Today I’m sharing the number I actually use so you can shop for the right amount this year!
My number is 15 standard ornaments per foot of tree height. A “standard” ornament is the regular 3 inch ball, which is the size most boxed sets are built around. That gets you about 105 on a 7 ft tree. That’s the point where my tree stops looking spotty and starts looking done.
Ornament Chart
| Tree height | Light look (10 per ft) | Full look (15 per ft) | Packed (20 per ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5 ft | 45 | 68 | 90 |
| 6 ft | 60 | 90 | 120 |
| 6.5 ft | 65 | 98 | 130 |
| 7 ft | 70 | 105 | 140 |
| 7.5 ft | 75 | 113 | 150 |
| 9 ft | 90 | 135 | 180 |
These numbers are for a normal-width artificial tree. Use the light look column if ribbon and picks are doing a lot of the work. Use the packed column if ornaments are basically the whole design (like a glam tree with no ribbon).
Counting Big and Little Ornaments
This is what trips most of us up! A box of 50 shiny mini balls feels like a lot of ornaments, and then you hang them and the tree looks exactly the same. So when I’m counting, I do it like this:
- Minis (2 inches or smaller) count as half.
- Standard (about 3 inches) count as one.
- Large (5 to 6 inches) count as two.
So 40 minis is really 20 ornaments worth of coverage. Seriously, do this math before you go shopping and you’ll stop buying the wrong size!
For a 7 ft tree at around 105, this mix works really well: 10 to 12 large, 55 to 65 standard, and 30 to 40 minis or small specialty ornaments. Having different sizes is what makes the tree look layered instead of polka dotted. I learned that one the hard way with a tree full of nothing but 3 inch balls (it looked like a gumball machine!).
If you’re starting from zero, a mixed set is the easiest way to get there. I use this 36 piece shatterproof set because it already comes in three sizes and has matte finishes mixed in, so it doesn’t look like cheap plastic from across the room. Three of those boxes plus your own special ornaments will get a 7 ft tree to the full look.
When You Need Fewer Ornaments
Ribbon. Ribbon covers a lot more of the tree than you’d think. If you’re running ribbon all the way down (my ribbon designs use a lot of it), take about a quarter off. A 7 ft tree with heavy ribbon looks great with 75 to 80.
Floral picks. Picks fill the holes you’d otherwise try to fill with ornaments, and they actually do it better. I tuck frosted pine picks into the bare spots first, then count ornaments. I have more on that in 4 ways to make any tree look full.
A slim tree. Take about a third off. A slim 7 ft tree at 15 per foot would be 105, but it really only needs about 70. A pencil tree needs roughly half.
A flocked tree. The flocking is already doing a lot of the decorating, so I’d stay in the light look column.
When You Need More Ornaments
A wide tree. Some 7.5 ft trees are 60 inches across at the bottom, and every inch of width is more branch to cover. If your tree is on the full side, use the 7.5 ft row even if it’s a 7 ft tree.
No ribbon or garland. If ornaments are the only thing on the tree besides lights, you’ll want 18 to 20 per foot.
All small ornaments. If your collection is mostly little vintage glass or wood pieces, you’ll need a lot more of them to fill the same space. Just use the half rule above.
How to Hang Them
You can have 105 ornaments and still have a tree that looks empty if every one of them is dangling off the end of a branch. This is the order I hang them in:
Step 1.
Hang your large ornaments first, deep in the tree. Push them in toward the trunk, about halfway into the branch. They fill the dark middle and make the tree look deeper. (Large ornaments really only work on trees 6 ft and up. On a small tree they look out of place.)
Step 2.
Next, add your standard ornaments. Spread them evenly around the tree in a loose zigzag, with some in the middle of the branch and some near the tip.
Step 3.
Hang your minis and special ornaments last, out at the tips and at eye level where you’ll actually see them.
For the heavy ones, I skip hooks completely and use green floral wire twisted around the branch. A heavy ball on a wire hook slides right down to the tip and droops, but floral wire keeps it exactly where you put it!
Do You Have Enough?
Step back to the doorway you walk in through and squint. If your eye jumps to a bare patch, that’s where the next few go. If your eye can’t land anywhere because everything is the same size, you need more large ornaments, not more ornaments.
And don’t feel like you have to hit the number in one year! My tree has grown a box or two at a time, and the after-Christmas sales are the best time to fill in.
How many ornaments are on your tree right now? I hope this helped you figure out how many you need! If you hit the right number this year, be sure to post on Instagram and tag me @sugardesignco because I love seeing the beautiful decor y’all create!
-Ciera
Made something with this? Tag me @sugardesignco — I love seeing them.
Questions I get asked
- How many ornaments do I need for a 7 foot tree?
- About 105 standard 3 inch ornaments for a full look on a normal-width 7 ft tree. If you're using a lot of ribbon and floral picks, 70 to 80 is plenty. If you want that packed department store look with almost no green showing, plan on 140 or more.
- How many ornaments do I need for a 6 foot tree?
- About 90 standard ornaments at 15 per foot. A slim 6 ft tree needs closer to 60, and a 6 ft tree with ribbon and picks can look finished with 60 to 70.
- Do small ornaments count the same as big ones?
- No. I count a mini ornament (2 inches or smaller) as half an ornament and a big 5 or 6 inch ball as two, then compare that total to the per-foot number. Otherwise a box of 50 minis makes you think you're done when the tree still looks bare.
- Do I need fewer ornaments on a slim or pencil tree?
- Yes. A slim tree has a lot less branch to cover, so I take about a third off the number. A pencil tree needs roughly half. A 7.5 ft pencil tree looks finished with 50 to 60 ornaments.
- Why does my tree still look empty with 100 ornaments on it?
- Usually because they're all the same size and all hung on the branch tips. Put the biggest ones deep in toward the trunk, add a few large ones in the gaps, and fill holes with picks instead of more balls. Depth makes a tree look full more than count does.