A full tree in a small apartment takes a corner of the room for a month and then a corner of a closet for the rest of the year. If that’s not worth it to you, there are plenty of ways to have something tree-shaped, or at least tree-like, that take up much less space.

Things that stand on the floor or a table

1. Lit branches in a vase. A tall vase with battery-lit branches (on Amazon), or real bare branches with a strand of lights wound through. Hang a few light ornaments from them. It takes up about as much floor as a lamp.

2. A blanket ladder. Lean a blanket ladder (on Amazon) against the wall, wind a garland or lights along the rungs and hang ornaments from each one. It’s tree-shaped if you squint, and in January it goes back to holding throws.

3. A tabletop tree. A 2-foot pre-lit tree (on Amazon) on a sideboard or a stack of books. No floor space at all, and it still gets a topper.

4. A stack of books. Stack hardcovers in a rough pyramid, largest at the bottom, wrap a strand of lights around it and put a star on top. Free if you have books.

5. A potted plant. A Norfolk pine or a rosemary shaped like a tree, with a few tiny ornaments and a short light strand. It stays a houseplant after Christmas.

Things on the wall

6. A tape tree. Outline a tree on the wall with washi tape (on Amazon), add a few branch lines and hang paper ornaments on mini clothespins. It peels off without a mark.

7. A light tree. Same idea with a strand of fairy lights (on Amazon) held up by small adhesive clips in a zigzag tree shape. It glows at night and almost disappears during the day.

8. A branch on the wall. A single long branch hung horizontally from two hooks, with ornaments hanging at different lengths. Works above a sofa or a bed.

9. A felt tree. A felt tree (on Amazon) with stick-on ornaments. Made for kids, but it’s also just a flat tree that weighs nothing and folds into a drawer.

Something different

10. A garland on a doorway. Frame the doorway into your living room with a lit garland and hang a few shatterproof ornaments (on Amazon) from it. You walk under it every day, which is more than you’d look at a tree in the corner.

What to do with presents

Without a tree, presents need somewhere to go. A large basket by the sofa, the space under a console table, or stacked on a chair work fine. Wrapped in one or two papers that match, a pile of presents is a decoration in itself.

Putting it away

Almost everything here packs flat or goes back to its everyday use: the ladder holds throws, the books go back on the shelf, the plant stays a plant. That’s most of the point.