Maybe we just get fat trees in our area, but I have yet to get a tree that allows much of the skirt to show. Add a few presents and you can't see the tree skirt at all. I finally "made" my own skirt out of a bedsheet -- just cut out the circle with pinking shears. It was a twin, so my skirt is about 66" in diameter. Still, you can only see much of it at the beginning of the season. With four people in our family the gifts cover the skirt even now that the kids are older and not receiving as many or as large sized gifts as when they were at the "toys" age.

same here @angelinethebaker. I couldn't really buy or make a bigger one because then it would encroach on the room's traffic pattern. And like you said, eventually the presents cover the majority of it up anyways. I sure do appreciate looking at these pretty ones though!

Never saw a need for one of these, myself...

I don't even bother with cutting up a bedsheet. Instead I use an old green duvet cover that gets draped around the tree stand. After Christmas skirt duty, it gets washed and put back on the linens shelf. For the rest of the year, it serves as table cloth, futon cover, hot-weather "blanket" and even, occasionally, as a duvet cover. Some of these tree skirts are adorable, but I definitely don't need another single-use item in my household.

It catches the needles and sap on live trees, and, back in the day, it would catch wax from candles. That's if the tree didn't catch fire and take your whole house with it.

I didn't grow up in North America and so I remain blissfully oblivious of the Christmas tree skirt. I really don't see any need for it, I am not bothered by the tree stand in plain view.
I do, however, like the last picture, the paper wrap with some potpourri or ornaments as a filler.

Well, we don't put our gifts out before Christmas, normally, so the skirt kind of finishes the space in the meantime. But I got ours thrift, so a whole separate issue. (Plus, I have no problem sewing a new one if I change the decorations and want a different color...)

We have a "skirt" that we have used in the past. This year i think we will use an old chenille twin bedspread. I like how it grounds the tree, and yes, by Christmas morning it is barely visible.

Never saw a need either. Our tree was huge & had quite a spread so the lower branches hid the stand. THEN I gave it to the kids/g-kids when they transferred cross country & down sized to a slimmer pre-lit tree. Gained lots of floor space but the stand was now a visible eyesore & all the gifts were now being shipped *sniff* :(

I snagged a large metallic gold tablecloth for $3 from the $-store, draped it around the tree & created a vignette with a few antique toys from my bookshelves. I'm all for working with what you have whenever possible.

I used to twist a white sheet around the (hideous but very functional) tree stand, and that worked until my black cat figured out that the lights made the comfortable fabric warm. Now I use whatever darker piece of fabric I can get my hands on to conceal the stand.

I usually use an antique quilt, but this year I think I'm going to put the stand in an old Dewar's crate that says "Christmas Cheer Scotch Whisky"

My husband's grandmother gave us a hand-knitted tree skirt for Christmas one year. It was (and still is), one of the coolest gifts that we have received and it's nice think of her whenever we unpack our Christmas boxes and place the skirt under the tree.

Since I remember, my family has used tree skirt my grandmother quilted. I think she made it for my parents shortly after they got married. My mom thought it was cute but didn't really have much attachment to it so she let me talk it when I moved out. I don't have room for a tree this year, but I like it so much I'm thinking about using it as a tablecloth on my little round kitchen table with a clear vinyl one over it to protect it from spills.

Oh gracious, look at all the typos in my last comment. Whoops!

Smilingmegs, so good to hear someone else who is attached fondly to their Christmas tree skirt! Mine is a counted cross stitch of Santas from around the world that my mother made and gave to me as a present. It's beautiful and finishes off the tree so perfectly...and it always makes me happy when I think of this beautiful present that my mother cared enough to work so hard to make for me.

Smilingmegs, so good to hear someone else who is attached fondly to their Christmas tree skirt! Mine is a counted cross stitch of Santas from around the world that my mother made and gave to me as a present. It's beautiful and finishes off the tree so perfectly...and it always makes me happy when I think of this beautiful present that my mother cared enough to work so hard to make for me.

Sweet. If I had a family heirloom tree skirt, I would find a way to use it....even if I didn't HAVE a tree. I'm jealous of you three. What memories!

Thanks so much for the feature AT, I love tree skirts but also creative containers like barrels, urns, and planters too, anything goes these days!

I don't like how perfect tree skirts look. For my mom's tree, we use a Christmas-themed blanket to cover the tree stand. I put my own tree in a bucket.

I finally got one for this year (purchased online), since scrubbing the sap from the floor was a pain last year (and we rent). The husband was even excited about the possibility of a purple tree skirt. We'll see how it works out.

I just bunch up red fabric (old curtains) - looks good to me!

I just use a big piece of Burlap and wrap it around the entire base of the tree! Cheap and rustic.

Since it gets covered quickly, I love the old fashioned charm of the batting with glitter glued to it - I even picked up a (very yellowed) vintage one at an estate sale this summer. The seller just let me have it to wrap the old glass ornaments I was buying, but I couldn't bear to throw it out yet...we'll see if I can save it somehow!

I have yet to find a tree skirt that actually fits around the tree stand without looking like crap. Most, if not all, of the tree skirts I've seen have a very tiny opening to fit around the tree, usually just enough to around the trunk. Am I doing it wrong? I assume most people put their trees in a stand with water?

I think I'm going to take the same route as most of you and just throw some sheets around it.