At my mother's house where we had three cats and one large dog the tree was set in the corner of the living room beside the fireplace, positioned equidistant in front of two windows so we could run picture frame wire from the bole of the tree at about breast high over to the shutters that covered the lower half of the windows. The wire was wrapped around an upper hinge on both corners to keep the tree upright if someone climbed it (they did on occasion). Plastic ornaments were put on the bottom to avoid shards of broken glass from being swatted or wagged against.

I have done trees here, I have a high ceiling so it looks good, but I find that the type of fir generally available down here (usually Noble) makes me sneeze. On xmas eve I would buy one at a discount from the neighborhood nursery (making a low-ball offer since it will be on the curb day after xmas) and take it down by New Year's. This was when I had a pickup. Now I don't, and I'm not willing to go to the struggle to strap one on top even for the six blocks to get it home.

Instead of a tree I pull out sparkly colors of garlands and arrange them around the top edge of the mantle, then I get out crystal pitchers and large containers and bowls (antiques from the family) and fill them with glass balls that would hang on the tree. A few other ornaments like nutcrackers, festive shapes intended as ornaments that I've collected over the years fill in spaces. This looks good and keeps everything out of reach of the three dogs that live here now. One that is still young enough to be particularly destructive.