How to put lights on a Christmas tree the easy way

Who doesn’t love Christmas lights? They make your tree shimmer and sparkle, reflecting off your decorations and illuminating your home. It’s magical!

Putting Christmas lights on your tree should be the first step when you come to decorate your Christmas tree, before you think about adding baubles or tinsel.

The lights provide a foundation for the rest of your decorations, so you want to get them right before you add all of your ornaments.

Read on to discover how to put lights on a Christmas tree so that it shines bright throughout the holidays.

The best way to hang Christmas lights on a tree

1. Test your lights first

Putting lights on the Christmas tree — Getty Images/Dima Berlin

There’s nothing more frustrating than discovering that your lights are faulty after you’ve already decorated your tree. You’ll have to take everything off and start again!

First, take your lights out of the box and detangle them – lights always seem to become tangled even if you put them away carefully.

Next, plug them in and check to see if any bulbs are dead. Replacement bulbs are readily available online and from hardware stores, so it’s an easy problem to fix.

You’ll need to check that your replacement bulbs are the same voltage and bulb type as the originals. When you’re buying Christmas lights, it’s a good idea to keep the box so you know the voltage and bulb type. It’ll help you to protect the lights in storage too.

2. Start at the bottom of the tree

Adam Mason, co-founder of www.thechristmascreators.co.uk says: “You want to start at the bottom of your tree, simply because you want the power box to be at the bottom where you can tuck it away discreetly.

“From here, you want to wrap your lights around the tree, in a circular motion, gradually working your way up the tree.”

3. Think about where your lights are positioned

“The type of tree you have will determine where you place them,” Adam says. “If you have a dense tree, you can place the lights closer to the edges, but if you have more of a sparse tree then you’ll want to tuck the lights further inside so your wires aren’t on display.”

It’s worth bearing in mind that a real tree may droop as it dries out, so don’t weigh down the ends of the branches with your lights.

How to put lights on a Christmas tree — Unsplash/Bao Menglong

4. Use multiple strings of lights

When decorating your Christmas tree, you want to make sure it doesn’t look empty. Adding more than one string of lights will take your Christmas tree to the next level.

Adam says: ““Having multiple sets of lights is best – not only to add maximum sparkle to your tree, but also so when you step back and check, not only can you adjust the lights you’ve already wrapped around, but you can add more to get the desired look.

“We recommend 5m of lights for every 2ft of your Christmas tree, but it never hurts to have more – it’s certainly better than not enough.”

5. Secure the Christmas lights to stop them sliding off your tree

There are a few different ways to keep your Christmas tree lights in position. Simply Christmas magazine editor Vicki Atkinson says: “Weaving the lights around the branches can help to keep them in place, but if that doesn’t work you can attach them to the tree with pieces of green florist’s wire.

“The wire will blend in with the Christmas tree needles and can be reused. You can also use zip ties, but these are trickier to conceal.”

5. Use the correct kind of lights

If you’re putting lights on an outdoor tree, make sure that you are using ones specifically designed for outside use. Indoor lights are not designed to be exposed to the elements, while outdoor fairy lights are.

6. Remove lights from the top down

When taking the lights off the Christmas tree, begin by removing all of the decorations and ornaments, then unwind the lights working from the top down.

This will stop the lights getting too tangled, especially if you’ve used more than one string of lights.

Weaving the lights around the branches can help to keep them in place
Vicki Atkinson, editor of Simply Christmas magazine

7. Try the vertical string method

An alternative Christmas tree lighting technique is to zigzag your lights up the tree vertically, starting near the base. Split your tree into three sections and use a different string of lights for each section.

This method works particularly well if you’re lighting a large tree – according to realsimple.com, this is the technique used by the decorators who work on the gigantic Christmas tree at New York City’s Rockefeller Center.

8. Don’t leave your lights unattended

Never leave your Christmas tree lights on overnight or if you’re going out somewhere, as it’s a potential fire hazard.

For the same reason, avoid plugging more than two extension cords together to prevent fires.

If you have a dense tree, you can place the lights closer to the edges, but if you have a sparse tree then you’ll want to tuck the lights further inside.
Adam, founder of thechristmascreators.co.uk

9. Use different kinds of lights

Pairing up two or even three different kinds of lights on your Christmas tree can look very striking. We’d recommend using some tiny white LED lights as a base and combining them with lights that twinkle on and off.

You can mix coloured lights with plain white lights if you wish, or keep it simple and stick to one colour.

Planning a Christmas party? You can buy Christmas lights that can sync to the beat of a song to wow your guests!

10. Use a step ladder to reach higher branches

Don’t stretch to reach the higher boughs, use a step ladder to help you reach. Make sure it’s stable before getting onto it and resist the urge to reach across – especially if your balance isn’t great.

11. Choose LED Christmas tree lights

LED lights are safer than traditional fairy lights as they don’t get as hot, so there’s less risk that they’ll start a fire.

As an added bonus, they use less energy than the older bulbs so you’ll save money too.