So I have a system when it comes to putting lights on our tree. Growing up, we would throw the tree up and wrap lights around it. I would stand on one side and my mom would stand on the other, and we would loop the lights around the tree, encasing it in lights. Not until I was older did I grow to not really like that look.
Enter Martha Stewart. I was watching her show a few years back when she demonstrated how to put lights on a Christmas tree. Martha said that you should wrap each branch with lights. Eureka! Now, Martha demonstrated on a real tree, which we would be more difficult to execute than the type of artificial tree we have.
First, I put on the bottom layer of branches. I wrap each branch– going up and down the branch with the lights.
Then, I put on the next layer of branches and add the lights.
I keep doing this all the way up to the top.
Of course, my last strand of lights were dead… and I didn’t feel like running to the store at 8:00 PM. Needless to say, I’ll be finishing the tree tomorrow.
So that, my friends, is how I put lights on my Christmas tree. No more light-lassoed Christmas trees. Hooray!
Here’s the final look of our 2011 Christmas tree.
Here’s the final look of our 2011 Christmas tree.
Note: We have a 7 foot tree. I typically use 6-7 strands of lights.
Do you have a system for putting lights on your Christmas tree?
Or are you one of those lucky ones with a pre-lit tree?
Are you one of those nothing-Christmas-until-after-Thanksgiving people?
Check out my other Christmas projects!
wedding invitation ornament
tomato cage christmas tree
how to put lights on a christmas tree
2012 christmas tree
silver & blue christmas centerpiece
sentimental christmas tree
card catalog christmas vignette
sweater presents
christmas card books
christmas 2011 vignette
2011 christmas tree
christmas centerpiece
joy christmas sign
simple christmas card holder
easy christmas centerpiece
holiday gift wrapping station
handmade gift ideas
tis the season printable
christmas 2011 printables
I am one who has been doing the “lasso treatment”…tempted to rethink it although I am not sure I would have enough strands of lights to light up my tree the way you have done yours. We have a 7.5 foot tree that is pretty full…how tall is yours and how many strands of lights do you use? I actually just put my main tree up over the weekend since I wanted to see if I could put it in a big pot…it just doesn’t have lights on it yet.
We do a real tree so I feel like it’s a bit trickier to use this technique on a tree that doesn’t come apart…. but I’m gonna have to try this. It looks beautiful!
A new way!…conincidentally, I was watching a Christmas decorating show on Saturday, and the lady had a different system that I also found interesting: placing the lights vertically and through the branches. I’ve also been doing the lasso style, and thought that vertical idea was pretty amazing. Yet, the wrap-each-branch is rather good. How many sets of lights did you use? According to the lady in that show, one should use a set of 100 lights per each feet of tree. If one has a 7.5 feet tree that would be around 8 sets of lights. Then again, I suppose that depends on how “bright” you want yours, right? In any case, thanks for the tip!
Very pretty! We bought a pre-lit tree last year, so I thankfully don’t have to worry about stringing lights anymore, and I’m really happy we went that route. I refuse to put the tree or outside facing lights up until after Thanksgiving, but I put all of my other decorations up right after Halloween. I went a little nuts this year. Normally they don’t go up until Thanksgiving has passed.
clever!
I used to make my husband do that to our tree (gotta love Martha!)…but we purchased a pre lit a few years ago and it has been pretty amazing. No more fighting over the tree lights
I love how bright your tree is!
I’ll be decorating after Thanksgiving, and I’m so excited!
We kind of do a part lasso part Martha technique. We put up two trees…because we’re crazy. One is pre-lit and seems so darn easy. Our 12 foot tree is not pre-lit. That was a bad frugal move…
Your tree is looking fabulous. You could just leave the top and start a new trend.
Yep, I do this, too! I LOVE the way it makes the tree so full of lights and sparkle.
genius. so happy to find your blog. it’s a beauty, full of great ideas. will be pinning this! xo.
I like that much better than the lasso method!
Growing up we used the lasso method, and I was pretty loyal to it. It was quick and easy. However, since moving out and becoming the owner of two cats, the lasso method went out the door. The first Christmas, the cat (who was a kitten at the time) found it very easy to pull on the light strands. So now I use the same method you do to prevent the cats from pulling down the tree. When we move out of this apartment & into a house we’re planning on investing in a pre-lit tree – less fuss
Hannah C. recently posted..Thanksgiving Recap
I also go with the wrapping the branches method, but the thing I never thought of is to add the branches as I go. I always put the entire tree together and then light. Doing it in chunks is pretty smart.
My silver tree is supposedly pre-lit but the top section is out. I know it’s not dead, so I’m sure I’m just missing the stinking plug for it. But I can’t find it so I just added a strand on the top and called it a day. =)
Thanks for sharing your tips. Super smart.
Kim@NewlyWoodwards recently posted..Stuff for baby (0-6 months)