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| How to Hang Your Christmas Tree Lights |
the focal point is the tree! It is by far my favorite part of the holiday
season. Last year I showed you a little experiment I did with the hypothesis that
hanging lights in different methods (vertical vs. horizontal) resulted in
significantly different results.
an OUTSTANDING tree, if I do say so myself. Roughly 800+ lights later, and this is my final result:
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| How to Hang Your Christmas Tree Lights |
changes and progress with pictures, so that’s how I came up with these pics. Of
course, the base of the experiment, the humble and bare tree:
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| Tree with no lights |
Then the addition of a strand of twinkle lights (100
lights), strung vertically, and focused on the inner most portion of the tree.
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| Tree with one strand of lights |
A strand of 200 solid lights are then added. I did a
significant portion in the vertical method, but also did a small section of the
bottom of the tree in the horizontal method. I don’t want that section to be under-covered.
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| 2nd strand of lights on tree |
This next addition is my favorite of them all. I was treated
to a strand of 140 specialty lights. They have 8 different “settings” and
really make a difference on the tree. You’ll have to check out the video for the full
effect of them. They are only added vertically to the tree.
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| 3rd strands of lights |
Another strand of 100 twinkle lights was added next. I
mostly applied them vertically, but added a few parts of them horizontally. I
wanted to distribute the twinkle lights thoroughly throughout the tree.
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| 4th strand of lights on the tree |
The next strand is a bit of a toss-up. It’s a tad on the goofy
side. Despite my best efforts, some
parts blink some of the time, but not all of the time. It’s completely random.
Anyways, there are about 150 lights on this strand. It is also applied
vertically, but working outwards on the tree.
mostly used for filling in any spots that may have been neglected. I ended up
rearranging this strand a little as the branches opened up over the next day or
two.
Ta-da! Looks great doesn’t it? Here is a few of my favorite shots:
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| Bokeh Christmas Tree |
here is a quick video I snapped to share with you!
My tips for optimal light coverage:
- There is no one right way. I obviously combined several
methods and techniques to get the look. - Quantity. As far as I can tell, the more lights, the better!
- Patience. This is a must! Going up and down, strand after
strand, branch after branch, is not something you just throw together. - Make a night of it! Put on some great Christmas music, open
a bottle of wine, and enjoy the process! - Work from the inside of the tree, out. It’s easier to start
pushing the branches apart to get to the inner most part of the tree when there
is nothing in the way. - After every strand, step back and take a look at your work.
See what sections you missed, eye where you are going to put the next strand,
etc.
you’d like to share? Suggestions for others?
Love this! Beautiful lighting and absolutely covered. You know, the ornaments don't really shine at night when the lights are on, so getting them just right is super important and your tips are perfect. We are full time RVers and have no room for a tree *sniff*. I still hang ornaments in the window, but I'm pinning this anyway in case we ever decide to go back to a regular job in a regular house.
Aww, we need to get you a mini tree somehow! Tehe, maybe one on the dash 🙂 Just a mini one! I'm still adding the final ornaments to my tree now, but they look absolutely divine at night with all the lights behind them! Thank you for checking out the post lovely! <3 <3
Wow how cool!!! We only have about half of that amount on our tree and I'm not happy about it but not fixing it this year. Will hunt down lights on sale after Christmas though. Twinkle lights bother me for some reason…yeah I'm weird. lol Love your idea of starting from the inside working out and will definately use that method next year. Your tree looks gorgeous so far!!! Thanks for the detailed explanation. 🙂
Well thank you Ann! I totally hear ya, not everyone is up for twinkle lights! I was hoping to pick up MORE lights at Michaels (on sale of course) but the one near me is pretty much out of EVERYTHING! crazy. I'm super glad you found this post helpful 🙂 You'll have to keep me updated next year on how your tree turns out!