How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part 13

Ready, Set ... GO!

It is my humble opinion, that before you start to light the tree, take a power strip and zip tie it to the center of the tree, against the trunk, so it's not visible from the viewing area.  Then plug the power strip into the wall outlet. All the lead wires from all the strings will be at the back of the tree, not just looking bare and ugly.  With that being said, if you have a better plan, please email me and let me know. 

How you put your Christmas tree lights on your tree depends on your own personal experience, advice that you've gotten from garden centers and the tree lot guy, and maybe some tips you gleaned off of YouTube.  There are several different techniques or styles of Christmas tree light installation, all depending on the number of lights you have, and your pain tolerance.

The Zen Approach:  The advantage of this technique is that you are taking into consideration that the branches of your Christmas tree will droop with the weight of lights and ornaments.  But by alternating branches, the tree limbs won't sag in the same place and the lower branches will actually help support the branches above it.  This technique will also appear more random and you won't be fighting straight lines of lights, which is hard to fix -- once you notice it -- usually after you get your ornaments on.

Starting at the bottom of the tree, and with your lights plugged into the power source, determine which way around the Christmas tree you are going to go (either clockwise or counter clockwise) and then keep it consistent.  Place your light strand over the first branch, then under the next, laying the Christmas tree lights on top of the branches.  As you're weaving over and under the branches, go deeper towards the trunk, then work your way out to the tips of the branches, then back towards the trunk and so forth.

There is no winding of the light wires around the branches with this technique, just lay the lights gently across the top of the branches.  Work your way to the top, spiraling around and around.  As the tree narrows at the top, you might have to adjust as there are less branches to work with per cycle/circle/rotation.

The Professional Designer Style: There are people that get paid for decorating Christmas trees -- for parties, for businesses, for displays, for weddings -- I know!  What a great job that would be.  But even the professionals don't all agree on the same way to light up a Christmas tree. Some start low and go up, some start at the top and go down.  Some go clockwise and some go counter clockwise. But this will get you started:

Which way are you going to circle the tree?  It really doesn't matter as long as you maintain that rhythm throughout the installation.  Start at the bottom, and back at the trunk, with your lights plugged in.  Pick a branch.  Now you are going to get the lights from the trunk to the tip of that branch and there are two ways to do it:

1. Wrap the lights two or three times around the branch, from the trunk to the tip.
2. "S" the lights across the top of the branch from the trunk to the tip, then wrap the the wire around the tip a couple of times, trying to get a light right on the tip of the branch.

Either way, once you reach the tip, the lights then go straight back across the top of the branch to the trunk.  Move on to the next branch.

Amateur Hour: This is probably the technique used in most homes.  Start by lighting the inside of the tree by wrapping the first string of Christmas tree lights around the trunk.  Personally, I find that a little distracting, but it does get the lovely glow and color of lights deep into the tree.  Then, starting at the top, lay the Christmas tree lights gently on the top of the branches.  Leave a little slack so you can push some of the lights deeper in to the tree and pull some of them a little closer to the tips of the branches.  Try not to form a straight line, but maneuver the lights over the smaller, inner branches and under as well.

This is a pretty good video that I found on YouTube.  It has some great instructions for the this method, all in less than three minutes:

When you reach the end of a string of Christmas tree lights, add another -- or stack another.  And remember to please follow the manufacturers recommendations as to the number of strings you can hook together via stacking or plugging end to end. 

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part 12

A Few Last Tidbits of Advice:

So, you've picked the perfect Christmas tree, you've put it in the Christmas tree stand (and filled it with water), you've got all your Christmas tree lights organized and ready to go -- just one more thing:

It will be a lot easier if you give yourself 1-2 feet of clearance between the tree and and the wall.  More if you are Rubenesque like moi, and less if you've got a child helping you.  This way you can get all the way around the Christmas tree with the Christmas tree lights.  Let me repeat -- 1 to 2 feet of clearance between the tree and the wall, so your husband/boyfriend/dad/son has plenty of room to move around to the back of the tree. 

While it's not really necessary to put ornaments on the "wall" side of your Christmas tree, you really do need some lights.  You want the lights to shine through the tree and your ornaments. 

And finally, one last word of advice:  if you have a tree topper, don't wrap the very tip-top of the Christmas tree (also called the "spire") with lights.  And if your tree topper lights up, give the tree topper is own place on the power strip.  They use more energy than regular strands of lights.

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part 11

Christmas Tree Light Covers --
A Fun Option

Before we get to the actual installing of the Christmas tree lights, here's a few more lighting options to consider ...

You can make a fashion or political statement by purchasing strings of lights that have ornamental covers over the bulb.  If you have ever visited a trailer park in Florida, you'll see these lights strung across the canopies.  Actually, it's pretty cool looking at night.  I've seen: fish, palm trees, tropical fish, smiley faces, cupcakes, cars, flip flops, parrots, Pittsburgh Steelers, the Detroit Tigers, soccer balls, footballs, boats, pink flamingos -- pretty much anything you can imagine.  While not traditional in the Santa sense, they might be a cute option for a themed Christmas tree.

Unfortunately Christmas tree lights that already have light covers installed can be a little pricey.  For example, I found a strand of R2D2 (from Star Wars) lights that were 138 inches long with a 30" lead in wire.  There were 10 lights and the cost was $24.99.  YIKES! 

But don't despair.  There's another option.  Why not use the Christmas tree lights you already have and just buy the light cover.  There are three advantages to this:

1. The expense.  It's a lot cheaper, therefore, you can buy more light covers.  More bang for your buck.
2. You don't have to cover every light in the strand.  That way you can strategically place these special lights anywhere on the tree -- not just in a line.
3. You can change them out.  Your team traded your favorite play?  Change your light covers.  Had a midlife crisis and bought a sports car?  Change your light covers.  Going to Paris in the new year?  Change your light covers.

You can find some pretty unique ones on Ebay and Etsy as well as your local hardware store. 

And one last thing, if you are in the market for new lights this year, think about buying some commercial Christmas tree lights.  These are the kinds of lights that are used by cities, universities, landscapers and designers.  Yes, they cost more money, but they are so much more heavy duty than the ones us civilians usually buy.  Most of the time you can find them in stores right next to the regular lights. 

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part Nine

My Love Affair With Bubble Lights

But first, meet my grandparents.  Cleo and Illda Hughes were my mom's parents.  They owned the Hughes Market in Battle Creek, Michigan for 40 years.  Cleo was of French/Swiss descent and Illda was Irish/English.  Cleo's mom was in love with love (most of her many marriages didn't last five years) and Illda's mom was -- well -- a business woman.
I'm pretty sure Cleo would have been a con-man if he hadn't married Illda.  Illda would have been a nun if she hadn't married Cleo.  Somehow, these two damaged souls found each other.  On the wedding license, Cleo lied and said he was 22 years old.  (Really he was 17).  On the wedding license Illda lied and said she was 22 years old when she was really 25.  It all worked out in the end. Illda didn't know that Cleo had lied to her until she found his birth certificate when he died.

In 1929 after The Crash, Cleo went into an almost defunct bank and applied for a $200 loan, with which he intended to start a grocery business.  The bank president delivered a denial to Cleo.  However, he was so impressed with my granddad's big brass cajones, he loaned him the money from his own pocket, and the rest is Battle Creek history. 

My mother told us stories of her youth.  According to her, all she did was work, work, WORK.  Before school, after school, weekends, holidays.  She delivered groceries, drove trucks to Texas and Georgia to buy fruit when she was only 14 years old.  She ran the cash register, swept the floors, dusted the shelves and cleaned fish.  She could stack cans from floor to ceiling and knew how to set up an enticing fruit and vegetable display.  She could butcher a cow if she had to, and could cut up a whole chicken in under 10 seconds.  You never, EVER ate so much as a penny piece of candy without paying for it.

In other words, Cleo and Illda Hughes were hard-ass business owners. 
I found that image hard to reconcile with the Cleo and Illda Hughes that I knew.  The both turned out to be extremely patient, over-indulgent, loving and kind old people. For being frugal to the extreme in just about every other facet of their lives, both of them indulged themselves and each other and children at Christmas time.  And the most wonderful of all theses indulgences (besides Illda's Divinity Fudge) were bubble lights on the Christmas tree.  No one else we knew had them -- including my dad's fancy folks.

In December, Cleo would put up the tree and adorn it with the bubble lights.  It was a kind of tricky installation process as bubble lights had to be clipped on so that the glass vial was positioned exactly vertical.  These bubble lights were very early ones, filled with oil.  And the reason I know that was because I snapped the stem of one on purpose just to see what was on the inside.  And Cleo, the slave driver, the whip cracker, the work-a-holic just gave me the eye and handed me a handkerchief.  The oil permanently stained my yellow daisy church dress, but that's okay 'cause I never like that dress anyway. 

Then Cleo would let me sit in his big, over-stuffed arm chair, right next to the Christmas tree and watch the bubble lights.  He'd turn off the overhead lights and lamps and just let me watch them until I'd fall asleep.  It was lovely and serene and mesmerizing.   And I'm telling you, once you do bubble lights, it's hard to go back to anything else.

When Cleo and Illda moved to Florida in the late 60's they gave my mom all their Christmas stuff, including the bubble lights.  When my mom died and we split up the family home, I passed on the 60 karat aquamarine ring, the 24 inch strand of pearls, the Pigaget watch, the silver heart and the emerald brooch to get the Christmas decorations that included the bubble lights.  In retrospect, probably not my best decision -- but then again, I had my bubble lights, which I considered an heirloom. 
Here's a video I found on YouTube, just so you can experience the attraction:

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part 7

C7 and C9 Christmas Tree Lights
aka Strawberry Lights
C7 and C9 Christmas tree lights resemble the lights we used to have back in the day.  And they are still making them,and sometimes with the new technology. 

I've got several strings of these Christmas tree lights that I inherited from my grandparents.  Every year, I pull them out of the attic and plug them in and they always work.  They were manufactured with three wires: white, green and red and if one goes out, they all go out.  Every year, my dad would sit me down with several strings of lights that didn't work and a night light receptacle.  My job was to take out each bulb and twist it into the night light.  Then, I was to plug the light into a socket.  If it lit up -- the light bulb was good.  It was a very important job.  Come to think of it -- could it have been a ploy to keep me out from under foot?  Hmmmm. 

In the name, the "C" stands for candle.  The number in the name, refers to the size of the bulb.  In this particular case, a smaller number means a smaller bulb size.  A Christmas tree bulb has three dimensions:  the total height of the bulb unit (including the receptacle), the height of the bulb itself, and the width of the bulb at the widest point.
The dimensions for a C7 bulb is 2 1/8" total height, bulb height is 1 1/2" with a width of 7/8".  A C9 bulb measures out at 2 7/8" total height, bulb height is 2" and the width is 1 1/8". 

Personally I love the larger bulbs that are opaque red, green, blue and white.  But you can also get bulbs in a clear and transparent colors as well as amber, blue, gold, orange, pink, purple, and yellow. When I think of strawberry lights or C7/C9 lights, I think of the incandescent type light, with the fragile filamented bulbs.  Many of the lighting manufacturers and retail stores have been calling these lights "retro" Christmas tree lights.  But these lights are now being made in LED, so if you're in the market for new lights this year, keep your eyes open for them.

Most of these lights are on 25' of wire and the spacing is approximately 12" between bulbs.  My lights  have a clip on the light socket so it can be secured to the branches of the Christmas tree and I've found many newer strings of light have also adapted that design element. 

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part Six

Are Micro Lights Right for Your Christmas Tree?

Micro lights  -- also called "rice" lights -- are very tiny, very delicate lights.  I have been able to find them in both LED as well as incandescent. They are energy efficient and don't throw off a lot of heat.  They also don't give off a very large "aura" (or halo) of light but  provide little pinpricks of intense color. They are smaller versions of the miniature lights and lower in voltage.
I found a lot of conflicting information regarding micro lights.  Some websites say that micro lights are for indoor lighting only, but then I found some micro lights that were indoor/outdoor.  I found some information that said micro lights have no end to end connectors and some that said micro lights can be "stacked" -- which means plug into plug -- up to 20 strings.  I found some micro lights that were good for 3000 hours of glowing and some that were good for 12,000.  All the ones I studied stated that if one bulb goes out, all the rest of them stay lit. Yay!

Most of the micro lights suitable for Christmas trees are in strings with 35 lights, 50 lights and 100 lights. The wires on micro lights are thinner which makes them easier to hide, and so far I've found them with wire colors of green, white and silver.  On most of the strings, there is at least 20" inches of lead in wire -- wire without lights.  And there is a variety of spacing between the lights, from 2" up to 3.5".  Several of the "Christmas tree lighting" websites recommend them for smaller projects, like windowsill or mantel displays. Some micro lights even come with a battery pack, which makes them ideal for wreaths and kissing balls. I wonder if they could be used to adorn an "ugly" Christmas sweater? 

Micro lights come in a wide variety of colors such as: white, white frost, blue, red, green, gold, pink, purple, amber, yellow and multi-colored. 

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part Five

Types of Christmas Tree Lights: Miniature Lights

Miniature lights are also called Fairy Lights and/or Wedding lights.  And these are probably the lights we all have in our attics.  These are the lights that revolutionized Christmas tree lighting in this country, once electricity was available to everyone.  Moving from real candles, to the big glass bulb lights that really could set a dry Christmas tree on fire, it was the miniature lights we bought to transition. 

Inexpensive enough for everyday use (that's right I have some around the windows in the master bedroom), they come in clear, white, multicolored, single colored, twinkling, not twinkling, chasing, green wired, white wired, brown wired -- they have it all. 

For many years I was a huge fan of the old school bulbs.  As a kid I lived for the day that we would get the Christmas tree lights out of the attic and I was sad when the holiday season was over and they were tucked away -- each bulb wrapped in tissue.  When my 50 year old strand gave up the ghost and I was forced by lack of money to choose a cheaper replacement. I bought the miniature lights -- and I've never looked back.  I LOVE them! 

What I like best about the miniature lights is there is no need to pack them away.  You can use them for so many things other than just lighting up a Christmas tree. Right off the top of my head: weddings, baby showers, outdoor parties, the make a great night light for kids and babies, every other holiday you decorate for.  Over at www.christmas-light-source.com they even suggested to put them in your fireplace instead of logs during the summer months.  What a great idea. Just remember that they are "incandescent," which means they have that delicate fragile filament on the inside.  They will break if you drop them on a hard surface too many times or jump rope with them.

On December 26, when people are out there scooping up great deals on ornaments, wrapping paper, ribbon, bows etc., I'm always fighting for the miniature lights. 

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part Four

Types of Christmas Tree Lights: LED Lights

As far as I can figure, there are five types of Christmas tree lights: LED lights, miniature lights, microlights, C7 and C9 lights (I call them "old school") and bubble lights.  And most of them come in different sizes and colors.
LED stands for light-emitting diodes.  According to the experts, LED Christmas tree lights use 80-85% less electricity than the other kinds of lights.  It gives off no heat and is flame proof as well as fire proof. 

When this technology first became available in Christmas tree light form, the lights were so bright that it hurt your eyes to even look at your Christmas tree, but sometime in the mid-80's manufacturers found a way to soften the glow. 

Most of the LED lights that I am familiar with were shaped like pencil erasers -- round colorful niblets.  Nowdays you can find them made with bulbs that look like fairy lights, snowflakes, round globes, stars, pine cones, ice cubes, raspberries or even to look like the old school big strawberry shaped bulbs. And you can find them in the traditional colors, as well as purple, hot pink and champagne.

Probably the best thing about the LED Christmas tree lights is that they do not contain the delicate filaments that the incandescent bulbs do, which makes the sturdier and less prone to going out. 

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part 3

The Anatomy of Christmas Tree Lights

The good news is that there are usually excellent instructions that come with each box of Christmas tree lights.  The bad news is that often times the lights get separated from the box -- okay, let's just say it -- the box gets thrown away.  And probably somewhere in your kitchen junk drawer is a little plastic bag that came with the lights that you've never taken the time to look at.  It's just an extra bulb or two, right?

WRONG. Take a closer look.  Many of the newer Christmas tree light sets not only come with a few extra bulbs but a couple of extra fuses as well.  Extra fuses?  I never heard of such a thing!  If you have some strands of lights that no longer work -- and before you run out to replace them -- check and see if it's a fuse issue.  The "fuse box" is not located in a dark corner of your basement.  For a strand of Christmas tree lights the fuse box is located in the plug. And real quick before you start poking around: DON'T MESS AROUND WITH CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHT THAT ARE PLUGGED IN!  I'm just sayin'.  Look at the plug for a little slot that.  You might need a magnifying glass and a screwdriver.  On my lights it actually says "open" with an arrow which was to slide the cover to access the fuses.

Most strings of Christmas tree lights have the plug, then 30" of plain wire before the first light.  Try not to use an outlet that is more than a couple of feet away from the tree to avoid stretching the wire.  Personally, I think it's a good idea to get a power strip.  And don't roll your eyes.  You don't need to get an $80 computer power strip from the office supply store.  You can get an inexpensive one for under $10 at any big box store. 

Christmas tree lights either plug in end-to-end or the plugs stack together.  The Christmas tree lights that plug in end-to-end are self explanatory.  There is a plug on each end.  Christmas tree lights that stack are joined together at the plugs and each strand has only one plug.  Each plug has prongs on one side and two "female" receptacles on the other.

Every box of Christmas tree lights has the specifications on the box including if they connect end-to-end or stacked AND how man sets of lights you can safely string or stack together.  If you've thrown away the box, the general rule is that you can string three sets of 100 lights together, or six sets of 50 lights, before having to start a new plug. 

Lights come strung on green wire, brown wire and white wire.  I still don't understand the white wire unless you are installing on a fake white tree or maybe a flocked tree.  Do people even do that anymore because I'd like to see how to flock a tree.  Anyway, I go for the green wired lights, because I don't want to see any wires at all.  Which is another area of Christmas tree light installation that my dear husband and I don't agree on.  He thinks that the wires are great places to hang Christmas tree ornaments.  

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part Two

The Plan:

Before you start getting all willy-nilly and crazy with the Christmas tree lights, take a few minutes to think it all through.  A little planning in the beginnig will save you from making a midnight run to WalMart or prevent an early morning visit from the fire department.

1. Check out your inventory.  Do you have enough lights?  I have in front of me a box of miniature white Christmas tree lights that I picked up after season for around 50 cents.  Why haven't I ever bothered to use them?  Oh.  There are only 20 lights on the strand.  20 lights!  What was I thinking?  At http://www.christmas-light-source.com/How-many-Christmas-lights-on-my-tree-calculator_c_213.html there is a Christmas tree light calculator, determined by the kind of lights you have and the height of your tree.  And how many more lights to add if you really love lights.
2. Is the Christmas tree going to be located near an electrical outlet?
3. Spend some time unwinding your lights and get them organized.  Check to see if they all light up.  Check to see if any of the plugs are cracked.  Make sure the wires aren't frayed.
4. Wind them up into manageable units.  Starting at one end, gather them up in a back and forth looping pattern, like a figure 8 (instead of coiling like a garden hose) is easier to control.  Secure them with a twist tie until you are ready to use them.
5. It will probably take about 1 1/2 hours to put the Christmas tree lights on a Christmas tree.  more if you install on a Sunday while watching football on TV.

How to Put Christmas Tree Lights on a Christmas Tree: Part One

I didn't know much about how to put Christmas tree lights on a Christmas tree until I decided to write a couple of blog posts about it.  I mean, I watched my dad do.  And then I watched my dear honey struggle with it.  But I DO know what I like.  I do know what looks ridiculous or inadequate.  I also know that my husband -- Johnny Frogman USN Retired -- has a very different opinon on the subject.  And sometimes his passion for perfection does not translate to Christmas light installation.  He has expressed to me on many occassions that since he is the one putting on the Christmas tree lights, that I just need to shut my "pie hole" and live with it OR I could just do it myself.  Hmmmmm.  Could I?

Do you know that there are actually experts in this very topic?  Designers and decorators that put Christmas tree lights on Christmas tree professionally -- for a living?  For most of us, the problem with lighting a Christmas tree is mostly lack of experience.  Unfortunately, when one only does an activity once a year, it's hard to become proficient at it.  What if you only sent an email once a year, or shot hoops or cooked?  Same thing when it comes to putting on lights.  I needed some expert advice -- expert advice and a little compassion.

So as I start this journey, this is what I know for sure about how to put Christmas tree lights on a Christmas tree:

1. A Christmas tree is not a Maypole.
2. The wires for the lights should be almost invisible.
3. Check the Christmas tree lights for burn outs BEFORE you put them on the tree.
4. Don't overload the wall socket.
5. It's easier to put the Christmas tree lights on the tree when the lights are ON.
6. It's going to take a lot more time than you think it's going to.
7. You can't send anyone to jail for NOT putting the Christmas tree lights away correctly the previous year.
8. If left in the attic, vermin WILL chew on the wires.
9. When replacing a burned out bulb, take a second to see how it's attached.  It's important to get the whole bulb, not just the glass part.