My job every year is to put on the Christmas tree lights. No one else wants to do it. I'm not a control freak about the lights, I promise. I use to just go around and around the tree when I was a young mom. Then I started stringing them on in an S pattern. Then my dad said to just put on the net lights. But about 7 or 8 years ago, I started to put the lights on, and I tried to find a way to get the lights not only glowing the surface or tips, but also the center/trunk. I love how the glow looks from the center.
So what I do is start from the bottom of the tree and work my way up. I start from one side, placing the strand from the tip to the trunk and back again while going in an S pattern all the way up.
I am doing this on a fresh tree. I once saw a blog post of someone doing this technique on an artificial tree, you can check it out here. And I remember one comment, asking if it can be done on a fresh tree, and my answer is a very happy YES!
A department store tree decorator once told me that this is how they do it with a non-prelit tree.
I know it may sound confusing, but once you get the hang of it, you will do it this way every year!
Yes, I admit that it does take a few more strands of lights to get the tree filled up, but in the end, it looks like a department store tree!
When storing lights, I have found that wrapping them around paper towel tubes, works best for me.
Just wrap them around the tube, starting from one side to the other. It is then so easy to store them, and they will not get tangled with other wires. No more big old ball of lights! Nice and neat! When I run out of wrapping paper, I always save the tube, and cut it into three. Now you have three tubes to wrap the lights around when ready for storage.
Do you have a system for stringing on lights? Feel free to share your technique in the comments below:)
