When it comes to Christmas decorations, I’ve always believed that a Christmas tree is the main event. Despite this, I’ve always struggled to light my tree perfectly with the lights easily tangling or just ending up looking dull when the rest of my decorations are added. That was until I found this Christmas tree lighting technique.
In the past I have been guilty of starting with the intention of decorating mine Christmas tree ideas and ended up haphazardly throwing the decorations on as my patience with tangled lights and garlands wore thin.
This year, however, with this technique (and more determination than ever before) I was finally able to perfect mine Christmas light ideas and now my tree looks like it’s straight out of a Hallmark movie.
Our sister site Livingetc tried the same “hack” and it worked beautifully for them too, so we think this is a winner. Read on to find out how it’s done.
How to get the perfect Christmas tree lighting
(Image credit: Future)
In the end, this Christmas tree lighting technique was easier than what I had tried year after year, and it also looked more luxurious.
1. Invest in the right lights (and the right amount of them, too)
I have to admit that in the past I had been a bit stingy with the number of fairy lights I used for my Christmas tree. I tried to cut down on the number of wires I inevitably had to unravel and try to hide each year. As it turns out, this was my first Christmas styling mistake.
For the ultimate luxury look, it’s all about quality and quantity. I ended up using two sets of 2000 lights like these cluster lights on Amazon (opens in a new tab) to finally light my tree.
While this may sound like a ridiculous amount of light, this method turns out to allow for the opulent luxury look you find in Christmas movies and holiday displays. If you want a cozy feeling like me, then I suggest you choose warm white candles rather than multi-colored or white candles – which are also the choice for Christmas trends this year. This can also help your Christmas tree look tasteful and less tacky.
The decision to buy all these candles was not one that I took lightly considering the high upfront cost of the candles, but since Christmas is often the holiday of excess and the desire to have the perfect tree for the first time, I decided that as a once was worth it for a professional finish.
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Cluster Micro LED light string
Light up your holiday home with a magnificent light display. Wrap these connectable LED lights around your tree or hang from ceilings and railings for a festive glow.
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Warm white Christmas string lights
The Christmas string light is perfect for indoors and outdoors or anywhere you want to decorate. With 2,000 LED lights, each Christmas string is a total of 175.5 feet long.
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Cluster large fairy light string
Make Christmas more enchanting with a festival of fairy lights. With these larger bulbs, you can add a lot of sparkle to any space or special occasion.
2. Start at the bottom of the tree and work your way up
Now this is the one step I got right every year. By starting at the base of the tree, you can hide the wires more easily and prevent a trailing line of wires up the back of the tree.
Something I hadn’t considered when decorate a Christmas tree, on the other hand, my lights start right up against the trunk (or stand if you have an artificial tree like me) and work outward towards the tips of the branches. This Christmas tree lighting technique helps the lights shine outwards and add depth, making it look like your tree is glowing, rather than having noticeable wires and LEDs that tarnish the final look of ideas for Christmas decorations.
3. Work in a zigzag pattern instead of around the tree
A tip my mom taught me when I was a kid was to never decorate the back of a Christmas tree, especially if it’s in the corner of a room like our family tree always was. I was glad to hear that this ultimate lighting technique offered the same advice.
Instead of working around the tree with the lights and wasting precious feet of lighting on areas of the tree that are never seen, I worked back and forth in a zigzag pattern on the areas of the tree that were visible. Keeping the candles near the center of the tree, I worked from right to left and back again as I moved up the tree.
Once I had done this up the tree trunk, I started moving out along the branches, zigzagging my way down the tree and started adding the next sets of lights as I needed them. The advantage of doing it this way is that no lights are lost in the tree once I start adding the rest of my Christmas decoration ideas.
I have also found that the zig-zag techniques make it easier to take down the three at the end of the holiday.
Do you start at the top or the bottom when you light a Christmas tree?
When putting lights on a Christmas tree, it is best to start at the base of the tree near the trunk or stand and work outwards and upwards until you reach the top of the tree.
What is the order of decorating a Christmas tree?
Decorating a Christmas tree properly usually starts with placing the tree and fluffing up the branches (especially on an artificial tree), before putting on the lights. After the lights are in place and connected, lay out your wooden skirt if you are using one to hide the wires and base and then you can start adding the rest of the decorations and statement balls.
