Unlike getting in line at a Boxing Day sale, there’s no need to rush when it comes to putting up your Christmas lights.
In fact, some careful planning and a slower execution can make all the difference to the end product, leaving you with a simply stellar tree the whole neighbourhood will be envious of.
1. Select a colour that teams with the theme
Warm white, cool white, or multicolour; this is the decision you need to make before you even hit the store.
Warm white Christmas lights go well with pared-back, simple schemes, or a tree adorned with white, gold or blonde timber decorations.
Cool white lights team wonderfully with a blue and silver situation (very Frozen!).
And the multicoloured ones are for you rebels who break all the rules and have a crazy, anything-goes theme. I like your style!
The colours of your Christmas-tree lights should go with the theme you’ve picked. Picture: Getty
2. Plug them in for a bulb-test
Trust me, if you spend a good 30 minutes winding those lights around the tree and then discover an entire chain on them doesn’t work, you will want to pull a Britney Spears 2007 breakdown, shave your head and vandalise a car with an umbrella.
Plug everything in for a good road test first.
Test your lights before you pop them up on the tree.
Read more: 7 stunning Christmas tree decorating ideas
3. Ensure you have enough lights
There’s nothing sadder than a big tree with a few measly lights on it.
Allocate at least 600 lights for a tree with a height around 180cm. Kmart sells a box of 600, for example, so you can just grab one kit. That would be considered fairly subdued though.
If you want the whole neighbourhood to know you’re doing Christmas right, apply more.
600 lights is a good number for a tree that’s 180cm tall.
Read more: 4 minimalist Christmas tree decorating ideas
4. Start from the bottom up, and go random
The common rookie error is to start at the top and wrap the lights around the tree in a circular motion like you’re playing totem tennis (children of the nineties, how good was totem tennis?).
The expert way to make the tree look amazing is to start at the bottom. Do go in a circular motion but wrap randomly around branches. Wrap some lights on the edge, then go deeper toward the tree stump as you work your way up.
It’s a circular motion, but zig-zagging in and out until you get to the top.
Start from the bottom of the tree and go random with your lights.
Read more: Top Christmas buys from Kmart, Target and Big W under $20
5. Always do the lights before the ornaments
The tree is your base. The lights are your middle level. The decorations are the icing on the Christmas cake (btw I hate Christmas cake).
If you do decorations first and then try to work lights into the mix, it’s like trying to do year 12 algebra, drunk, with one eye closed and no calculator. You’re just asking for a hot mess to ensue.
Make sure all the lights are done before you hang the ornaments.
Read more: 9 signs you’re obsessed with Christmas
6. Use wire to hold the lights in place
Wire is your secret weapon. It can keep lights more carefully clasped to tree branches, so you don’t see all the droopy wires everywhere. Save that mess for the cords behind your TV set!
Florist wire is available from places like Spotlight and comes in a gorgeous green.
Florist wire is great to help keep things in place.
This way your lights can be secured without any unsightly wire showing. It’s also a bonus for those of you with cats who love to pull off lights off the tree every year. The struggle is real!
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