Without a doubt, Christmas is made all the more special by the sweet smelling lush fir sitting in one’s living room decked out in glittering lights, basking in the carols sung by a completely sated family. Don’t get me wrong, the holidays are more than the decorations-but don’t you agree that the general festive feeling is greatly aided by the atmosphere it finds itself in? It’s time to enjoy your holidays; and to help you with that, here are helpful pointers to show the correct way to put lights on a christmas tree.

Do you have christmas lights stored away in your attic or basement somewhere? If you do, bring them out and check to see if they are still working. Replace busted bulbs but never attempt to fix frayed wires. Covering exposed wired with tape does not minimize the danger. Buy a new set of lights. It will be cheaper than the potential danger these fire hazards can cause.

As a practice, the rule is to use 100 bulbs for every foot of christmas tree to be decorated. So that means if you have a six foot tree, you need 600 bulbs; and if you have a seven foot tree, 700 bulbs. Consider buying several shorter strands of the needed number of bulbs. It will be easier for you to hang, plus troubleshooting busted bulbs will not be too much of a hassle.

Some people start hanging up the lights on the top and from there work their way down. Personally, I have to say the best way on how to put lights on a christmas tree is the opposite way. If you begin from the bottom going up, you won’t have to deal with unsightly dangling extension cords that look like your tree growing a pony tail.

Mark the space you will put your tree in. In hanging lights on artificial trees, affix the bottom level of branches and begin to wind them around each of them. Next, mount the next set of limbs and repeat the same thing until you reach the crown of the christmas tree. When you reach for the higher levels to hang the lights make sure the stool you are using is steady and you have a friend nearby to hold the chair as you stand on it.

Now for a live tree, run the extension cord in the middle of the tree. Also wind the lights around the limbs, twisting over and under every other branch. Arrange the christmas lights and keep every side evenly balanced. Are you done? Switch off the lights and step back to see the over-all effect. If you are pretty much happy with your handy work you can begin hanging up the tinsel garlands and ornaments on the tree.

Take the necessary precautions during this season. Keep water and other forms of liquid (other than water for the tree stand) away from the tree. When it’s time to take down the tree, make time to carefully disentangle the cords and coil the wires around a large tissue roll.

Now you have in your holiday armory the correct way to put lights on a christmas tree-there’s nothing left to do but enjoy, have fun, be merry! That’s Christmas’ gift to you anyway. Merry Christmas!