Home Garden & Home Christmas The Complete Guide to Christmas Lights

The Complete Guide to Christmas Lights

Christmas

Whether you’re wrapping them around your tree or hanging them from a mantelpiece, the ritual of putting up the lights is as important as putting up the Christmas tree. When there are so many different options and light variations it’s good to know where to start, whether you do this every year and need some inspiration to do something different or if you’re doing this for the first time! Come and explore our vast range of Christmas lights we have to offer both in our centres and online. We have lights for every setting, indoors and outdoors whether you’re looking for lights for your tree or to illuminate your space for all to enjoy!

How many Christmas Tree lights do you need?

If you’re just having the lights on your tree, then consider the size and style of your tree and how many lights you think would make a lasting impression. Ensure you’re putting your tree near a power socket, if not then you will need to invest in an extension lead that will reach without becoming a trip hazard. Alternatively, you may need to get some battery lights.

Size of Tree	We Recommend
4ft	360 LED String Lights
5ft	480 LED String Lights
6ft	480 LED String Lights
7ft	720 LED String Lights
10ft	960 LED String Lights

Everyone has their preference on how their Christmas tree should look and can become quite a task. Here are some tips that could help:

Test the lights first by plugging them in and ensuring every light works, don’t try and fix them yourself to avoid any accidents.
Leave the lights on when hanging them, then you can see what it will look like as you put them in place (so you can adjust as you go.)
When hanging lights on a real tree; it’s best not to wrap them around the tree. The branches aren’t usually in uniform. Instead, work in triangular sections working from the top to bottom ensuring gaps are filled and cables are tucked away into the branches unseen. Then keep repeating the process until you reach the bottom of the tree.
With artificial trees it’s best to start at the bottom. This is most effective, another reason being is because it’s easier to adjust if you run out of lights at the top rather than the bottom.
If you’re using mini string lights and you want to be able to pack away your artificial tree with the lights on (saving time of taking them off and putting them back on next year) then wrap the lights around the tree from top to bottom. Only use this approach if you have small lights, as it could break the larger lights.
Finally, remember that when decorating your tree you should ensure that flammable decorations are not hung too close to any of the lights.

What Christmas tree lights to choose

Indoor Christmas Lights

Give your home LEDs as these are the most popular Christmas lights, they are both energy efficient and last longer than the traditional Christmas lights. If you’re draping them around your Christmas tree, then small clusters of lights will illuminate the tree and stand out. Remember little and often is more effective when decorating inside.

Outdoor Christmas Lights

Having sets of lights with larger bulbs can be seen from a distance. For some they may prefer to ‘double up’ on lights depending on how far away your house is from the road. There are so many types of lights you can use like cluster lights, string lights and icicle lights. The icicle lights are one of the most popular as they stand out from a distance. Most lights now come with different light timing programmes which you can set to your preference.

Different Ways to Decorate with Lights

Indoors

Explore ways you can decorate your indoors with lights, having them in windows can be effective. However, it’s best to not put them around the edge of the window as they won’t necessarily be seen. Instead, put them in about an inch from the edge which will create a beautiful frame. Alternatively, if you have enough lights place them in vertical stripes in the window, which is quite an effective look from the outside.

Look at borders like pictures (fixed well on walls), doorways or large furniture units where you could place the lights around the outside. Don’t put them around a television or any other electrical equipment as this is hazardous. If you don’t have any borders there are other effective ways of decorating with lights, putting them in a large glass vase clustered together can create a festive ambience. They can also be used as part of an ornament by wrapping them around the base of a floral display or wreath which sits on a surface like a centre piece on a dinner table.

For indoor decorative ways we recommend:
Festive 45cm Lit Wooden Reindeer Candle Bridge (battery powered) for a mantlepiece of windowsill
Snow Swirl Ice Tree (battery powered) could sit on a table or the floor
InLit Ice Robins (battery powered) would look pretty sat on the porch or on a book case
35 LED Berry & Gem Garland (battery powered) for a mantlepiece or a long shelf
Micro-LED Decoration Light (battery powered) to hang by a window

Illuminating Décor

Indoor

If you would love to have something glowing in your living space, but don’t have the inspiration to display multiple lights there are other ways you can light up your lounge with festivity. We have a selection of twinkling ornaments to choose from that will light up any room.

Outdoor

If you’re not confident with hanging lights outside and would like to have a festive display, there are many other ways you can light up your garden or patio area. Pick a large shrub or small tree and arrange some outdoor lights around them. Or you could stand one or two light statues your garden.

Come and visit one of our centres to see our range of Christmas lights!