Christmas tree lights....

[MooMooFarm]

I've just bought a 7.5ft slim christmas tree - and before you all flame me for buying an artificial one - DH is badly allergic to real trees.

I googled to see how many lights I should put on it and am a bit flummoxed by the answers. Apparently there is a rule that you have 100 lights per vertical ft of tree. That means I need 750 lights apparently....? Doesn't that sound a bit OTT? I have a string of 240 lights and was hoping that would do. Google was saying that with a big tree, you generally need to add a few strings of lights per tree, which would mean I would have about four plugs just for that!

Is that what everybody else does then? In the past when we had a 6ft tree I just had one string of 100 lights and I thought it looked ok .

[ragged]

That's a ridiculous guideline. I have a 5' tree and it has about 100 lights on it (seems excessive, too).

[PortlyBlackSantaUpTheChimney]

What??? There are actually guidelines for how many lights per square inch???

You can put 750 lights on your tree but don't be surprised if you have airplanes crashing down around your house...

[piratecatClaus]

lol portly

i have bought some new lights, 100, i plan on a 5 ft real tree. don't think it will be enough tho. might stick two sets on.

dd wants all the colurful lights on the tree this yer so we are going for the 70;s explosion! i want the white ones on. hey ho

[MooMooFarm]

Yes I know I sound a bit OCD to worry about something like this, but I seem to be addicted to googling everything to check I'm doing it right. And now I'm worried my tree will look crap, my children will think so too and their christmas will be ruined, and in the future they will spend years in therapy dealing with the awful memories of their only-a-bit-twinkly tree...

[PortlyBlackSantaUpTheChimney]

All Christmas tres are lovely imo We have white on our big tree - but to negate any tastefulness they chase each other and play music . We have coloured on our little tree the DSs trim up.

[nancy75]

your house will look like this www.popfi.com/wp-content/uploads/christmas-vacation-griswold-house.jpg

[celebmum]

I have a 7ft artificial tree too (tried a real one last yr and although it smelt (?) smelled (- is that even a word?) lovely my 6yr old (who should know better) cat, yes CAT insisted on pulling it down at every given opportunity and so by Christmas it was bald...

anyway back to your question! i have one string of 200lights that i will be putting on said tree, and this has looked fine in the past.. i do have some mirrored baubles tho, so this may multiply the twinkling effect!

[MackerelOfFact]

That sounds quite mad. I have a 6ft tree and have bought 80 lights and 60 baubles - have no idea if this is a good amount or not, as previously I've either gone for a real tree or none at all. This plastic thing I have looks pretty sparse though so I think it will be fine. Haven't decorated it yet but might give it a go on Wednesday. Real trees are much denser and some of the lights get lost in the foliage, so I think you need fewer on a fake tree.

I guess it just depends how bright you want it and/or how prone to migraines and epilepsy you are.

[girlywhirly]

Moo, I think your lights will be fine. I think the guide is for a conventional sized tree, which of course will be much wider than the slim one you have.

I have a 5ft 5in artificial tree, but it is quite bushy and 100 lights are quite enough although they are the old fashioned type, not leds. They're also just white and static, flickering lights irritate me. You don't have to put lights around the back of the tree if it is to stand in a corner or against a wall, just front and sides. I usually zig-zag the cable, starting at the top and working down.

[JennyRobyn]

I have a 7ft tree and approx 600+ lights, but then i am quite finicky (sp) about having bare bits.

i just do the bits you can see.

Our tree is really bushy and 100 lights would only cover a fraction of it and would look totally naff.

240 should be fine with a slim tree.