Help please, Incompetent decorator needs Christmas tree light help please.

[Owlelf]

I know it's unbelievable but I don't know where to start with putting lights on our Christmas tree. I've bought a 5 foot real tree. It's the cheaper priced more prickly type.

Do next step is to decorate but other than the top two feet it is so dense and I don't really know how to go about putting the lights on it. Do I need to get them close to the trunk?

Any tips on how to do this would be very very much appreciated.

I would start at the top and work down, zig zagging the cable from one side to the other. I used to just rest the cable on the top of each row of branches, not into the trunk and not right on the branch tips. The last run would finish at the rear, and then the bulbless cable would run along the ground to the socket.

The other method is to spiral the cable round and round from top to bottom which is manageable with a tree your size, but not with bigger ones.

Hello OWL - the trick with the lights is that they give an even coverage of the whole tree, so in answer to your question - no don't put them close to the trunk (apart from at the top, spindly bit) - follow the lines of the branches. The lights should mirror the shape of the tree - if you see what I mean. You will need at least 100 bulbs for a 5fter. I tend to divide the tree vertically (not lierally obviously) and either start with mid way through the light chain at the top or use two sepearate sets and zig zag through the ends of the branches on either side making sure there are no big gaps. You have to switch all the other lights off and do the squinty eyed thing to check. I hope that helps. Good Luck

I start from the bottom with the bit of cable nearest the plug and then wind it round the tree until you reach the top. Switch on and adjust so you can see all the lights ate evenly spaced