How to Put Lights on a Christmas Tree: How Many and Which Method

Lights go on after the tree is assembled and fluffed. Spread the branch tips first, tier by tier from the bottom up, so the lights sit inside a full tree instead of on flat branches you have to reshape later.

Set the tree in its final spot before you start, close enough to an outlet that the first strand's plug reaches it without crossing a walkway.

A common rule of thumb is about 100 mini lights for every foot of tree height: roughly 600 for a 6 ft tree and 750 for a 7.5 ft tree. For a brighter look, some decorators go up to 200 per foot.

Width matters too. A full tree has more surface to cover than a slim or pencil tree of the same height, so a slim tree looks well lit with fewer lights. Pre-lit trees follow the same logic: of the ones we carry, the 6 ft pencil tree comes with 200 LEDs and the 6 ft full spruce with 480.

Larger bulbs, such as C7 or C9, cover more space each, so you need fewer of them than mini lights. Buy one extra strand in case a section fails or the tree needs more light than you planned.

Plug in each strand on the floor before you hang it. A dark section is easy to fix or replace now and hard to find once it is woven through the branches.

Check the cords for cracked insulation, broken sockets and loose bulbs, and set aside any strand that is damaged. Read the tag or box for the maximum number of strands that can be connected end to end, and whether the lights are made for indoor use, outdoor use or both.

Begin at the base of the tree on the side nearest the outlet, with the plug end of the first strand at the bottom. The strands then run upward from the power source, and no cord has to hang down the front of the tree.

Work up in sections. When a strand runs out, plug the next one into its end and keep going in the same direction. Leave the top for last: the branches there are short and need fewer lights.

For the fullest glow, run the strand along each large branch from the trunk out to the tip and back again, then move on to the next branch. Lights near the trunk give the tree depth, and lights along the branch carry the glow to the outside.

This method takes more lights and more time, but the tree looks even from every side and the lights stay in place when you hang ornaments. It suits full trees with sturdy hinged branches.

The faster way is to wrap the strand around the tree as you walk around it, from the bottom up. A loose zigzag, back and forth across one section at a time, spreads the lights more evenly than a tight spiral.

Tuck the wire slightly into the branches as you go, so the cord hides behind the foliage and the bulbs sit at different depths. On a slim or pencil tree, wrapping is often all you need, because the branches are short and close to the trunk.

Do not connect more strands end to end than the package allows. If the tree needs more lights than one run can take, start a second run from the outlet.

Use an extension cord made for indoor use and for the load, and run it along the wall rather than under a rug. Turn the lights off when you go to bed or leave the house; a plug-in timer can do it for you every night.

Step back and look at the tree with the room lights off. Dark patches show at once; move a few loops of the strand into them before you add anything else.

Then add garland or ribbon, then ornaments, starting with the largest. Ornaments hung after the lights hide the cords, and in January they come off without tangling in the strands.

A pre-lit tree comes with its lights already attached to the branches, so setup is assembly, shaping and plugging in. On some, the lights connect through the trunk as the sections join, with no strand plugs to link between sections.

Several of the pre-lit trees we carry switch between warm white and multicolor light. On our spruce tree with a plug-in trunk, a foot pedal changes the colors and cycles through 11 lighting modes, and the 7.5 ft size has 690 LEDs.

An unlit tree lets you choose the bulbs: warm or cool white, multicolor, mini lights or larger bulbs, and how many. The trees below come without lights, so plan on buying strands for them separately.

Our unlit Norway spruce has hinged branches and comes in 6 ft and 7.5 ft sizes, with 888 and 1,388 branch tips. By the rule of thumb above, plan on about 600 lights for the 6 ft size and about 750 for the 7.5 ft size.

Unplug the tree first. Take off the ornaments, then unwind the lights in the reverse order they went on, from the top down, so the strand comes away without snagging.

Wrap each strand loosely around a piece of cardboard or a reel and label it. Next year you can test each one and see how many you have before you start.