Big or small, fluffy or sparse, every Christmas tree is beautiful, and decorating it is so much fun! But it sure is annoying when you run into the issue of not having enough decorations for it or end up overcrowding the tree with too many lights! Luckily, we found an excellent trick that allows you to calculate the exact perfect number of Christmas lights necessary to decorate your tree, no matter the size or the shape.
First things first, let’s point out the obvious – the number of Christmas lights on the tree is a very individual thing. Some people like their trees covered in lights and extra blingy whereas others just need a hint of shine to complement the main star of the show – the Christmas ornaments. The method we’re about to show you is a happy middle: it won’t overcrowd the branches with lots of shine, but it will also not require you to have lots of ornaments to compensate for the sparseness of the lights either.
This method was created by Karin Lidbeck-Brent, a prop stylist who’s decorated thousands of Christmas trees in her career and shared this formula with Real Simple. Without further ado, here’s the formula – for every foot of the tree, you’ll need 1 string of Christmas lights, it's that simple.
We do know that a string of light is also relative, but an average string of Christmas lights contains about 150 bulbs, so if yours contain more or less, make the adjustment. This means that for the average Christmas tree, which is about 6 feet tall (1.8 meters) according to Lidbeck-Brent, you’ll need 6 strands of lights or between 600-1200 individual lights.
Just in case, décor experts recommend stocking up with an extra strand of lights, in case your tree is wider than you thought, or you realize that you’d like to add a bit more shine.
To begin decorating your tree, always start at the bottom on the side that’s nearest to a wall outlet. You can either go in circles, up and down, or surround each branch with lights. For a visual demonstration of each technique and how it actually looks like on a fir tree, click here.
Share this trick with those who are about to decorate the Christmas tree!
