Decorating a Christmas tree is an important moment that not only children, but also adults are waiting for. Packages with toys and tinsel are taken out, beautiful balls are hung up, perhaps some decorations are even made by hand. But the Christmas tree must necessarily sparkle and shine, and this requires LED lights. How best to hang a garland on a Christmas tree is described in this article.
We decorate the Christmas tree correctly: first a garland or toys?
It is much more convenient to decorate a Christmas tree in the following sequence:
- First of all, lights are placed on the tree. Previously, it is recommended to spread the garland on the floor and check the operation of the bulbs, then distribute it on the tree.
- Only after that you can hang toys on the branches: balls, bells, houses, etc. Since the light bulbs are already on the tree, you can assemble a composition that matches the color. For example, hang a golden bow near a red light. When all the decorations are on the tree, you need to make sure again that they are evenly distributed and securely attached to the branches.
- At the end of the decoration, artificial snow can be laid out on the ends of the legs, and the whole Christmas tree can be decorated with rain, beads and tinsel.
See also: DIY Christmas tree decorations
Reasons why it is better to hang an electric garland on a Christmas tree in the first place:
- Without additional decorations, the wire is easy to lead to the outlet.
- You can turn on the light bulbs, check their work, see how beautifully they are distributed among the branches. In which case, the garland can be easily removed and outweighed.
- It is easier to choose Christmas tree decorations for the lights so that they are in a suitable color scheme.
Do not forget about the design idea, which many are guided by in the process of preparing for the New Year holidays. If you want to achieve the effect of an inner glow on the tree, place the lights closer to the trunk, and then hang the rest of the decorations. The same applies to New Year's lighting equipment with large bulbs - they must be distributed on the tree in the first place. Designers prefer to hang small flashing LEDs on a Christmas tree already decorated with toys. A light shimmer will give the Christmas tree a magical aura, and the lights will attract attention.
Hanging bulbs on the Christmas tree before or after toys - everyone decides for himself. The main thing is that the preparation for the New Year brings joy.
See also: DIY Christmas tree garlands
How to choose a garland?
Among the abundance of flickering garlands presented in stores, it is difficult to make a choice. First, let's look at the main types of LED decorations:
- Filiform. Most often, it is with such lighting technology that the Christmas tree and the room are decorated. They can be in the form of one long cord, on which LED bulbs are located. Also, manufacturers produce garlands in the form of a mesh or fringe - they are convenient to hang on windows and walls.
- Street. To decorate the Christmas tree outdoors, use special transparent flexible garlands with LED bulbs, which are reliably protected from moisture.
- LED strips. They are used not only as a New Year's decoration, but also for additional lighting in the room.
Manufacturers of New Year's lighting equipment advise to purchase an LED decoration with 500 bulbs for a two-meter Christmas tree (their number is indicated on the package). If the tree is 30-50 cm taller, it is better to choose a garland with an additional 50-100 bulbs.
Classic Christmas decorations can glow with a yellowish dim light, and light bulbs often fail.Manufacturers have come up with and introduced many innovations so that the garlands work for a long time and decorate the Christmas tree with iridescent, multi-colored lights.
But do not forget that a garland can be dangerous to health and even life:
- To prevent a fire due to excessive heating of the bulbs, you should purchase an ornament with a power of no more than 65 watts.
- Do not let children turn the lights on and off on their own.
- Do not put cords with lights in glass bottles, despite the fact that such compositions look very beautiful. Such decor can provoke an electric shock.
What to look for when buying LED garlands:
- The fork must be strong, made of quality material, not change its original shape.
- You can calculate the required length of the decoration as follows: measure the height of the tree and buy the decoration three times longer in length.
- The wire that will be connected to the outlet must be at least 1.5 m for a home Christmas tree, for street decor - 10 m or more.
- The bulbs should be tightly fixed, not wobbly, much less fall out of the cartridges.
- The power supply should only be opened with a screwdriver or other special tools. Better to look at soldering wires before purchasing a product.
- For a street Christmas tree, purchase special lighting equipment with additional protection against moisture ingress. On the packaging, the manufacturer must indicate that the decoration is intended for external use.
- Good quality specimens should be free of foreign, unpleasant odor.
- The purchased model must be certified, otherwise it is forbidden to use it to decorate the Christmas tree and premises.
The work of the garland must be checked in the store, and at home it is undesirable to immediately plug it into the outlet. Allow time for the bulbs to warm up to room temperature, only then start decorating the Christmas tree.
How to decorate a Christmas tree with a garland?
There are several secrets on how best to hang a garland to make the lights look beautiful:
- The decoration is placed on the tree only after the tree is set vertically. If the Christmas tree is in the corner, you need to think in advance which side of it should look more elegant.
- Before hanging the luminous decor, they lay it out on the floor, check the operation of all the bulbs, connect to the outlet to make sure that all the lights are in good working order.
- It is more convenient to start hanging the decoration from above, evenly distributing the lights in a zigzag pattern over the branches. If the tree will be in the center of the room, start at the top of the head and work in a circle.
- If you place lights near the trunk of a tree, it will look magical and mysterious, but it is better not to use flickering bulbs for this.
- You can wrap each branch with a thin garland with monochrome lights, starting from the lower legs.
Is it possible to hang a garland on an artificial Christmas tree and how to do it correctly:
- The artificial tree needs additional, warmer lighting. Instead of blue or silver bulbs, decorate the artificial Christmas tree with gold, red, purple lights.
- You can decorate any artificial Christmas trees with a garland, but provided that the device is completely serviceable, there are no bare wires in it, and all the bulbs are tightly held in sockets.
- If the length of the cord was not enough to decorate the Christmas tree along its entire height, you do not need to remove the decorations and start over. Buy another copy and complete the decor to the end.
If there is a Christmas tree in the house
Interior designers offer their own way of decorating a Christmas tree with a garland:
- Enter the room and notice where your gaze first turned. It is in this place that it is better to put a shiny and sparkling Christmas tree. In addition to a tree, you can decorate a window, stair railings, fireplace, bookshelves, etc. with lights.
- Come up with a style of New Year's decor, and only then choose decorations for it.Bulbs are different: monochromatic, multi-colored, with a warm yellowish tint, curly. For a classic style, it is better to choose traditional colored lights, and for a Scandinavian or eco-style, solid or white are suitable.
- When choosing a decoration, consider not only the length, but also the width of the Christmas tree: the fluffier it is, the longer the garland will need.
See also: Creating a Christmas tree from a garland on a wall or window with your own hands
Sequence of further actions:
- We check the serviceability of the decoration before hanging it on the branches.
- We are preparing several extension cords in case the cord is not enough to decorate the whole Christmas tree. Most of the garlands are made in such a way that it was possible to attach them to each other. But according to fire safety rules, a Christmas decoration with more than 500 lights cannot be inserted into one wire.
- So that the decor does not get confused, it is more convenient to decorate the Christmas tree together. You can wind the cord into a ball, starting from the part opposite to the plug. So you will hold the decoration in one hand, and with the other you will lay out the light bulbs on the branches.
- Light the lights to see which colors will appear on the tree. Start hanging the decor, having previously selected a pattern: zigzag, spiral, top-down, diagonal, vertical lines, etc.
How to hang a garland on a street tree?
Tips and tricks on how to decorate a street tree on your porch or backyard:
- It is better to use warm shades of lights: yellow, red, purple.
- The plug from the garland must reach the outlet. If you cannot connect the jewelry to electricity, choose garlands that run on batteries.
- Buy LEDs that are waterproof. On the packaging, the manufacturer must indicate that the garland is allowed to be used outdoors.
- You can buy ready-made sets of New Year's lighting equipment, for example, 10 glowing threads, each 10 m long. With such a composition, you can easily decorate a street Christmas tree 5-10 m high.
To create a festive, magical mood in a country house or in the country, special illumination from glowing bulbs is often used. Not only a decorated street Christmas tree looks beautiful, but also a luminous roof, balconies, columns, windows outside, trees and shrubs.
Schemes
There are several options for how you can hang the decoration on the Christmas tree branches:
- Start at the top, evenly distributing the bulbs along the lower legs in a spiral with a slight slack.
- To make it easier to hang toys later, the lights can be attached closer to the trunk.
- If the tree is in the center of the room, it is better to distribute the glowing decoration in a circle.
- On a tree, which will be located in the corner of the room, a garland is hung on twigs in a zigzag manner.
- It is permissible to start decorating the Christmas tree from the lower branches, in tiers, as if obliquely, or on top with a serpentine.
There are no clear instructions on how to hang garlands, except for basic fire safety rules. If you want to make your Christmas tree sparkle, use a few lights. Hang decorations in a zigzag, top-down or vice versa, wrap branches in a spiral or decorate in any other way. The main thing is that the creation of New Year's decor brings joy and cheers up.
See also: How and which tree to choose for the New Year?
