Smaller trees may not always have that much to decorate, but a really great way to get those trees to "pop" is to put branch wraps on the trees. This can usually be done safely up to about 10-15 feet or so without have to rent a bucket truck. There is a right way, and a wrong way to do this. Here's the right way:
1st: Pick the color of the mini lights that you would like to work with. White, red, blue, etc... (Solid colors for branch and tree wrapping look better than multi-color strands.) Also, 4" spacing or 6" spaced lights work well here. 4" spacing is preferred if the branches are thin, maybe 4" in diameter or so.
2nd: Pick 4 or 5 branches on the tree that would look nice to wrap. Keep it even around the tree. Don't pick 3 or 4 right next to eachother.
3rd: Run an extension cord around the trunk up to where the branches start splitting off. All of your different branches are going to plug into this point.
4th: Starting with the trunk, get that wrapped. Try to keep the spacing at about 2" between each wrap. You can go tighter or looser with the spacing depending on the size of the tree. Just make sure it's even all the way up.
5th: Pick the first branch that you would like to wrap. With branch wraps, it's usually best to take the lights and make them into a ball. This makes it easier to keep handing the lights to yourself. Start wrapping away, always keeping the spacing congruent.
6th: When reaching the end of a branch and you need a couple of extra feet, you can either use a shorter strand of lights, or you can just wrap the branch to your desired point and then start heading back towards the middle of the tree with the remainder of the lights.
7th: At the end of your strand, tie the lights into a simple knot to prevent them from unraveling.
8th: Continue these steps on each branch that you would like to wrap. Keeping the height of the wraps similar to the other branches and keeping the spacing of the lights similar as well will give you great looking results! Your final product should look something like the picture below:
(Remember to secure all extension cords to the tree with a simple knot as well as the strands of lights themselves. Also, with standard residential mini lights, it's suggested that only 3 strands of 50' lights be plugged in together in series.)
As usual, if you have any questions, please ask!!!
1st: Pick the color of the mini lights that you would like to work with. White, red, blue, etc... (Solid colors for branch and tree wrapping look better than multi-color strands.) Also, 4" spacing or 6" spaced lights work well here. 4" spacing is preferred if the branches are thin, maybe 4" in diameter or so.
2nd: Pick 4 or 5 branches on the tree that would look nice to wrap. Keep it even around the tree. Don't pick 3 or 4 right next to eachother.
3rd: Run an extension cord around the trunk up to where the branches start splitting off. All of your different branches are going to plug into this point.
4th: Starting with the trunk, get that wrapped. Try to keep the spacing at about 2" between each wrap. You can go tighter or looser with the spacing depending on the size of the tree. Just make sure it's even all the way up.
5th: Pick the first branch that you would like to wrap. With branch wraps, it's usually best to take the lights and make them into a ball. This makes it easier to keep handing the lights to yourself. Start wrapping away, always keeping the spacing congruent.
6th: When reaching the end of a branch and you need a couple of extra feet, you can either use a shorter strand of lights, or you can just wrap the branch to your desired point and then start heading back towards the middle of the tree with the remainder of the lights.
7th: At the end of your strand, tie the lights into a simple knot to prevent them from unraveling.
8th: Continue these steps on each branch that you would like to wrap. Keeping the height of the wraps similar to the other branches and keeping the spacing of the lights similar as well will give you great looking results! Your final product should look something like the picture below:
(Remember to secure all extension cords to the tree with a simple knot as well as the strands of lights themselves. Also, with standard residential mini lights, it's suggested that only 3 strands of 50' lights be plugged in together in series.)
As usual, if you have any questions, please ask!!!
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