Christmas lights can be tricky business. First, you need to untangle them, then you turn them on only to find some bulbs aren’t working so you have to track down those pesky bulbs down and replace them. Then you have to get them on the tree, which we’re sure is equivalent to a slow jog around the block. Fortunately, there are some great tips and hacks to make your home look festive without all this hassle.
LED Bulbs
All of the Christmas lights at White Stores use LED bulbs. These bulbs are non-replaceable, which erases the issue of tracking down which bulb isn’t working, and they last longer than regular lights. These LED bulbs are all energy efficient and cost far less to run than a standard bulb – a set of 200 LED lights costs just 1/14th of a penny to run for 1 hour. Plus, when used for Christmas purposes these bulbs have an expected lifespan of between 5-10 years.
In-and-out
To create a fuller glow on your tree we recommend a certain way to wrap your lights. Instead of simply wrapping your lights around the tree we suggest an in-and-out process where you weave your lights so some tuck behind branches and then come to the front, back behind, then to the front, all the way around the tree. This looks especially good when using “Treebrights” lights as they are spaced closer together and offer a wonderful lit length.
Cluster Lights
If you want to decorate other areas of your home and not just your tree we recommend cluster lights. These cluster lights have 2.5cm spacing between each bulb compared to the standard 10cm of other Christmas lights which means that you get more lights per metre and a more impressive glow. These cluster lights are ideal for wrapping around doorframes, bannisters, and fireplaces to make any area festive.
Icicle Lights
To light up the outside of your home, we recommend icicle lights. White Stores offers a unique range of icicle lights from Premier Decorations which are the only icicle lights on the market to demonstrate an actual ‘snowing’ effect as opposed to just flashing. These lights also offer a longer drop than standard lights and have copper terminals which prevent rusting. Icicle lights can be attached to the outside of your house, on the roof or guttering but will need to be plugged into an indoor socket or covered outdoor socket.
No Tangles
If you get brand new lights this year, you won’t have to deal with the stress of untangling but if you want the same again next year without having to buy a new box full we suggest taking them off the tree neatly – this should be easy if you have used our “in-and-out” wrap technique. Starting from the top of the tree gently pull the lights and they should start to unravel from the tree – if any lights do get caught on the branches just lift this off gently, do not tug harder or the tree may topple over – as the lights unravel lay the lights out in a zig-zag pattern on the floor. Once all the lights are removed from the tree, unplug the lights and add the plug section to your zig-zag layout. Then collect the lines of lights so they are bunched in their rows, fold in half, and fold in half again, loosely wrap the plug section around this bunch and then next year you will only have to unwrap this, and the lights will not be a tangled mess.