This Zigzag Hack Will Make Your Christmas Tree Lights Look Extra Bright

The holiday season is here, and setting up a Christmas tree might be one of your favorite (though most frustrating) traditions. If getting the tree upright isn’t hard enough, the next step (stringing holiday lights around your tree) can be a real headache. Setting up Christmas tree lights takes patience. Often, you have to untangle them when you take them out of storage from last year. Then, when they’re finally untangled, you may spend quite a while circling the tree in several rotations to make sure it’s sufficiently bright. It’s common to question how to put lights on a Christmas tree while stringing them because sometimes your hard work feels less than rewarding.

It’s time to try a new way of doing things, thanks to a Christmas tree lighting hack we stumbled across recently.

What Is the Viral Christmas Tree Lighting Hack?

A video posted by TikTok user @kellyfitzsimons__ has gone viral for its smart use of Christmas tree lights. The clip, which has garnered over 4 million views, shows the TikTok creator using Christmas lights in an unconventional way.

@kellyfitzsimons__ Get those lights right up the trunk and watch your tree glow 🎄 I used 3 x 2000 cluster lights #christmas #christmastree #christmashack #lifehack ♬ original sound – Kelly Fitzsimons

Here’s exactly how light your tree the stress-free way this season:

1. Push lights to the base of the tree and continue the whole way up the trunk. You don’t have to get particular about the arrangement during this process. Rather than wrapping lights around and around, place them on top of the branches towards the trunk – this also makes it easier to take down your Christmas lights later. This will ensure the center of your tree is extra shiny.
2. String each branch in a zigzag pattern. Once the base is done, string lights on each branch of your tree by wrapping them a zigzag pattern. Put each corner of the lights underneath some pine to secure.
3. Continue the zigzag pattern up and down the tree. You don’t have to do a complete circle around the tree.
4. Use enough lights. Use 2,000 lights on the bottom half of the tree and 2,000 on the top half for a total of 4,000 lights. You can use white lights or opt for colored Christmas lights.

Whether you’re using an artificial tree or a real tree, make sure you’re aware of Christmas light dangers and follow precautions like turning your Christmas tree lights off before you go to bed and checking for any fraying in your strings of lights before you use them.

Once you’ve tried this viral holiday lighting hack, you may never go back.