Martha Stewart's Technique For Stringing Christmas Tree Lights Is So Easy To Follow

There's a reason why stores sell pre-lit Christmas trees: getting the lights right is tough! Whether you unpack your last year's lights only to find half of them are dead or you just don't quite have the knack for stringing them on your tree, lighting your Christmas tree can be more difficult than it seems at first. Luckily, the one and only Martha Stewart has some tricks up her sleeve to help you get it just right. Here's the gist: You cannot just lay your lights along the tips of the branches and expect to have a bright, evenly-lit tree. Instead, you must start from the inside and work your way out, taking great care to illuminate every part of the tree.

Common holiday decorating rules of the past are quickly flying out the window as people realize how and when they decorate their home for the holidays is entirely up to them. If it makes you happy to put your decorations up early, go for it, or if you want a Christmas tree alternative, have at it. But one thing most people can agree on, especially during the darkest days of winter, is that adding more light to your home with a well-lit Christmas tree (or an alternative) is a must. To get the lights perfect every time, follow Stewart's simple instructions.

We all know Martha Stewart is meticulous, so it's no surprise that her method for lighting a Christmas tree requires some attention to detail. So, let's get to it. Stewart's method calls for six strands of 100 lights to decorate a 6-foot tree. If your tree is bigger or smaller, adjust the number of lights you buy accordingly.

To begin, pick a branch at the bottom of the tree. Starting at the inside near the trunk, work your way to the tip of the branch, wrapping it around. Then go back down the branch, and once you hit the trunk again, repeat the process on another branch. Do this over and over again until you reach the top of the tree. Once completed, Stewart says to run the extension cord down the length of the tree, but if you plan accordingly and plug in your string of lights at the base, you can skip this step. If required, plug your tree topper into the string lights to finish the look.

The method is simple but time-consuming (both when putting them up and taking them down), and depending on the size of your tree, it could require a lot of lights. For instance, one couple on TikTok (@buildingthemuslimanis) with a very tall tree uses 7,000 lights to achieve the Martha Stewart look. If you decorate using outdoor Christmas lights as well, you may be looking for ways to achieve a similar effect without quite so many lights.

Money may be no object to Martha Stewart, but most of us would rather spend our Christmas budget on gifts than on so many strings of lights. So, if you do not already have six strings of 100 lights and you do not want to shell out the cash for them, consider the most important part of Martha's advice: illuminate the entire tree.

You can start inside the tree and work your way out and around the trunk, layer by layer, without wrapping the strings around every individual branch. You will still string lights throughout the tree without needing so many strands. The look may not be quite as magical as if you followed Stewart's advice completely, but it will still look nice. Remember to focus on the overall look of the tree when doing this. Every so often, take a step back and ensure the tree is well-lit.

If you don't want to splurge on lights, there are other ways to decorate your tree on a budget. Handmade items like paper or cranberry chains and dough ornaments are inexpensive, but they can give your Christmas tree the kind of timeless, classic look that cheap plastic ornaments will never achieve. Also explore these other ways to repurpose household items for homemade Christmas decor to get a whimsical, magical Christmas without breaking the bank.