How to Make Christmas Lights Last Longer

Decorating for Christmas is always exciting, but who really enjoys stringing 3000 lights onto a Christmas tree only to have to remove them a month later? The next year you pull out the same strings of light bulbs and half of them don't work. There must be a better way!

Many Christmas trees are offered as "pre-lit" trees, but those weren't always available. For people with non-pre-lit trees who only enjoy stringing Christmas lights for the first ten minutes, this article should offer some encouraging suggestions. First buy one of the long green extension cords with outlets positioned every 12 inches or so. These should be available at your local home improvement store and are made specifically for plugging in Christmas lights. The very last plug should be positioned within about a foot from the top of the tree and the remainder of the cord should run down the center of the tree. You may want to wrap the cord around the center pole of the tree so that it will stay towards the center and not stand out.

If you will be using an angel that requires electricity on top of the tree, go ahead and situate her on top and plug her in. Now, begin at the top and work your way down wrapping each branch with several Christmas lights. Pull the lights out to the end of the branch and wrap towards the center. Leave several lights loose in the middle near the center. You will appreciate the effect once the entire tree is lit and you see that the lights appear to be scattered within the tree and not just on the outside portion of the branches. Use lots of lights! Don't worry about how long it may take to remove them later.

Now, here's the best part, when Christmas is over, leave all of the Christmas lights on the tree! Remove the delicate ornaments and the angel and wrap the tree carefully with a blanket. Pick up the tree, lights and all, and move it to your storage building. Stand the tree up for storage. The reason for leaving the lights on the tree is because removing them contributes to the reason why they don't work the very next year. Most strands of Christmas lights will work if several of the bulbs burn out, but the entire strand goes out if a single bulb is loosened or removed. By carefully wrapping the tree in a blanket and then storing it standing up, you are protecting the bulbs from unnecessary pressure and movement. They will last for years. If some of the bulbs burn out, they may be replaced or fixed.

Tips & Warnings

• Be very careful when moving the Christmas tree, not to bang it on the sides of a door or wall. That will completely defeat the purpose of leaving the lights on the tree and you will end up having to find which bulb is loose out of hundreds of them.