The Easy Way to Hang Christmas Lights

The Easy Way to Hang Christmas Tree Lights Without a Ladder!

Simplify hanging string lights on a Christmas tree or outdoors, using these simple tips and an easily purchased, inexpensive tool. No ladder needed, and you will be amazed by how quickly those twinkly lights are in place.

A simple tool called a "string light hanging pole" or "Christmas light hanging pole" makes it really easy to hang lights on a Christmas tree! This tool can be used for holiday decorating indoors or out, or any time you wish to hang string lights, is easily purchased and inexpensive.

I can't count the number of years I have nearly fallen from an unsteady ladder, stretching to wrap strands of lights around a tree. Last year I discovered a faster and safer way. Buying a string light hanging pole greatly simplified and took the danger out of this annual task. Trees more than twice my height can now be decorated in less than 10 minutes, without my feet ever leaving the ground.

The Equipment

• A "string light hanging pole"

-there are a variety of these available for purchase, but we really like the one we bought by ST. NICK'S CHOICE. It is very similar to this one that I found on Amazon.com: Dyno Seasonal Solutions St. Nick's Choice Professional Pole for Hanging Lights, 16-Feet 

• Christmas light reels

-Lights are sometimes sold on these; or the reels can be purchased and the lights you previously owned can be easily wound around them. I bought several for about $4.00 each at Bed Bath and Beyond. Just be careful that they are compatible with the hook on your light stringing pole.

• Strings of lights

- The number required depends on the size of the tree. (Three strings of 300-mini lights were just the right amount for my 12-foot outdoor pine tree.)

• An extension cord

• A programmable timer

• An electrical outlet with GFCI protection

Instructions for Decorating a Tree with Lights:

• Determine how many lights you will use.

- (The company Christmas Lights ETC suggests 100 mini lights per vertical foot of indoor tree; but less outside.) http://www.christmaslightsetc.com/pages/LightCalculation.htm

• Make safety a priority!

- For Christmas Tree and Winter Holiday Safety Tip Sheets, refer to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) website. http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/safety-tip-sheets

• Plug in each strand of lights to be certain it works before you begin decorating.

• If not already done, wind light strings onto the reels, starting with the pronged "male" plug end, so that it will unwind last and be available to plug into the next string or your timer, when your reach the bottom of the tree.

• Follow the directions on the package to assemble your string light hanging pole.

• Using the hook on the light hanging pole, secure the "female plug" receiving end of the light string to the top of the tree by wrapping it around a branch.

• With the pole inserted in the center of the reel, begin winding the string around and down the tree, catching it securely on branches. (You can start at the base; I prefer working from top to bottom.)

• When near the end of a string, plug the next string into it, switch the pole to the new reel, and continue to wind until you have reached the bottom branches.

• Plug the end of the last string into an extension cord; plug the extension cord into the timer.

• Program the timer to turn on at dusk and stay on for 6 or 8 hours, or for as long as you desire the tree to be lit.

• Plug the timer into the outlet, and put away the reels and light pole.

Using our string light hanging pole, we can decorate even our 14-foot trees without fear of falling off a ladder!

Beware: It May Be Tempting To Exceed Your Tree Decorating Budget!

This method of decorating trees is so quick and easy that the greatest danger involved is that you might get carried away. You could be tempted to decorate more trees than you planned!

I apologize for the quality of these photos.  I had planned on taking better ones to publish with this post. Unfortunately, however, we didn't get our lights up this year before we got 8 inches of snow - and now I am just hoping it will melt! 

Have you ever used a string light hanging pole?

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Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains an Amazon affiliate link, for which I may receive compensation if any purchases are made. All opinions expressed, however, are entirely my own.