How to Wrap a Tree with Christmas Lights Like a Pro

A town decorated in picturesque glow for the holidays… a park dressed in shining Christmas décor…an eye-popping, award-winning home display…what do they all have in common? Tree wraps. And not just any tree wraps—but tree wraps with a professional flair that looks absolutely lovely. Tree wraps are iconic in holiday arrangements, but there’s one big question: how to wrap a tree with Christmas lights like a pro?

You might be surprised to read this, but there are no advanced techniques or special skills needed to reach the superb splendor of pro-quality Christmas tree wraps. Find out the fundamentals for a quality install, learn the right way to wrap, and discover the trade secret to success with Christmas lights tree wraps—all in this article.

You can also check out our installation video here to learn how to wrap a tree with Christmas lights like a pro.

Before You Begin your Tree Wrap with Christmas Lights: Pro Tips to Success

Safety First

Tree wraps can go high up the tree into the upper branches, so you’ll likely need to use a ladder, especially to nail the pro-look to your tree wraps.

Injury is possible when decorating with Christmas lights, particularly when working high above the ground. Safety is crucial when using a ladder—and key to preventing injury. Below are some precautions to follow when working on a ladder:

• Use a sturdy ladder that’s in proper working order
• Have a family member or friend that you trust around you to ensure safe use
• Plant the ladder on as level of ground as possible
• Do not overreach while on a ladder
• Place extension ladders at an approximate 75-degree angle

Know how to use and maintain a ladder when decorating at heights.

Pro Christmas Supplies = Professional Results

If you want wraps that look like what the pros make, use the same supplies that the pros use. You can find pro supplies at a professional Christmas supplier, such as Christmas Designers.

And a stunning display isn’t the only benefit you’ll gain from using professional Christmas supplies—quality and durability are also major benefits to pro-grade supplies.

Equipment for Enchanting Christmas Light Tree Wraps

5mm Wide Angle Conical Lights

5mm wide angle conicals are one of the best lights for outdoor tree wraps. These lights shine brighter than other types of Christmas lights thanks to their concave top—a shape in Christmas lights that’s only possible in the form of LED lights! 5mm wide angle conicals are a sight to behold from all around, as their wide angle design offers a consistently bright shine from any viewing angle.

The 5mm wide angle conical is bright and achieves a classic look that’s loved by many who appreciate Christmas displays. In fact, our network of over 2,000 professional Christmas lights installers across America rely on Pro Christmas 5mm wide angle conical lights from Christmas Designers to create jaw-dropping displays for their clients.

One of our best-selling lights, and the favorite out of all the conicals that we carry, is the 5mm wide angle conical in warm white, which is the perfect light for outdoor installs. And consider white for your entire Christmas display: white gives a timeless feel to any space during the holidays, canvassing the area with enchanting brilliance. Create a display that’s contest-ready and award-worthy with our award-winning tips here.

Other Christmas Lights for Outdoor Trees

If you’d like to try something else for your application, T5 lights, M5 lights, and C6 lights are also great choices for mini lights on outdoor trees. T5s have the classic Christmas light look in a smooth bulb, while M5s have the faceted look of our C9 bulbs. C6 lights have a heftier bulb but without the bulkiness of C7 and C9 lights. Check out our collection of best Christmas lights for outdoor trees here.

Zip Cord

The trade secret to pro installs is zip cord with vampire plugs. Zip cord gives decorators total flexibility in application because it can be cut to exactly what’s needed. And the results speak for themselves: a clean display free of trailing lines. A female vampire plug can also be placed anywhere along the cord, providing precise access to power where it’s needed.

Male and Female Vampire Plugs

Vampire plugs allow decorators to capitalize on the flexibility that comes from using zip cord. Along with a male plug at the end of the line, you can install female plugs anywhere along the line for custom lighting set up to your display. Working with zip cord is simple: all you need is a set of slide-on vampire plugs and a pair of wire cutters. You can learn more about vampire plugs here.

Wrap Your Tree with Christmas Lights Like a Pro

Preparing for the Tree Wraps

Preparation is key to wraps that live up to their potential as shining pillars of a bright and merry outdoor space. Start by attaching the male vampire plug at the end of the zip cord. Use your wire cutters to cut a small slit between the two wires that make up the cord, then line up the ribbed wire with the larger blade of the plug and slide the wire into the channel behind the plug. Slide the back of the plug over the cord, using channel locks if needed. Do not plug any ends into power until your tree wrapping is done.

Place female vampire plugs at the base of the tree trunk and any adjacent sub-trunks of the tree. Most female vampire plugs have a breakout tab that can be removed for placing in the middle of a run. If your female plugs don’t have a breakout tab, cut a slot in the backside that enables attachment to the zip cord.

Discover the ins-and-outs of installing vampire plugs in this easy-to-follow tutorial.

Many trees have what’s known as a “crotch”, which is the point at which the tree forks into two separate main branches. Trees can also have a secondary crotch above the first crotch as well. The crotch of the tree is the biggest pitfall that causes a Christmas lights tree wrap to fall short of a pro-level aesthetic, so be mindful when prepping and wrapping around these areas. While trees come in many varieties and structural styles, the techniques in this guide can be applied to a broad range of trees.

Placing Power Along your Christmas Lights with Vampire Plugs

A professional style install brings power right where it’s needed. Run zip cord up to the primary crotch and place a female plug in-line there. For a secondary crotch that’s high up, cut the zip cord and attach an end-of-the-run female vampire plug to the line and place it up there. Before you end the line, be sure to leave enough slack so you can work with the line when wrapping your light strands.

As you prep for the wraps, you may run into pesky growths on the tree that are called “suckers”. These are small shoots or branches that come out of the side of the tree, which end up looking like shrubs over time. Suckers are not good for the tree or the vegetation around it. They’re unsightly obstacles that impede decorating and hurt the appearance of thoughtfully decorated trees, so it’s best to cut them off. Either loppers or a hatchet are great tools for removing suckers.

If you’re wrapping larger trees, having another set of hands can be a big help with feeding and bringing the light strands around the tree. Consider asking a family member or friend, who will already assist with the ladder, to help you wrap the tree.

Which Way to Wrap your Tree with Christmas Lights?

You have two ways to keep your light wraps secure around the tree: staples or TreE-Z Wraps.

Most pro installers use staples, which are fine to use if you’re wrapping a healthy branch tree as long as you take all of the staples out completely after the season. Staples are convenient because they can be applied quickly and are an easy method to keep wraps from slipping. Use staples effectively and you’ll have tight wraps that looks like a pro made them. When applying staples, be careful not to penetrate the line. A penetrated line in a Christmas lights install that’s up to code and plugged into a GFI outlet will create a short that trips the GFI and causes issues.

You can also use TreE-Z Wraps to secure your wraps tightly around the tree. TreE-Z wraps are an alternative to staples that also result in great looking wraps.

Wrap Away

It’s time to wrap! Start by tying a knot with the male end of your light strand to the zip cord near the female plug at the base of the tree. This knot is a safeguard against the strand getting unplugged during the season. After the knot is tied, plug the male end of the light strand into the female plug, then you’re clear to wrap.

Wrap the tree from the bottom of the trunk up. Use a wide hand-width to space between each pass of the light string. Reference the spacing by spreading out your thumb and all of your fingers wide, then line up the edge of your pinky finger to the lower winding with the edge of your thumb to higher winding. If budget allows, you can go for a tighter spacing in your wrap that leads to an even brighter display—just keep the spacing consistent.

Staple the line after the first or second passes around the tree to anchor the bottom, which will help keep the line secure as you wrap. Proceed up the trunk. Make fine-tune adjustments with an eye for a neat presentation, and staple where needed to keep the wrap in place.

Stringing Christmas Lights Together: The More, the Merrier?

After you wrap your first set of lights all the way around the tree, you’re ready for the next set. Be careful of how many lights you can plug together: do not exceed 210 watts combined on the same line. Pro Christmas 5mm wide angle conicals are 4.8 watts per set, and 210 divided by 4.8 means the max number of these light sets you can have plugged into one line is 43. On a very large tree that calls for more than 43 light sets, you’ll need to plug any additional light strands into a separate zip cord that allows for another 43 sets of Pro Christmas 5mm wide angle conical lights. Keep the 210 watt limit in mind and divide the wattage of your lights when you need to know what your limit is.

Tie the end of the wrapped set around the end of the next set together to ensure they stay connected throughout the holiday season. This type of tie is known as a “field tie”.

As your wrap goes higher, it’s not unusual to gradually tighten the spacing of the wrap. In fact, it can be an attractive look! Whether you keep the spacing consistent or tighten as you go up is a matter of taste.

Wrapping the Sub-branches of the Tree

After you finish wrapping the trunk, you’re ready to wrap up the sub-branches that come out from the crotch of the tree. Some trees have multiple branches that stem from the crotch, and you can stack each plug for the strands that will wrap around each branch into the same female plug. We don’t recommend more than five plugs stacked together. If you need more than five, the safest route is to put another female plug on the line.

Some trees have smaller trunks that come up from the ground near the main trunk. Wrap any of these sub-trunks if the tree has them, and repeat this process until you’ve wrapped every tree planned in your outdoor Christmas arrangement. For an arrangement that forms into a harmonious whole, wrap all trees in the same orientation and to the same height.

After all wraps are complete, plug the male vampire plug at the end of your zip cord on the ground into power and take some time to inspect—and admire—your work!

It’s not hard to wrap a tree like a pro. Just keep the above points in mind, like following the fundamentals of safety and using high-quality pro-grade equipment. And use the secret of the pros: zip cord with vampire plugs. Bring it all together to elevate the look of your tree wraps up to the treetops.

For assistance with tree wraps and other applications for creating a Christmas decorating masterpiece, contact us via email at [email protected] or reach out to our phone line 1-800-391-5280. Our skilled Christmas Designers are ready to help!