Hang Christmas Lights In Outdoor Trees

Our neighborhood has professionals come in and install lights in the trees on the way in and out of the subdivision and they look fantastic. My wife wanted the same thing at our house but I didn't know how to hang Christmas lights that high in the trees.  I also didn't want to pay the steep price for the pros.  I've given other advice on how to make the whole job easier at Make Putting Christmas Lights Up Easy.  Since I've had others that live near me ask me quite a few times how I hang Christmas lights up in the trees, I thought it's worth sharing.

Here's what one of our big trees looks like this year:

Hang Christmas Lights in Your Trees

Here's how I did it. We got a ton of lights from Target in and after Christmas sale. These trees use up the lights really quickly. For the tree in that picture, I used 4 strands of 200 to make 800 lights. Only 200 are down on the base.

I made a basic tool from a $15 pole extension at Lowe's, the top of a wire closet hanger, and some duck tape.  This thing doesn't require any instructions.  I have an 8 foot step ladder, am 6 foot tall, and with this extension tool I can get the lights up about 30 feet into the tree.

The Story Behind the Tool

I grew up with my dad climbing the step ladder and using the neighbor's limb cutting extension to get the lights up.  Repurposing the tree trimming tool was cumbersome and he even cut a strand of lights at one point.  The tool also didn't extend far enough to get a professional look.

Since I couldn't recall what to do from childhood, I just went up to the local hardware store and started looking around for things that might work.  The window washer's extension pole was a good price and looked like it would work so I grabbed it.