Do lights go on the tree vertically or horizontally? An expert answer and other tips for decorating

Decorating the Christmas tree each holiday season is a time-honored tradition for many. But even if you've been hanging lights, garland and ornaments for years, there are always new tips and tricks to make your tree look its very best.

From stringing the lights a new way and incorporating more shiny ornaments to bringing back tinsel, make your Christmas tree stand out in your home this season with these decorating tips.

Hang lights on the tree vertically

Each year, the infamous question resurfaces: Is is better to hang the lights on my tree horizontally or vertically?

If you're a TikTok surfer, then you've likely seen a video or two of people hanging their lights on their tree vertically, rather than horizontally. The method is simple: String the lights on your tree from bottom to top (or vice versa) instead of coiling them around the tree.

Francesco Bilotto, television design and entertaining expert, said he is firm believer in stringing your Christmas tree lights vertically. So much so, he had his own tutorial doing so with the TODAY show back in 2015.

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"You want to go vertically in a zigzag formation on the tree," he said. "So what you're doing is zigzagging the lights on the edge of the tips of the tree branches. In terms of depth, you're just skimming the surface of the tree."

Because this keeps you from putting the lights too deep in the tree, Bilotto said the vertical method not only requires fewer lights, but also results in the lights being brighter and more visible.

"A lot of people think they have to light the base of their tree all the way to the center of it, but you don't," he said.

Bilotto said that this method isn't only faster for putting lights on the tree at the start of the season, but it'll also make it easier to remove the lights at the end of the season. If it's a real tree with a lot of dead needles, he said you'll save yourself the headache by pulling fewer needles off the tree during removal.

Bilotto said playing with different types of lights is another fun way to spice up the tree.

"Personally, something I like doing is stranding white lights, and then going in the opposite direction with colored lights," he said.

He said you can also incorporate the use of color changing lights to mix it up.

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Spice up ornaments and use them to reflect light

Bilotto recommends using big, shiny ornaments in the base of the tree rather than on the exterior of the tree to help reflect light.

"That's why God invented reflective ornaments, like big chrome balls and red balls," he said. "That's what those ornaments jobs are to do, they're there to reflect the light."

You can also use ribbons instead of hooks to hang the ornaments to add a more festive touch. Bilotto said he likes to use ribbons that coordinate to the color of the ornament because not only does it give an upscale look, but you can also recycle items that you may already have at home.

Be dramatic with tinsel

The use of tinsel has been a Christmas decorating trend that has gone in and out of style over the years. For Bilotto, he's never went a year without it.

"I firmly believe in decorating your tree, fake or real, with tinsel," he said. "Instead of doing the tinsel sporadically all over the tree, I take a good two or three inch chunk and drape it like an ornament on the tree."

Because tinsel is cost effective, Bilotto said it's an item that can get you a chic, high impact look without breaking the bank.

Make an artificial tree look more full

Having a real tree isn't for everyone, but sometimes those artificial trees don't come as full and festive as as real one.

Bilotto said you can get evergreen floral picks and wrap them around the artificial tree's branches to fill in some of the empty spots.

"It's like giving your tree hair extensions," he said. "We're putting these extensions on and it makes it look more real and thick and delicious."

As an alternative, he said you can put real evergreen branches in water tubes and put those in the empty spots instead. This allows you to enjoy the pine scent that would normally come with a real tree, and the water tubes will uphold the quality of the branches until it's time for the tree to come down.

Another tip is to hide the middle pole of your artificial tree. Bilotto said you can wrap evergreen garland or brown burlap ribbon around the pole before you fluff up the tree branches to help hide it.

"I think the biggest tip I could share is to just have fun. I think Christmas is about feeling joyful and feeling warm and feeling happy," he said. "The rule is that there are no rules. Christmas is not supposed to be sleek and modern and sexy, it's supposed to be happy."

Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Hang Christmas tree lights vertically or horizontally? We spell it out