I gave in and asked the experts for the right way to hang outdoor Christmas lights – in every type of bush, shrub, and tree

Outdoor Christmas lights are the perfect way to welcome guests over the holidays. They bring light and color to the darkest month of the year and revitalize the garden when nothing is growing.

However, they aren't always easy to set up. Unwinding hundreds of lights and wrangling them into a shrub can be surprisingly hard work.

I spoke to lighting experts about the easiest ways to hang outdoor Christmas lights in your shrubbery, and they gave me some simple methods that look great.

How to hang Christmas lights in shrubs

The good news is that shrubs are always easy to light. Lighting expert Dara Greaney says 'When lighting shrubs and small trees, simply lay the strands over them equally spaced out or back and forth in an S pattern.' Aim for roughly even coverage over the whole plant.

However, there's an even easier method. If you have a lot of bushes and shrubs in your front yard, use net lights. Lighting expert Joel Worthington says 'Net lights work great for lighting shrubs. Just ensure the net lighting is evenly distributed over the shrubs.'

These lights have LED bulbs spread out in a net, which makes it easy to place the lights in the bush. You don't need to wind the lights through the branches - you can just throw the whole net over the shrub in one go for fast Christmas lighting. Net lights are inexpensive, too. You can find net lights like these at Walmart for less than $20.

Dara Greaney

Dara Greaney is the CEO and President of LEDLightExpert.com, a leading company in commercial lighting solutions. During that time LED Light Expert has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of LED Lights. Greaney has extensive expertise in lighting design, LED technology, and fixture design.

Joel Worthington

Joel is an elecrical expert and oversees operations of 170 North American franchise locations and international master franchisees. Established in 1994, Mr. Electric is a global franchise organization providing electrical installation and repair services.

How to hang lights in large trees

Unfortunately, larger tree trees can be more complicated. With small trees, you can light them just as you would a shrub. 'For larger trees, it gets a bit more complex,' says Dara.

'You would want to put a strap around the tree and create a secure point that you can clip a wire onto. You’ll want a metal wire setup first and then attach the lights to that rather than using the strand of lights as the support. Use the metal wire to hold the weight and not risk pulling the cord.'

This creates much more secure lights than if you to just drape them in the branches. In big trees like pines and silver maples, this is a much safer method. It will keep the lights secure throughout winter storms and prevent them from breaking, or from falling onto your yard.

Keep the lights on top of the leaves

Don't worry about setting the lights too deep into the shrub. Some people recommend setting the lights in the branches of the bush and not on the leaves, so that it looks like light is emanating from within the plant. However, it's not what the experts recommend.

Joel Worthington explains that 'Lights within the bush can create depth and more professional appearance but can be time consuming and homeowners should take care as to not damage the bushes.'

Dara Greaney agrees. He says 'For most bushes, it’s easier to lay the lights on top. If the strand goes too deep into the bush, often the lights are hard to see and more difficult to install and uninstall.'

Hang lights horizontally

If you can, you should lay out your string lights horizontally, not vertically. There are a couple of reasons for this. The aesthetic reasons is that it means your exterior lights match your interior lights. 'Dara says 'I’m partial to horizontal as it typically matches the pattern across your house, keeping that pattern consistent usually looks better.'

Horizontal lights also look much more even than the confined lines of horizontal Christmas lights. Joel explains that, 'Horizontally is easier to wrap around branches and create coverage while vertically can be quicker to drape from top to bottom. Horizontally gives a classic look and even light distribution but can be time consuming. Vertically, homeowners can have a faster set up, but the lights may look uneven.'

It's also key to nail your outdoor Christmas light colors. If you can, stay away from intense colors like red and green and opt for warm white and gold colors - these are much softer and cozier.