Still, some folks are waiting until the beginning of December to get into full Christmas mode. For many this begins with the decoration of the Christmas tree. "Christmas isn't Christmas without my tree," homemaker Ann of El Socorro told WomanWise.
"Once that up I start to get the Christmas feeling."When it comes to putting lights on the tree, however, Ann-like most women we surveyed-has a hands-off approach."Honestly," she said with a laugh, "I don't know how to put them on. I always have to get help to do it." We never knew how tricky women found draping those Christmas tree lights until we took to Facebook in search of the right way to hang lights on the tree.
"I can bake a mouth watering ham, make the best pepper sauce and chow chow, but putting up tree lights was never something I mastered," Malika of Chase Village, Chaguanas told WomanWise. "That's why, for the past four years, I have switched to those fibre optic Christmas trees."Gabrielle of Tunapuna maintained that there is no right or wrong way to drape lights, adding that she usually just throws them on and "how they hang they swing."
Newlywed Patrice of Barataria at least had some kind of formula for lighting up her Christmas tree."You have to detangle the lights first, roll some old newspaper up and then as you detangle, wrap it around the newspaper. " Make sure you plug the lights, then start with the beginning of the lights at the top of the tree and wrap it in a circular motion till you reach the bottom of the tree."
Admitting that the Christmas tree is her "absolute favourite aspect of Christmas," Sha said her aim is always to create a spectacular tree display for her holiday guests.Long ago she used to lay out the lights and, with the help of two people, she put up the lights. Now, she enlists the help of a tree decorating expert to get the job done right."A couple years ago I started asking a girl to come in and do it for me. I lost the patience as my tree is tall.
"If you ask me, hire someone. That's the right way."Michelle, who lives in London said she has found much success with tangle free lights.Like the women who participated in the discussion on lighting trees, WomanWise was only learning of the tangle free lights for the first time. Thanks to another reader of our Facebook thread we got a Web site link for Harlan's Trim-it-Quick which features strands of lights on hooks.
US Artist Leslie Wasem invented the Trim-It-Quick lights to deal with the common frustration of untangling Christmas tree lights.Each branch of the Trim-it-Quick lights has its own string of lights, with each strand getting smaller as it is worked the tree. The individual strands are held in place with a simple hook and plugs into a central cord running down the trunk of the tree.
The hook-strands space bulbs closer together (2-3 inches apart) than regular Christmas tree lightbulbs and Wasem said one non-working bulb has no effect on the rest on the bunch.Locally the Trim it Quick lights are distributed by North Eleven Limited and retailed at Fen Mohammed Stores and online at trinitrolley.com. We know that, at least for the women polled for this story, these tangle free lights would be a welcomed Christmas gift.