The other day at my house, we brought home our Christmas tree. In New York City, this usually means buying one from a stand on the corner -- the same Vermont guy has sold us a tree for eight years running -- and then carrying it home, everybody taking a turn with the heavy end.
For reasons that don't matter and we'd just as soon forget, we had to put the lights on three times before we got it right. That meant passing the strands of lights around the tree, starting at the top, and going from hand to hand, around and around, three times. It was a pain.
Then our friend from Pennsylvania told us that next time, we should do it her way. This is hard to describe, but she says she strings the tree not around and around, but up and down -- like painting a fence or washing a window. She says it works great and is really quick, and if you have to start over, the lights are easy to remove.
Being a regionalist, I'm inclined to say that her way seems weird and must be particular to Pennsylvania. She says I should ask you all. So I'm asking.
(Photo: My aunt Cathy has a new kitten and a new Christmas tree. This'll go great. P.S. after the jump.)
Laura, your Aunt Cathy finds the middle of the string of lights, places it near the top of the tree, then does a zig-zag down the front and a zig-zag down the back. And the kitten is loving it. She thinks she has a new jungle gym. The advantage of an artificial tree is the wire stems can be bent to secure lights, ornaments, etc. Merry Christmas to you and yours.