There’s no place like home for the holidays — but decorating it can be an hours-long chore.
To make decking the halls a little bit easier, clever TikTokers have revealed the quickest way to string lights on Christmas trees, much to interior designers’ dismay.
“PSA: String lights vertically from top to bottom in sections,” New York City content creator Katelyn Sailor wrote in a recent TikTok video with footage of her own Tannenbaum. “It’s way easier!”
The clip, which scored over 102,000 views, showed Sailor wrapping strands of lights around the tree’s branches, starting at the top and cascading down to the base in vertical rows.
“You’ll thank me later!” she wrote in the caption.
The idea goes that wrapping the lights vertically makes the bulbs easier to remove come January, and speeds up the process of making your home merry and bright.
Creator Marina McAvoy also shared the hack in a TikTok video, revealing she’s “been doing this for years” and it “saves time and lights.”
Some viewers recommended simply purchasing a pre-lit artificial tree instead, which negates the need for unwrapping the branches after the holiday season is over.
According to Southern Living, the best way to hang lights vertically is to make an “S” shape from top to bottom to spread the bulbs out evenly.
“Leave three to four inches between the vertical rows of lights so they’re spread evenly throughout. Repeat the top-to-bottom process until the entire tree is flooded with lights,” the outlet instructed.
“The vertically-hung lights will remain on the tips of the branches, as opposed to being hidden on the inside.”
But that detail — that the bulbs are only on the ends of the branches — is exactly the issue experts have with the method, which they believe dims the tree’s grandeur.
“I love decoration for the holidays and love a shortcut as much as the next; however, I don’t love the idea of vertical lights,” interior designer Emily Del Bello told House Beautiful.
“If the strands aren’t wrapped back to the middle of the tree, the interior will not light up and there won’t be any depth to the tree.”
Kristina Phillips, an interior designer, likened the bulb hack to “a hotel lobby.”
“If you opt for these lights, perhaps try and reduce the number of lights by disabling some of the bulbs, for a less ‘glowy’ tree,” she advised.
For those who insist on beautifying the bows with vertical strands, Amazon offers an array of lights that are made to cascade from top-to-bottom.
Other ways to spruce up your seasonal decor and spread more holiday cheer include using twinkling lights, adorning the tree with bows or making ornament clusters from bulbs.