As the silly season rolls around – our creative guru at Perth Garden Lights is fast whipping up new ideas for accessible party lighting you can try yourself.
Ferry lights are an easy winner for the classic Aussie barbie this season. The plug and play technology makes them easy to use – and they’re the first thing that comes to mind when you think “Christmas” and “lights”.
But the versatile ferry light can look a bit hit and miss if you plan to just chuck a few around as an after-thought.
Getting the wow-factor with ferry lights often means using a lot of lights to cover an iconic feature…say a tree!
Covering a tree with ferry lights isn’t exactly a novel idea, but doing it so it looks like this requires the right tools, patience and some skill.
For a perfectly sparkled natural tree, use ferry lights with small LED bulbs that are closely packed and make sure you stock up (or can go back for more of the same). A large part of getting this look requires that you actually just go a bit OTT with your wrapping. So it’s important to get the right low-voltage ferry lights and check that your chosen lights can be used safely when packed closely together.
Wrap your tree, starting from the bottom of the trunk and working up through the main branches. Remember to leave the male plug at the bottom of your tree, ready to connect with your outdoor extension cord that will run to your power point. You’ll need to keep plugging new strings together as you come to the end of each length of ferry light.
Your lights will look more closely packed (and less stripy) if you wrap the same section of tree twice, running the wire in opposite directions on each wrap (i.e.: clockwise and counter-clockwise). We recommend always starting from the bottom of the tree so that you are essentially wrapping the tree from toe to tip – twice! This means you’ll end up with two male plugs sitting at the base of your tree when you’re done – so you’ll need an extension chord that can take two plugs.
Don’t fuss over keeping even spacing between your lights because those small details will be lost if you pack enough sparkle on the tree. Wrapping your smaller branches will be the trickiest part of the project. It’s a time consuming task and may require reaching in through the branches – so prepare a sturdy ladder that gives you comfortable reach from a secure spot so you can move about with ease.
Arm yourself with plastic ties and plant clips so you can secure the lights to the tree in those areas where simply wrapping the tree won’t work for you. Plastic and wire twist ties help keep things in place around bends and uneven parts of the tree, while plant clips will be your friend for the finer branches.