On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
three Pizza Pies,
two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Six pepperonis,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Seven canellonis,
six pepperonis,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Eight Uncle Tonies,
seven canellonis,
Six pepperonis,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Nine Cousin Ginos,
eight Uncle Tonies,
Seven canellonis,
Six pepperonis,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Ten glasses of vinos,
nine Cousin Ginos,
Eight Uncle Tonies,
Seven canellonis,
Six pepperonis,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Eleven Mama Mias!
Ten glasses of vinos,
Nine Cousin Ginos,
Eight Uncle Tonies,
Seven canellonis,
Six pepperonis,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and s bowl full of parmesean cheese.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Twelve dishes of spaghetti and cardoons.
Eleven Mama Mias!
Ten glasses of vinos,
Nine Cousin Ginos,
Eight Uncle Tonies,
Seven canellonis,
Six pepperonis,
Five pasta fazool !!!!
Four meatballs,
three Pizza Pies,
Two garlic cloves,
and a bowl full of parmesean cheese.

A silly spoof song that I like is The 12 Days of Guido Christmas by the How-ya-doin’ guys.

On the first day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

A ride in his IROC-Z.

On the second day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the third day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the fourth day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the fifth day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the sixth day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Six Sergio Tacchinis,
Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the seventh day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Seven Piazza jerseys,
Six Sergio Tacchinis,
Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the eighth day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Eight how-ya-doin’s,
Seven Piazza jerseys,
Six Sergio Tacchinis,
Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the ninth day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Nine balls-a-grabbing,
Eight how-ya-doin’s,
Seven Piazza jerseys,
Six Sergio Tacchinis,
Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the tenth day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Ten new hand gestures,
Nine balls-a-grabbing,
Eight how-ya-doin’s,
Seven Piazza jerseys,
Six Sergio Tacchinis,
Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Eleven Sinatra CDs,
Ten new hand gestures,
Nine balls-a-grabbing,
Eight how-ya-doin’s,
Seven Piazza jerseys,
Six Sergio Tacchinis,
Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my paisan gave to me,

Twelve globs of hair gel,
Eleven Sinatra CDs,
Ten new hand gestures,
Nine balls-a-grabbing,
Eight how-ya-doin’s,
Seven Piazza jerseys,
Six Sergio Tacchinis,
Five pinky rings!
Four fresh cannolis,
All tree Godfadda’s,
Two guinea tees,
And a ride in his IROC-Z.

Well that depends on a few things;

How big the tree is: If it’s too big , say 12 feet, you might want to do a simple wrap. If it’s shorter you can try your hand at using a more professional type of wrapping like a branch wrap. In terms of the amount of lights 100 lights for every 1′ is the average amount used for a nicely lit tree. For less dense trees you can use 100 lights for every 1 1/2 feet and if you like lot of lights and you double the amount of lights, just be sure to use proper installation techniques.

How much time you have: Some techniques are faster than others and if it’s you first time you may have to re-do it until it looks right. After you install a string of Christmas Lights take a look and make sure you approve of how it looks. You can dim the lights to make them stand out more. Some people say to squint but i think that gives you wrinkles. Dim or turn off the lights and you should be fine. Make sure that the nicest part of the tree is facing the best viewing angle. Try to hide bulkier connections in the back. 

How much space you have:If your tree and power source are up against a wall you may opt to skip most of the back altogether if it’s not going to be visible why waste the lights. You can use those lights to load up the front. Some wraps might require additional space. If you don’t have the space to circle around the tree try a triangle wrap, which requires less space. If the tree isn’t to hard to transport you could also decorate your Christmas tree in another location and move it. 

What’s in the budget: Certain techniques will require more lights than others. Figure out how many lights you’ll need and how much they will cost before you decide on which Christmas lights to use. Keep in mind that you can always add more lights next year. Branch wrapping will require the most while a tornado wrap can be done with less lights.

Now that you have your tree, know how much time you have, have the space needed and a budget decided on. Lets figure out how you’re gonna wrap your Christmas tree. Please click on part two of this article to see the descriptions on the individual Christmas Tree lighting techniques. 

Icicle drop lights are fairly new and have been used mostly for large commercial holiday lighting displays – until now. Icicle drop lights are designed to give off the appearance of falling snow by using the LED lights (diodes) in the tube to “drip” down the length of the tube repeated. They look great in trees or over your entryway, breezeway or any type of archway. The tubes come in a variety of lengths and combinations. For example, you can get a 5 tube strand in 10 or 20 inches, a mixed strand of  (3)-20 inch tubes and (2) 40″ tubes, or (5) 40 inch tubes. The best tree displays will use a mixture of these strands. Make sure to use the shorter icicle drop lights if you are using them in an area where there is pedestrian or vehicle traffic. For a striking upgrade you can add colored light to the trunk of the tree like in the video below.

(The icicle lights are toward the end on the next video)

These LED Christmas lights may be more expensive than incandescent mini lights but you don’t need any where near as many mini lights as you would icicle drop lights, you definately wouldn’t use as much energy, and they surely don’t take as much labor to install or take up as much space in your storage room. So in terms of what the two different displays will cost – they should be about equal. Of course it will depend on the type and amount of mini lights you were using, it can in some cases be less or more expensive.

Icicle drop lights are also a great way to add movement to your holiday lighting display without making it look to busy or like the Griswalds, not that there’s anything wrong with the kind of thing, if you’re into it. If  you would like more information or have questions about this product please feel free to write or call us at 214-257-8813.

Icicle Drop Light Pros

You can add up to 10 sets together

Use less Storage space

Use less energy

Less effort to install

Low profile disappears during the day

Not your grandmas Christmas Lights

Icicle Light Cons

More expensive than other lighting options

Only comes in the pure white color

Related Articles    Stars and star burst Christmas decorating tool

DFW Christmas Lights, The Outdoor Lighting Expert, and Lawn Sprinklers Dallas are sites owned and operated by Dallas Curb Appeal Inc.

If you’re not sure how you want to decorate your Christmas tree this season try using this fun tool from Better Homes and Gardens. I have been playing with this tool for about an hour now– O how I love it so. I found it by chance while looking for topics to write about and I’m glad i did. It could definitely benefit from having more options but there’s enough if you want to test out color schemes, mix and match ornaments, use a different color tree this year, or just want to try new combinations. It’s a great way to get the kids involved this season. Let them help you create and decorate your virtual Christmas tree for the family room or help them creating a tree of their own for their rooms — this way you end up with a pink and purple tree.

Here’s how very simple it is- Just pick what you like

Type of a tree: White, green etc.

Kind of Lights: Color and style

Trim: Garland, tinsel, fruit or beads

Ornaments: drops, balls etc.

Tree topper: Star, angles snowflakes and more

Don’t forget to add your large ornaments first and then fill in with smaller ones. The best part is that you get to show off your creativity and share it on Facebook and twitter with your friends and followers. And if Suzy tries to steal your tree idea everyone will know you came up with it first. Have fun with this new tool, I know I did.

Christmas Tree Decorator Tool

Contemporary Christmas Trees

Creative Christmas Tree Themes

Maria Bargellini is the president of Dallas Curb Appeal Inc. a full service landscape contractor that operates The Outdoor Lighting Expert, Lawn Sprinklers Dallas, DFW Christmas Lights, and Dallas Holiday Lighting.

Want to add something special to your holiday lighting display this year? Take a look at these new items from Holiday Bright Lights. They look great on their own or with greenery. There’s a ton to choose from but this post is dedicated to one of my favorites– stars and star burst.  These stars will make a great addition to your Christmas lights this year. They add sparkle, interest and break up the monotony of the standard C9 clear lights without looking out of place. You can still have an elegant display and be a standout.

This 3D star is looks good from any angle, it adds dimension and can look good all on its own or be added to an existing holiday lighting display. It also looks great on a wreath. Let this star spark your creativity and use it anyway you like. Over a table, or in clusters of varying sizes or even the same size. You can use this 3D star in many ways and I cannot wait for next season to start adding them to my designs. Next up are the star burst. These are also pretty versatile.

Star Burst are great to add around the house. Most holiday lighting designs will have your shrubbery lit but these star look like they are floating along and give your house a great whimsical feel. These are on stakes but don’t let that limit your creativity. You can out them in trees, on top of large shrubs or trees, on wreaths, or over garland in your entryway. They come in a variety of colors. See the full catalog for this and other great decorating ideas or call us at 214-257-8813 more details.

Want to make your star a little more striking or unusual? Try adding a comet or shooting star trail. These are separate items that can be added to stars on wreaths or homes to make your Christmas lights really stand out in the neighborhood. I have done a ton of holiday lighting designs over the years and the typical request is clear lights on the house and everywhere else. Once in a while I have the chance to add color on the shrubs but for the most part our clietns have wanted to “keep” with the rest of the neighborhood. This is a great way to do that and be a stand out at the same time. Whether you want to do a little or do a lot, adding a star, star burst or trails can really step up your holiday lighting. They look great on their own or part of your Christmas display.

DFW Christmas Lights, The Outdoor Lighting Expert, and Lawn Sprinklers Dallas are sites owned and operated by Dallas Curb Appeal Inc.

DFW Christmas Lights and The Outdoor Lighting Expert are owned and operated by Dallas Curb Appeal Inc.