Now that Christmas is only a few weeks away, we no longer have to wonder if it’s too early to put up our Christmas tree. If you have an artificial tree, perhaps it has been up for awhile now. If you’re a fan of a real tree, it’s time to bring that festive symbol of the holiday season home.

If you have an artificial tree, you may be lucky enough that it came with lights already wrapped around the branches. If you have a real tree, you’re definitely going to need to string the lights on the tree yourself.

When we think about putting lights on a Christmas tree, there are a couple of things we have always accepted as the correct way to do it. First, the lights are the very first thing you put on the tree. Don’t put tinsel, ornaments or garland on the tree until lights are glowing brightly.

We also always thought the correct way to hang Christmas lights was to start at the top of the tree and wrap them around it working our way down the tree. Basically, that means that we’re putting the lights on horizontally.

It turns out that we’ve been doing it wrong.

According to TikTok, the correct way to put lights on a Christmas tree is to put them on vertically. TikTok user Clare Hooper explained that it used to be her job to hang Christmas tree lights. She explained that not only does putting the lights on vertically mean you’ll use fewer lights, but it also makes it easier to take them off if they happen to burn out and need to be replaced. Watch her TikTok below to see how Hooper recommends putting lights on your Christmas tree.

@mrsclarehoopsThis method saved me so many times 🎄##christmasdance ##mumslifeinlockdown ##festiveness♬ Rocking Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

Many viewers have commented on Hooper’s video expressing how much they dislike vertical lights on a Christmas tree. One viewer wrote, “You must have been fired for putting lights on a tree like that!!”

Another viewer wrote, “But you can see the wires so much more? I like to try and hide the wires as much as possible.”

Some TikTok users liked Hooper’s method enough to try it themselves. TikTok user Liz Lovery put lights on her tree vertically after watching Hooper’s video and demonstrated the process explaining the benefits.

@lizloveryWow what a difference this made! Thank you @mrsclarehoops ! 🎄 ##HolidayVibes ##christmas ##holidaydecor ##homedecor ##decortips ##IntroVideo ##hometips♬ O, Christmas Tree – Christmas

The viewers were kinder in the comments on Lovery’s video. Some still dislike this method, but others shared that they’ve been decorating their tree this way for years. One comment reads, “We’ve been doing this for years! It makes the tree much more sparkly!”

How do you usually put lights on your Christmas tree? Are you going to try stringing them vertically?