Which pieces need a socket

A cord is a placement rule, not a feature

The moment a piece needs current, the wall decides where it lives. That sounds obvious until a wreath is already on a hook and the lead is eighteen inches short of anything. Work out the socket first and hang second, every time.

Fifteen pieces across our shelves draw power. The rest are cloth, wire, plastic and iron, and they can go wherever a hook will hold them.

Length is measured from the plug, not the piece

A string described as forty-nine feet is forty-nine feet of lit run. The lead from the plug to the first bulb is separate and short. Count the lead as nearly nothing when you are planning a route, and put the socket end where the socket actually is.

• Measure the run with a piece of string before you unbox anything.
• Add a foot for every corner the run turns.
• Do not hang a heavy strand by the bare lead wire between plug and first bulb.

Outdoors changes the question

Our cluster strands carry an IP44 rating, which means they are built to shrug off rain and snow on the strand itself. The plug is still a plug. Keep the connection under cover, up off the ground, and use an outdoor rated extension rather than a household one run out through a window.

Battery pieces have their own trap

A cell gives you freedom of placement and takes away the warning you get from a cord. Nothing tells you the cells are flat until the piece simply stops mid evening. Change cells at the start of a season rather than the middle, and take them out before the piece goes into a box for the year.