Buying Christmas tree lights sounds easy until you try to decide whether you need 200, 500 or enough LEDs to make passing aircraft nervous.
LED count alone tells you surprisingly little. A conventional string can spread 200 LEDs across 20 metres. A close-set set can squeeze 1,000 into 25 metres. Some tree lights do not wrap around the tree at all: they drop vertically from a ring near the top.
These five products show different approaches to the job. The right choice depends on the look you want, the cable you can hide, the power available and how much time you want to spend installing it.
Decorating outside? Our outdoor Christmas lights guide compares formats and component-specific protection.
If you are lighting more than a tree, our broader fairy-lights guide covers general strings and outdoor details.
Five ways to light a tree
Same job, quite different installations and effects.
| Product | Style | LEDs | Lit arrangement | LEDs/m | Cable | Power | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ollny 20m / 200 LED green-cable string | Traditional wraparound | 200 | 20m | 10 | Green | Mains | A straightforward warm-white tree |
| Premier TreeBrights 1,000 LED | Dense close-set | 1,000 | 25m | 40 | Green for this model | Mains | A tree packed with light |
| cshare 400 LED tree-ring lights | 16 vertical drops | 400 | 16 × about 2m | ≈12.5 per drop | Not confirmed | Mains | Avoiding a full tree wrap |
| The Christmas Workshop 71160 | Multicolour string | 200 | About 19.9m | ≈10 | Not confirmed | 3 × AA | Multicolour without a socket |
| Twinkly Strings 400 RGB | Smart mapped string | 400 | 32m | 12.5 | Black | Mains | Programmable tree effects |
LEDs/m is calculated from the stated lit length. For the cshare ring, it describes one drop (25 LEDs over about 2m), not the whole 16-drop system. Check the exact cable variant before buying.
Choose the look and setup
One ordinary string, one dense set, one drop-over system, one battery set and one smart option.
Ollny 20m / 200 LED green-cable string
Nothing exotic. If you want a normal warm-white tree without making decorating an engineering project, this is the familiar approach.
- Lit length
- 20m
- LEDs
- 200
- Density
- 10 LEDs/m
- Cable
- Green
- Lead
- 3m
- Power
- Mains
This green-cable variant has 200 LEDs across a 20m lit run and a separate 3m lead. Its wire is generally less noticeable among conventional green foliage. Ollny lists eight modes; check the exact variant before relying on any remote or timer feature.
The trade-off. At 10 LEDs per metre it will look gentler than close-set lights. You need a socket and the patience to wrap it evenly.
Research notes
- Exact green-cable warm-white ASIN: B091YS56BQ. This is separate from the clear-cable Ollny model in the broad fairy-lights guide.
- Ollny states 20m of lights, 200 LEDs, a 3m lead, green cable and eight modes.
- The 10 LEDs/m density is 200 ÷ 20. No exact-variant review analysis or hands-on test is claimed.
Premier TreeBrights 1,000 LED
One thousand LEDs across 25m means about four times as many points of light per metre as the Ollny string.
- Lit length
- 25m
- LEDs
- 1,000
- Density
- 40 LEDs/m
- Spacing
- About 2.5cm
- Cable
- Green for this model
- Lead
- About 5m
This warm-white LV162179WW variant has about 2.5cm LED spacing, a 25m lit run, a separate 5m lead and eight effects. Retailers position the 1,000 LED TreeBrights format around a 7ft tree; Premier describes an 8h-on / 16h-off timer. This is the set to investigate if you want the branches absolutely covered.
The trade-off. Dense is a look, not a universal upgrade. If you want baubles and foliage to lead, 1,000 close-set LEDs may be too much.
Research notes
- Warm-white Amazon ASIN B075V8JXTB; manufacturer model LV162179WW. Green and clear cable TreeBrights variants exist, so check the selected listing.
- Premier describes 2.5cm spacing and an 8h-on / 16h-off timer. An exact-model UK retailer lists 25m lit length, 5m lead, green cable and the same timer.
- Other retailer descriptions for LV162179WW state 6h-on / 18h-off or give a different lead length. The timer and lead should be confirmed on the exact box before purchase.
- The 40 LEDs/m density is 1,000 ÷ 25. No exact-variant review analysis is presented.
The Christmas Workshop 71160
A traditional multicolour string for a tree that is not close to a convenient socket.
- Lit length
- About 19.9m
- LEDs
- 200 multicolour
- Density
- ≈10 LEDs/m
- Power
- 3 × AA
- Modes
- Eight listed
- Timer
- 6h on / 18h off
Current UK retailers identify model 71160 as 200 LEDs across about 19.9m, powered by three AA batteries, with eight modes and a repeating 6h-on / 18h-off timer.
The trade-off. Battery placement is flexible, but the batteries need replacing. Three AAs do not contain an infinite supply of Christmas; we have no dependable runtime figure for this set.
Why a search link? Amazon listings and product codes can change. Where we can’t verify a stable direct link to the exact variant we researched, we’ll take you to an Amazon search for that model instead. Check the size, colour and specification before buying.
Research notes
- Model 71160 is identified by current UK retailer listings and the Benross catalogue.
- Homebase describes 200 multicolour LEDs, about 19.9m, eight modes, a 6h-on / 18h-off timer and three AA batteries.
- A different retailer specification table contains a conflicting AA count despite its product copy stating three. Confirm the package before buying.
- Approximate density is 200 ÷ 19.9. Exact Amazon ASIN, cable colour and battery runtime are not confirmed.
Twinkly Strings 400 RGB
What you are paying for is mapped colour and animation, not a particularly high LED density.
- Lit length
- 32m
- LEDs
- 400 RGB
- Density
- 12.5 LEDs/m
- Cable
- Black
- Control
- Bluetooth / Wi-Fi app
- Rating
- IP44
The Generation II TWS400STP-BUK has 400 addressable RGB LEDs across 32m, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi app control, a black cable and IP44 construction. After installation, Twinkly can use your phone camera to map each LED’s position so effects move across the tree spatially, rather than just along the wire.
The trade-off. It asks you to use an app and costs more than an ordinary warm-white string. If it will stay on warm white, a simpler set can do that job.
Why a search link? Amazon listings and product codes can change. Where we can’t verify a stable direct link to the exact variant we researched, we’ll take you to an Amazon search for that model instead. Check the size, colour and specification before buying.
Research notes
- Exact UK model TWS400STP-BUK appears in a Twinkly datasheet: 400 addressable RGB LEDs, 32m lit length, black wire, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi, UK plug and IP44.
- Twinkly explains camera-based mapping for Generation I and II devices.
- 12.5 LEDs/m is 400 ÷ 32. The Amazon UK ASIN was not independently confirmed. The current buying button uses an Amazon search for this model.
- No exact-product review analysis or hands-on test is presented.
How many Christmas tree lights do you actually need?
There is not one correct number. For a 6ft tree, Lights4fun suggests about 300, Argos about 480, and John Lewis about 600 for maximum impact. Festive Lights suggests 300–400 for medium coverage. These are different looks, not competing laws of physics.
Use these as starting points, not engineering limits. Tree width, branch depth and whether you place lights into the foliage change the result. Then check LED spacing: Premier puts 1,000 LEDs over 25m, or 40 LEDs/m. Ollny puts 200 over 20m, or 10 LEDs/m. Premier has roughly four times as many points of light along each metre.
A future “How many lights do I need?” tool could use tree height, spacing and your preferred look. This guide keeps the choice readable without pretending one calculation fits every tree.
Green cable, clear cable or black cable?
Green cable tends to disappear into a conventional green real or artificial tree. Clear cable can sit more quietly with white or frosted foliage. Black cable may stand out against light branches.
Ollny’s tree-specific set uses green wire. Premier sells different TreeBrights cable variants; the LV162179WW model in this guide is green. The specified Twinkly Strings model has black wire. Cable colour will not change LED performance, but it can change how tidy the tree looks in daylight. For cshare and model 71160, check the current listing because we could not confirm the cable colour.
Wraparound lights or drop them vertically?
Wraparound string
You choose which branches receive more light and can push some LEDs deeper into the tree. It takes more effort to spread them evenly.
Tree ring and drops
Place the ring near the top, then arrange the strands downward. Basic installation is quicker, but the drop length and spacing give you less freedom.
Installation method matters more than whether the box says “eight modes” for the thousandth time. The cshare height claims conflict, so measure your own tree against its roughly 2m drops rather than assuming full coverage on a 10ft tree.
How we researched these products
We started with Christmas-tree-light types appearing in Amazon UK shopping results, then checked identifiable models against manufacturer material and current UK retailer information. The five choices cover wraparound, close-set, tree-ring, battery and app-controlled lighting.
We have not physically tested these products or analysed a dependable set of exact-variant buyer reviews. We do not use Amazon’s pooled ratings as exact-model evidence. Where retailer specifications disagree, including Premier’s timer and cshare’s tree-height claims, we state the disagreement. Open each product’s research notes for identifiers, sources and remaining gaps. Read our full methodology.
Buying buttons in this guide lead to direct Amazon UK product links; Amazon searches for the named model. Amazon links currently have no affiliate tags. If affiliate links are introduced, SimplyLit may earn a commission from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Read our disclosure.