DIY Outdoor Light Balls

I love a nicely decorated neighborhood for the holidays! The lights, the wreaths–there’s something about it all that is just so magical. I love keeping our decor classic, but also simple.

This year we didn’t want to risk our lives on a crazy high ladder trying to hang lights on the top of our 3-story home. But, the lights around the front porch and garage didn’t seem like quite enough. We needed something else that didn’t involve a ladder. 

We have both always loved the light balls that twinkle in the trees, so we decided to make some for ourselves. We originally made some with glue and cornstarch, but that had a realization that they would “deflate” as soon as it rained, so we came up with another solution.

I was skeptical how they would turn out in terms of looks, but in the end they are beautiful (especially with our twinkling lights)!

(p.s. we also made some indoor light balls that are perfect underneath the Christmas tree!)

Alright, let’s start DIYing! 

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)!

Tools

• Gloves
• Wire cutters

How to Make Christmas Light Balls for Outdoor Trees

New to DIY? Download our free 5 Steps to Getting Start with DIY guide!

Step 1: cut your chicken wire

Put on your gloves and grab your wire cutters.

Cut your chicken wire into a rectangle that is approximately a 1.5:1 ratio. We cut ours to be approximately 20″ x 12″ and they ended up making balls that were approximately 8″

Step 2: form into a circle

Connect the two short ends to create a cylinder. Twist them together so that they stay connected.

Pick a side and start pushing the chicken wire down to create a half circle. Then work on the other side. Leave a gap at the top of the sphere so that you can drop your lights into the ball.

Continue shaping the chicken wire until you achieve your desired shape.

STEP 3: wrap your twine

Tie your twine in a knot to a piece of your chicken wire ball.

Wrap the twine around the ball until you reach your desired look. Switch directions often to create a random pattern. Once you finish wrapping the twine, tie the twine to your chicken wire ball and cut off any excess. Be sure to leave the top open so that you can easily add in your lights!

Step 4: add lights

 I unraveled our lights and then tried to drop them into a ball changing the direction of the wire every so often so that it was more of a random pattern than a coil of lights. I then picked random sections of the wire that the lights were on and twisted them around the chicken wire so that the lights filled the whole ball.

step 5: hang

We added a piece of twine to the top of the tree to hang it like an ornament. We used zip ties to secure the battery packs for the lights to the trees.

There you have it! You’re less than an hour away from some beautiful outdoor light balls!