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If setting up your Christmas decorations-- and making them look good-- is causing you some stress this season, we've got some tips from the pro's on how to make them look amazing.

I'll admit I have kind of a love/hate relationship with our Christmas decorations and Christmas tree: I love having them set up and the whole house decorated for the holidays, but I really DON'T like string up the lights on the tree, mainly because I never seem to do a really good job.

The tree initially looks okay, but after a few days, I notice gaps where there aren't any lights, and then areas where the lights are all bunched up. Which then causes me to try to adjust the lights to even things out, but often seems to end up just making it worse. If you have similar struggles, here are some tips from John DeCosmo, President of Ulta-Lit Tree Company, the maker of the LightKeeper Pro.

Measure: When planning the number of lights you will need for your tree, estimate at least 100 mini lights for every foot of tree height.

Decide Between LED vs. Incandescent: LEDs are more expensive than incandescent lights but do last longer. When it comes to energy usage, a tree with 1,000 incandescent lights can cost $10 over an average holiday season while the tree using 1,000 LEDs costs less than $1.50.

Consider Indoor vs. Outdoor: Commercial-grade light sets are more reliable for outdoor use because of their durability and thicker insulation.

Inspect: Before stringing lights, check for broken bulbs and sockets, frayed cords, burned out lights and loose connections. For sets with bulb outages, use a tool such as the LightKeeper Pro for incandescent lights. Plug the empty bulb socket into the Socket Connector then squeeze the trigger a few times and most light sets will illuminate within seconds. For LED lights, the LED Keeper can help find and fix the problem.

Connect: You never want for electrical consumption to exceed the 3 amp fuse rating. For example, the average 100 light set consumes 0.34 amps per set. Ten sets wired together would therefore consume 3.4 amps and blow the 3 amp fuses. Review the specifications provided to you.

Stringing: When stringing lights on a tree, it is recommended that you begin at the top with light sets that are plugged into a power source. Any blinking during the stringing process is an indication of light set issues that are either in place now -- or will arise later.

Can all light sets be repaired? No. Blackened bulbs on an incandescent light set are an indication of a light set that's been burned beyond its useful life. Also, resistive PODs which are often built into an LED light set can be defective -- this is a rare occurrence and a non-repairable problem.

Replace and repair: Occasionally check for any bulbs that aren't working and replace them as soon as possible to get the most of your light sets. Two burned-out incandescent bulbs can decrease the lifespan of the light set by 39 percent.

Now that your holiday lights and decorations can look like ah-maze-ing, it'd be kinda cool to win some money from them, right? Well, you're in luck! We're light up southeast Minnesota this season, and you can win $1,000 in cash! Just upload a pic of YOUR holiday lights on our app...

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...for your chance to win! And, while we're talking Christmas, keep scrolling to take a walk down memory lane about some of those classic toys, electronics and other items we just HAD to have back in the day. Ho ho ho!

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

CHECK THEM OUT: 100 years of Christmas toys, gifts and fads

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