Whether you’re looking to put up a big, flashy light show or a modest holiday display, hanging your holiday decorations can be stressful. Deciding how to hang things without damaging your home, getting the lights to look the way you want, and finding time to celebrate are all challenges that come with putting up a great display without an emotional meltdown. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to make decorating easier and faster, so you can spend more time enjoying your holiday with friends and family.

Instead of lugging around a ladder or stepladder, you can use what I call a “reachy stick.” For hanging lights, garlands, and wreaths, this is a pole with an inverted hook taped to it. If you don’t have a hook, you can use the hook end of a coat hanger or similarly shaped object. Once you set this up, you can use it to drape lights and garlands over hard-to-reach places without having to climb a ladder. Save it for when the season is over so you can easily take things down.

Pre-attach an “s” hook for easier access. If you’re hanging lights on the edges of your gutter, or along another edge, you can use an “s” hook that’s pre-taped to your light string with electrical tape every few feet. Your “reach stick” will allow you to push the hook up and onto the edge of the gutter without having to climb or permanently attach anything to the gutter. To prevent scratching your gutter, you can wrap the hook in electrical tape or choose one with a rubber coating.

When adding lights to a tree or wreath that will be removed at the end of the season, lay the lights on the surface of the branches rather than wrapping them around them. On a tree, start at the top of the tree, run one strand all the way to the top, and work your way down. Laying lights on the branches as you go will help you spread the lights more evenly, show more lights per strand, and make them easier to remove later.