About Deco Sprig

Deco Sprig is a small set of free calculators for decorating for Christmas and the winter holidays: how many lights a tree needs, what size tree fits the room, how much garland and ribbon to buy, how to keep a real tree watered, what size wreath suits the door and how many lights the house takes.

Where the numbers come from

Much of decorating runs on rules of thumb: so many lights per foot, a wreath two-thirds the width of the door. None of them is set by any official body. Each page says whose rule it uses, usually a named retailer, maker or growers’ association, and lets you change it. Water and safety figures come from the National Christmas Tree Association, university extension services, NFPA, UK fire services and Electrical Safety First, with the date each page was last updated or checked.

The geometry is exact: the length of a spiral round a cone-shaped tree, the curve a garland swag hangs in, the surface of a bush and the longest tree that turns a corner in the hall. Each formula is on its page, and the site’s tests check them against numerical calculations.

How it works

Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded; the only things the site stores are your colour theme and, on the tree care page, the days you tick in the watering log, both in your own browser’s local storage. The site uses Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page views; see the privacy page for the details.

Not professional advice

Deco Sprig is general information, not electrical, fire-safety or legal advice. Read the instructions and limits printed on your lights, and ask a qualified electrician about circuits and outdoor sockets. In a fire, get out and call 911 in the US or 999 in the UK.

Sister sites

For the rest of the season: Paper Lanternly prints invitations, place cards and banners, Craft Mirth has craft calculators, Sunlit Circle runs gift exchange draws, Bright Basketry plans the gift budget and Dinner Drape plans the holiday dinner.