Our first four balls up in the tree.

I live in the Sunset Hills neighborhood of Greensboro, North Carolina. This is relevant because our neighborhood has gained fame for a unique Christmas decorating theme. They’re starting to catch on in a lot of different places, but Lighted Tree Balls started here.

The tree balls are basically rough spheres shaped from chicken wire then wound about with strings of lights and hung from the branches of trees. This works well in our neighborhood, which has an abundance of large old trees. The higher the balls are in the trees, the better.

Walking down the streets in the area at night is a magical experience. Unfortunately, getting a photograph that captures that wonder is nearly impossible. (Everybody I know has tried!) It has to be experienced in person to grasp the amazing beauty of hundreds of balls of light hung high in the trees.

There are some pretty good pictures of the balls here: https://christmascountdowntgf.blogspot.com/2019/11/sunset-hills-greensboro-nc-christmas.html

Putting up those balls can be challenging, but we participate. There are various ways to get the cords high in the trees to hang the balls. We use a slingshot to propel a weight attached to fishing line up to the higher branches. Others use a potato gun, fishing rod, or just a tennis ball on rope. It requires plenty of decently heavy twine and outdoor-rated extension electrical cords. The effort and expense are so worth it.

There is a downside to the glorious display. Word has gotten out, with the result that evening tourist traffic in the neighborhood can be so heavy it sometimes causes gridlock.

But this great neighborhood has found a way to turn even that into a positive. There are collection boxes for food donation in various places and last year they were able to deliver thousands of pounds of non-perishable supplies to a local organization that distributes food to those who need it. We also have an event called the “Running of the Balls” that also raises funds for a local food bank. More info here: https://therunningoftheballs.com/