My grandmother who raised me bought a new box of the tin tinsel every few years. I can still remember her showing me how to put it on the tree. Take a handful and let it fall a few at a time all over the tree. No one strand at a time for her. She and I would go to the pine tree field behind the house and she would saw the top out of a pine for our tree.
I don't use tinsel. The grands decorate the tree now. I keep them two days a week so I let them do what they want with the tree. I don't move any of the ornaments they place. They hang each ornament with care until they get tired. Age 3 and 4. LOL. DH finishes the top part. Anyone with OCD wouldn't last long in my home when it comes to decorating the tree.