Tips for Hanging Outdoor Christmas Lights

Christmas is not too far away now and if, like us, you approach the seasonal holiday with excitement and enthusiasm, then what better way to share that with the neighbors than putting on a great display of outdoor Christmas lights?

C hristmas is a joyous occasion which can be enjoyed by parents and children too, in fact the whole family, and is traditionally a time to relax, to eat and rink, and to welcome friends and family into the home, to share the happy time. Even people who don’t, as a rule, actually celebrate Xmas, often join in the fun anyway. After all, it’s a time for everyone, right?

Not only that, but there are other things to think about too such as your outdoor decorated Christmas tree and maybe a few decorations on the lawn too, for added effect. After all, if your house is not lit up during Christmas, how will Santa and his reindeer find your house?

Tips to Illuminate your Home this Christmas

OK, the first thing you need to do is PLAN what you are going to do, if you see my point. Often Christmas lights, if they are used each year and not brand new from the store, will be stored away in the crawl space in the roof, or the cellar or maybe even in the garage.

Now is the time to get them out, but wait before you hang them.

Lights are of course electric and therefore a potential hazard, so make sure you unfurl your lights and check for any breaks in the wires (Rats and other vermin can chew the wires), and make sure no bulbs are missing. Then BEFORE you go and hang them, plug them in and check they work! You would be surprised how many people spend days and days hanging the lights on the roof, down the walls etc, only to find they don’t work! Can you imagine the disappointment?

So to avoid this, thoroughly check them for faults, and then you are ready to go.

Hanging your Lights

With reference to a point we made earlier, make sure SAFETY is your primary concern, after all, who wants to spend the holiday season in hospital? Planning is the key to saving you time, and maybe saving your neck, when putting up Xmas lights, so make sure you look at some sort of plan, even if it is only a few motes written on one side of paper, make sure you know what you are doing, and what lights go where.

It is usually best to start at the top and work down, so its up on the roof maybe, and get that illuminated Santa and hi sleigh up, maybe putting lights around the chimney too. A big word of warning again, your roof is high up! Shingles or roof tiles can be slippery, and from the tip of the roof, to the road below, is a LONG way down. If you are not confident, (or some sort of “Spider-man”), there are various contractors with the right equipment and experience on working at heights that can help you set your Christmas display up, often at a fairly low cost.

Hanging your Lights on the Wall and Sorting out the Garden

Once the lights are up on the roof, you can then move down to a safer place and start to hang on the walls. Make sure that if your home is not clad in wooden siding but brick, that the lights will be fixed safely but in a way that will allow you to take them down once the festive season has come to and end.

If you have a Christmas tree you planted one year in the garden then you have the ideal tree to hang your lights on, but if not, you can buy artificial Christmas trees and then decorate them as you like.

If your neighborhood often has snow during this time, make sure all electrical cables are shielded from any water or damp getting into them because they will break the fuse if water gets into them and you could be left with no electric on Christmas day!

Some More Ideas

A Theme:

Go for a theme or make sure all your separate parts of the display work well visually with each other. A Candyland theme, for example, attracts kids like no other. Similarly, a lit up nativity display is a wonderful way to decorate your yard for Christmas.

White Lights:

Sometimes people abandoned the idea of colored lights and just go for white, which can bring a lovely “clean” feel to the display, but it’s up to you what you do, it’s your house; Remember sometimes, “less is more.”

Pre-lit Shapes:

Pre-lit wreaths, trees and other festive shapes like the sleigh or snowmen are easy to install and display. They make a statement if you are willing to throw in some extra bucks for decorations.

If you study the tips above, and you are confident in putting up this year holiday lights display, you could be the envy of the street. Just take care to not overdo it and make the display too cluttered.

Finally, stand back and admire your hard work, and have a very happy Christmas indeed!