Holiday Lighting How-To

Assess your area. A good way to do this is to walk to your audience's vantage point (i.e. the street, courtyard, etc.) and survey your landscape. Locate any and all sources of electricity, as well as any areas that must remain light and wire-free. Envision the scene you want to create, and ask yourself:
What kind of look am I going for? Do I want a classic style? A vibrant design? A Winter Wonderland? Do I want the decorations to only be visible at night, or would I like something during the day as well?

Size Matters!
Smaller lights are more fitting for smaller areas you want to accentuate, like windows and smaller bushes, while bigger lights should be reserved for larger plants and trees, lining gutters, etc. Just be sure not to mix sizes on the same structure, or it might look like you were just trying to use up what was left in the ol' storage bin!

You can choose white lights, multi-colored lights, or you could stick with one color theme. You can also add motion lights, light fixtures, even animated characters to liven up the space!

Holiday lighting ideas

Smaller, white lights create a more elegant style while larger, colored lights can evoke a cozy and dreamlike feel. You can also use icicle lights to highlight the roof and window lines, as well as awning structures. If you'd like to have your light display perform double duty during the day, you can wrap the lights around garland or other artificial foliage so your area looks festive during the day as well.
Click here for examples

If you're going for a more vibrant and animated look, try adding colored lights
to your scheme.

Decide your level of detail. It is essential that you determine how much detail you want in your design and how much time you're going to put into setting up your light display, as well as how much (if any) help you're going to get. Few things are more disheartening than getting halfway done with a project that's meant for cheer and realizing it is above and beyond what you were able to commit to it.
Locate the source of electricity you'll be using. Do you have an outdoor outlet? If this outlet is far away from the area you are illuminating, consider using an inconspicuously colored outdoor extension cord to bring the power. You could also add outlets while bringing your source of electricity closer by using an outlet stake like this one:

Westinghouse 3-Outlet Photocell Ground Stake Outdoor Christmas Timer 6'

This 3-outlet ground stake is a good investment, as it comes with a timer, saving you unnecessary energy, and creating the look of you being home - even if you're not!

If you don't have an outdoor outlet, there's still hope! You can set your lights up easily with the Woods Outlet Wireless Converter Kit

You can also use battery powered lighting, which eliminates all your cord woes. This is a good solution if you're not working with a very large area, and you don't plan on leaving the lights on for days at a time. If you have a garage, you could run a heavy-duty extension cord through the garage, out to your display. Another solution is to run the extension cord out a nearby window. Close the window as much as possible without damaging the cord, and place a rolled up towel or piece of foam in the gap. Be cautious in doing this though - if you don't seal the rest of the space up around the opening of the window, cold air, bugs and other unwelcome guests could become a nuisance. Also, many porch lights come equipped with an extra outlet - check this out, you may have missed it! If not this can be purchased from your local home improvement center and installed rather easily. As with any electricity-related task, be careful - and if you aren't sure what you're doing, defer to someone who does!

Make sure your supplies are all in working order. Plug in all sets of lights you have to determine which, if any, are not functioning properly, and replace as necessary. This step is helpful in figuring out what goes with what (motion lights versus stable, sizing, wire colors) if you are using older equipment or mixing different types of lights. The tint and intensity of colored lights change over time and across manufacturers.

Tip: Keep lights plugged in and lit while hanging them. Although they are not as noticeable during the day, you will be able to get an idea of what your finished look will be, and catch any mishaps or loose bulbs as they happen.

Now you're ready to start hanging. Your lights should be strung along an existing structure. This will give you a pattern to follow and will provide an anchor for the string to follow.
You want to see the lights, NOT the wires, so your goal is to use the end with more wire than lights as your endpoint that plugs into your electric socket. Try to continue to run the lights along a structure in order to remain inconspicuous.

You can use nails, hooks, or ordinary thumbtacks to hang your lights, depending on the surface you're attaching the lights to. I like to use an all-purpose light holder like this one

Adams Mfg./Christmas 9003991634 All-Purpose Light Holder

for along my gutter and balconies. They snap on with ease, and are easy to remove until you're ready for the next holiday!.

If you are dealing with more than 1 story, assess the safest way to get to that second (or third, or fourth!) level. If it is plausible, at least some attempt should be made to showcase more than just the first floor of the house.

If you can't safely access the higher levels, there are a few things you can do to ensure that you don't commit "second story neglect". Second story neglect happens when the first floor of a home is beautifully lit and decorated, drawing the eye across the house, and..... UP, to the sad and dark undecorated second level. This is tragic, and simply creating a presence upstairs will keep this from happening and create a cohesive lighting design. Window candle lighting can help with creating this presence, and come in many styles - corded, battery-operated, still, flickering, even candles with suction cups - no window ledge needed!

Click here for window candles

You can also line the outside of your upper-story windows with lights by using the Adams Christmas All Purpose Holders on the outside of the window frame. Some outside window frames and ledges are more accessible from the inside than others, so use your own judgment.

Sad to say, but all good things must come to an end, and this is true for holiday decorations as well. It's only fair that once your display has brought joy to others, you respect it by putting it away until next year's creative juices start flowing. After all, you don't want to be that neighbor with the unlit rooftop Santa on the Fourth of July!

Holiday Light Storage Box by Iris ®

Be sure to unplug your lights before removing them. If you've hidden your all purpose light holders well, you can leave them on the house - otherwise, take them down first. It will be easier to get the lights off of them once they are off the house and more accessible. No, you cannot leave icicle lights on year-round, not even if your roof has real icicles in July!
Wrap your lights so they don't tangle, and secure with zip ties. You can also use this handy Holiday Light Storage Box for multiple strands, as well as garland.

Giving your decorations some TLC will ensure they are protected for future use. Now that you've learned these techniques, you are going to want to try this again next year!!

Avoid air lights at all costs!

A phenomenon can happen when you reach your 'destination' for the end of the lights (let's say, the end of the gutter), before you've exhausted the row of bulbs, and instead of starting a new string on the garage doors below, you decide to take what's left of your string and create an intermediate line of lights, supported by nothing. This phenomenon is known as air lights, and it happens to the best of us. Measuring your area and planning your route is the best way to avoid this. Make sure you know how much slack you have for the shorter areas, and design a path for the lights that will follow a structured trajectory. THIS is the mark of a capable lighting expert.

Don't Over-inflate!

Something to consider if you choose to adorn your lawn with those charming oversized inflatable ornaments - while the magic will come alive at night, once that motor is off Santa and his elfin pit crew will be flat as pancakes. So if you don't want your lawn to look like a giant Twister board, please! Have some self-control!

They are a great way to liven up the yard though:

Yard Inflatables

Net lighting - use with caution!

Net lighting can go from fast and easy to quick and dirty in less time than it takes to toss those nets over the bushes. Avoid looking like you hung your lights on the way back from the mailbox by making sure you have the correct length of netting. The netting should drape as far to the ground as the shrubs do - stretch the lights gently and secure a few to the branches to ensure they don't creep up.

Decoratus Vomiticus - Don't Let This Happen To You!

If you are going to use things like motion lights, flickering figurines, and brightly lit signs spelling out words of good tidings and cheer, make sure you act responsibly. This is not to say don't be your joyful and illustrative self. There is a wide line between festive and cluttered, and not every square inch of house and lawn HAVE to be adorned. A simple rule of thumb to avoid this - make sure you can walk comfortably around all your lawn ornaments, and that you can clearly see where your windows are.

I hope you've enjoyed this page, and that it makes this season's exterior illumination project a little easier to tackle.

Decorating your home is a fun and expressive way to enhance your home and bring joy to others.

Happy Illuminating!!!