Holiday Lighting Tips

When planning your light display, take a good look at the outside of your home. No matter where you live, there are probably plenty of features you can accent with lights. Framing the doors and windows with lights is a traditional approach that works well for any structure. If you have an apartment with a balcony, you can twist lights through the railing.

Don’t feel limited to placing lights only on your building. Decorate trees, shrubs, fences and even your mailbox with lights. Plus, you can add lit figures, like reindeers or snowmen, to your yard. Globes of lights can be hung from tree branches or along the edges of your porch and balcony.

As you work on your holiday light design, consider how you’ll access the places you want to install lights. Using a ladder can be a challenge. If you have mobility issues or aren’t comfortable with heights, you might want to rethink your roofline displays. By decorating ground-level features, like trees, shrubs and fences, you might not need a ladder to get the effect you want.

Make a list of everything you want to decorate. You’ll need to buy enough lights to do the job right. If your holiday lighting dreams are bigger than your budget, focus on a few features. You can build onto your display each year.

If you’re outlining portions of your house, measure the length of space you’ll be covering. Factor in any extra length needed to reach electrical outlets.

To string lights on outdoor trees, plan on using the following:

• 100 mini lights or 25 mini bulbs (C3, C5, C6, C7 or C9) for a 4-foot tree
• 200 mini or 50 C-sized for a 6-foot tree
• 300 mini or 100 C-sized for an 8-foot tree

Tip: If you’d like more light saturation, double the strings on top of each other and stagger the bulbs.

Now that you know how many lights you need, it’s time to get creative and select the type you want to use. Be sure the lights you select are intended for outdoor use. Don’t decorate outside with indoor-only lights

LED lights are the most widely used outdoor lighting option. They consume up to 50 percent less energy and can cut your electric bill in half. LEDs can last up to 25 times longer than traditional bulbs. They also generate significantly less heat than traditional bulbs, posing a much lower fire risk.

LED technology has improved vastly over the last few years. You can now purchase these energy-saving bulbs in different shades of white, which let you match your old bulbs.

For a warm, golden-hued light reminiscent of candlelight or more traditional bulbs, use
warm white LED bulbs.
Cool white LEDs produce a white light similar to that of a fluorescent lantern. They're said to have a blue tint.

Both LEDs and traditional bulbs are available in a variety of colors. Some LED bulbs have dome tops with either flat heads or softly rounded heads. Others are molded into the traditional teardrop shape.

Whether you prefer all-white or a rainbow of colors, LED or traditional, mini or C-sized lights, there are limitless decorating options. Decorate with light sets that blink in a synchronized pattern. Or invest in icicles that look like they’re melting as they blink in a drip-down pattern. “Chasing” lights blink in a row and dart quickly through the string.

Whether you’re using new lights or old ones, plug them in to see if they work before you hang them. It’s much easier to troubleshoot an unlit strand from the ground than while you’re on a ladder. Pay attention to the number of strands that can be linked together. Putting too many strings of lights together can increase the risk of fire.

When it's time to hang the lights, don't use a staple gun. Use light tab clips to line your house. Adhesive clips can be attached to surfaces like window and door frames.

For the edges of the house, light clips are designed to hang from your gutters or slide between the roof and shingles. This method is easier and safer. Simply insert a light bulb into a tab and then attach to your gutter.

If you’re going to be using a ladder, follow the manufacturer’s instructions and safety guidelines.

Keep an eye on the weather as you get ready to put up your lights. Don’t hang holiday lights when it’s rainy or snowy.

Not big on stringing lights? If you prefer to decorate using outdoor signs or blow-up decorations, set up spotlights
to draw attention to your work well after sundown. Spotlights come in a variety of colors. You can even attach a kaleidoscope to turn the entire front of your house into a canvas.

Looking for lots of impact with minimal effort? Try a Christmas light projector to display different holiday messages onto your house.

Once your lights are up, spend some time looking at them. View them from a few different angles. Review your display thoroughly before you take them down. If you see things you’d like to change, make notes so you can adjust or add to your holiday light display next year.

You may want to think about these questions:

• Where could you add more lights?
• Have you used the right types of lights in each place?
• Would you like to change the colors or styles of any of the lights?