Outdoor Christmas Lights

During the holiday season, there is nothing more festive and beautiful than outdoor Christmas lights. Some families go all out, creating magnificent scenery for everyone to enjoy. While we all love the brightness and color of outdoor Christmas lights, few people are overly excited about the work that goes into hanging them. Therefore, we wanted to provide you with an easier solution so you can hang lights easily and safety.  In fact, you can have your lights hung in two to three hours, compared to a full day of struggling.

First, you will need a few materials to hang your outdoor Christmas lights such as the strings of lights, light clips made specifically for shingles and gutters, nail-on wire clips, and heavy-duty, UL damp or wet approved extension cords. Then, you will also need a tape measure, ladder, hammer, and long-nose pliers. Whether you choose miniature or standard lights, we suggest you look for lights that have a male plug on one end and a female connection on the other end so you can route the lights easier. In addition, if you buy miniature lights, we recommend you work with several 50-foot strands instead of one or two 100 to 150-foot strands.

To hang your outdoor Christmas lights, start by finding the electrical receptacle for all the lights. Then, run the extension cord from a 120-volt outlet with a GFCI. You now want to measure the length of the home with your tape measure, going along the ground. In addition, the height of the house and any trees/bushes that you want to light should be measured. Determined the number of 50-food strands of lights needed based on your figures. Prior to doing anything, plug the lights in to make sure they all work and then visually inspect the strands to make sure there is nothing damaged or frayed. When done, unplug the lights.

To get started with the actual hanging of the outdoor Christmas lights, set your ladder in place, starting on the front of the house but around the corner by about a foot, if the outlet allows. Otherwise, you would begin where you can plug the extension cord and lights together.

You now want to hang the outdoor Christmas lights going along the eaves. For lights that need to be attached along the roof or gutter, use the plastic clips, which are designed to grip firmly. You also want to have the lower hook to hold the strand of lights and/or extension cord. For hanging the outdoor Christmas lights around the door or window trim, use tube light clips or you could go with nail-on plastic clips, spacing them about every 12 inches. By using these clips, which are found at home improvement and hardware stores, you will discover that hanging your outdoor Christmas lights has never been easier.