There aren’t many ways to be outwardly creative these days. During the Christmas and holiday season communities put up Christmas lights outside and people decorate their yards and houses to celebrate the season. Some people put up just enough Christmas lights to light up the entryway to their house for a Christmas Party, while other try to make their house visible from space. Whatever the Christmas light effect you are going for there are some basic decorating tips and principles each decorator should consider before hanging up Christmas lights outside.

A Quick List of Different Christmas Lights

There are several types of Christmas lights to consider before placing them in your yard or on your house. Each light will have a unique effect depending on where you place your lights on your property. Experiment with your lights and remember if you don’t like the effect you can always move them to a new location or change it next year. Christmas lights have a long shelf life especially if you properly store your Christmas lights.

• C9 Christmas Lights (Mainly Incandescent or LED)
• C7 Christmas Lights (Mainly Incandescent or LED)
• C6 Christmas Lights (Incandescent or Mainly LED) (Strawberry Lights)
• C5 Christmas Lights (Incandescent or Mainly LED) (Strawberry Lights)
• Mini Christmas Lights (Incandescent)
• Mini Christmas Lights (LED) (Wide Angle or Concave, C3, and M5)
• Icicle Lights (Incandescent and LED) (Professional, Premium, and Standard)
• Diogen Strings (LED) (Customizable)
• Net Lights (Mini) (Incandescent and LED)
• Micro Rice Christmas Lights (Incandescent and LED)
• Globe Lights (Incandescent and LED) (G23, G25, G30, G40, and G50)
• Rope Lights (Incandescent and LED) (Vary in Longer Lengths and Customizable)

Most of these lights will be offered with white, green, or brown wires. These lights can be purchased at your local retail store like Home Depot, Meijer, Linens ‘N Things, and Walgreens. For other specialty lights you may need to go to an on-line source like Christmas Central specializing in Christmas lights.

Important Note: Always have additional lights of the same type of light. Alike strands tend from the same manufacturer work better together and reduce the risk of personal and property damage. Always follow manufacturer recommendations for the number of light strands you can connect. Also, it is cheaper to buy additional strands of lights to use as replacement bulbs instead of buying replacement bulbs individually.

Using Hooks and Light Fixtures for Hanging Christmas Lights Outdoors

There are several variations of hooks to use for hanging your Christmas lights. If hanging Christmas lights is your hobby then you may want to consider installing permanent hooks on your house to reduce the amount of time it takes to hang your Christmas lights. There are also plenty of temporary hooks to use for all the different types of Christmas lights and locations.

Important Note: If there is a temporary hook that you really like, buy plenty of them while they are in stock. Hook designs change often and finding the same hook again may be a challenge.

Consistency versus Variety for Hanging Christmas Lights Outdoors

Once you’ve decided on the types of lights you would like to use the next item to consider is the type of Christmas look you want your Christmas display to present. For those who don’t want to hang that many lights there are two options to consider, both relating to consistency. Either decorate in all white light or decorate in all multicolor light. Using the same color/type of Christmas lights will give the viewer one object to focus on making the arrangement of Christmas lights seems larger and brighter than they really are.

The other way to decorate is using a variety of lights and colors. Most large Christmas light displays will take this approach. However, using this approach, if not done correctly, will make your Christmas light display tacky or cause all of your light colors to blend into something that doesn’t look good. So, when using a variety of colors make sure you separate the Christmas light colors into groups that are either the same or complement each other. For example, if decorating a tree either make the tree all one color or if using different colors in one light display make sure those colors are visually well defined by either using a lot of the same color or making the lines of the lights look as straight as possible.

Be Creative in Creating Christmas Lights Effects and Displays

Creating Christmas objects/effects is part of the fun when putting up Christmas lights outside. Some people will create a manger scene or some will just put up lit inflatable Christmas objects in their yard. Others who like to be more creative will use their lights to create objects such as trees into Poinsettias/winter flowers, floating Christmas trees, fences of light, candy cane chimneys, trees of light, and roofs that look like ginger bread houses.

The point to decorating for Christmas and the holiday season is to have fun. If you can be creative while doing so makes the experience even more special. Whether your display is a large or small scale you and the people viewing it will still enjoy it no matter the effect.

Do you have any tips or tricks decorating for Christmas and the holiday season? Please share, our readers will enjoy your comments!