Tips and Tricks for Great Looking Outdoor Christmas Lights

Since Christmas lights can get pretty expensive, it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing the same design and following the same pattern year after year. However, if you don’t want to break the bank for Christmas lights, there are still tons of ways you can improve your decorations. Here are just a few tips and ideas that will help you make your outdoor Christmas lights look exception this year!

Plan Design

Before you get all tangled in Christmas lights and perch precariously on the ladder, take some time to plan out your Christmas lights design. Plan where you want certain bulbs and colors to go so that you can spend as little time out in the freezing cold putting them up as possible.

Symmetrical

While this isn’t a necessity, symmetrical Christmas lights are both sophisticated and classy. They give your home a nice, polished look and really help tie everything together.

Focal Point

If you can, choose a focal point either on your house or in the yard that you can use to attract everyone’s attention. It can be a large lighted wreath about the garage or even a tree in the yard.

Combine

There’s no need to just have your home decorated with lights. Combine the Christmas lights with other decorations like garlands, wreaths, and furniture. This will give your home a great look in both daylight and nighttime hours.

Rails

If your home has a nice front deck or even an abundance of handrails around the stairs, then decorate them with Christmas lights! It will help your visitors see when entering and leaving your house and also adds a cheery feel to the air!

Paths & Driveway

Anywhere that people will be walking or driving is a great place to add Christmas lights. It helps them stay on the path but also makes your home look crisp and well organized.

Avoid Overload

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as Christmas light overload and you definitely should NOT be a victim of it. Keep your lights bright but not blinding. If you have difficulty staring at them, then that’s probably a sign that you’re overloaded.

Colored Lights

Lots of people prefer simple white Christmas lights, and that’s totally fine, but don’t ignore the option of colored lights. They’re especially useful when decorating things like trees, bushes, and shrubs because the color of the lights can match the object’s natural colors (like brown or green).

Timer

If you plan to be away from home a lot or travel but still want your home to look great, then consider investing some money into a timing system. You can use it to either manage your lights when you’re gone or to make your lights blink and flicker to famous Christmas songs!