Putting up outdoor Christmas lights is easier with expert tips for beauty and safety

Dec 27, 2023

Hanging Christmas lights outside can be one of the holiday's greatest challenges.

The pressure to get them just right is great. For this is a Christmas display that must not only please the homeowner and other occupants of the house, it also will be scrutinized by neighbors and pleasure-seeking passersby, all hoping to brighten their spirits with the help of such dazzling demonstrations of holiday cheer.

And with this job comes not only the design challenge, but the potential risk of life and limb if the installation requires ladder-climbing for roof line work or tall tree trimming.

"If you work within your ability, that's half the battle," says Dave Pilkington, who designs and supervises holiday light installations as a project manager with R&S Landscaping in Midland Park. Primarily, that means knowing your limits and having the proper tools for safe and effective light hanging.

Pilkington recently ran a holiday lighting workshop at R&S and shared some of his tips. Additional pointers come from other sources, including Richard Johns, whose holiday lighting operation is a seasonal offering of his Plainfield nursery, Terrill Road Country Market.

Both Pilkington and Johns said business improved this year with more homeowners seeking professional installation despite the economy. Many of those clients are working longer hours and would prefer not to use their time putting up lights, Johns said. Others don't want to have to worry about storing lights or decorations and prefer to have a company install and remove them. There's also an emotional component, he said.

"There are people who have been through some tough times and they still hire us to put up lights," he said. "People want to feel different for Christmas. They want to feel better no matter what they’ve been through."

And if feeling better means having someone else put up the lights, a poll of area companies found that the cost can start at $250 to $450 for simple roof line lighting. Elaborate displays including landscape lighting and greenery such as wreaths, garlands and swags can be $2,000 or more, Johns said.

Those waiting until after Thanksgiving to have lights professionally installed also will pay more. Many installers start as early as September and often offer early-bird discounts. Even do-it-yourselfers might hire professional installers for more difficult parts of the job, such as climbing ladders to do roof line or treetop work, Johns said. "Too many people get hurt this time of year putting up Christmas lights. "It's got to be something that you have the ability and the equipment to do."

Outdoor Christmas lighting tips

Here are more tips to safely create an impressive outdoor display that might even save a little cash.

Outdoor power: A covered, GFI-protected outdoor outlet for holiday lighting is a must, Pilkington says. No running cords out of windows or under doors and risking the sort of damage to them that causes fires. The outlet cover will keep moisture away from the electrical source, and a ground fault interrupter (the same type that's often in bathrooms and kitchens) will prevent an unsafe condition by automatically shutting off power to the outlet if it comes in contact with water.

Know your load: Pilkington gave the simple formula to determine the maximum wattage for a particular outlet. Check the number of amps that corresponds to your outlet. Find the amps by checking the breaker box that's usually in the basement. Multiply the number of amps by 120 (the number of volts that run through an outlet). The result is the maximum wattage a circuit can handle. A 15-amp circuit can handle lights totaling 1,800 watts and a 20-amp circuit can handle 2,400 watts. If you live in an older home, be aware that more than one outlet might rely on the same circuit, which explains why the lights go out as a result of an overload when you're running the toaster oven and the vacuum. The circuit breaker cuts off power to the outlet, helping to prevent an electrical fire.

And if you’ve ever wondered how to wind enough lights around a tree trunk and through its limbs when the light package clearly states that no more than three light strings should be connected, the answer is a splitter. Pilkington explains that in this case the string limit has to do with conductivity, not wattage. Too many lights on the connected wires and the light sets are sure to blow a fuse at some point, he said. To get more lights on your tree, a splitter (such as what you find at the end of some extension cords) divides the power so that various light strings can be used up to the wattage limit. Stores also sell specific splitters to help with this and other holiday lighting tasks.

Design tip: Sometimes all it takes is lighting one central tree spectacularly. Pilkington advises simplicity to keep your holiday display stress-free. "Have one really beautiful focal point," he said. "If you have a weeping tree, go heavy with wrapping mini lights on that."

The right stuff: In addition to having a ladder that is tall enough and stable enough to allow high-level work, the pros use a variety of clips that attach to gutters, siding, window frames and other areas to keep the lights upright and evenly spaced. Nails, which can damage exterior trim are usually not the best option. Many of the clips, spacers, light-installing guns and other helpers are sold at Home Depot and Target.

Go green, save green: Many professional holiday light installers are now using LED (light-emitting diode) strings exclusively. While these energy-conserving lights cost more, their wattage-reducing powers are impressive. Consider that the conventional, larger C9 bulb requires about 10 watts of power to operate but an LED bulb of the same size uses only one watt.

Additionally, Pilkington suggests putting all holiday lights on timers. "Instead of plugging them in, forgetting them and falling asleep, you can be sure that the lights are going to stay on for a prescribed amount of time."

Call for help: Ulta Lit Technologies, a Chicago holiday lighting repair company, has toll-free holiday lighting helpline (888-858-2548) through Christmas for questions on installation, safety, troubleshooting when lights don't work and more. The company also makes a tool, the Lightkeeper Pro, for prelit trees and has instructional videos at lightkeeperpro.com.

Brian Gleason, the company's vice president offers this advice: "When you see bulbs burned out, you need to replace them. Four bulbs burned out in 50-light set will cause 65 percent more current to be driven to the remaining bulbs," he said. "Those bulbs will then get brighter and burn out faster." There's also a risk of the remaining bulbs popping as a result of being overpowered, he said.

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