Installing Exterior Christmas Lights

Installing exterior Christmas lights can be a daunting task for anyone. After all, we have all heard those anecdotal stories about when people are hanging their Christmas lights on the outside of their home they get hurt, have some kind of problems, or—well, basically everything under the winter sun. After all, this has become a necessary plot element for just about every modern Christmas movie (i.e., Christmas Vacation).

It just doesn't begin to feel like Christmas until you begin to see those twinkling little bulbs everywhere you look, does it? Instead of either waiting till the last minute to install your exterior Christmas lights, which can exponentially increase the danger, or paying someone else to do your chores for you, why not do it yourself? It's simple and easy, as long as you know what to do. Just use these guidelines and you are going to have no problem installing your exterior Christmas lights.

• Safety. The very first thing that you need to keep in mind when doing any type of exterior decorating is safety. As you prepare to install your lights your goal should be to not get hurt in any way. To ensure that, do not do any climbing on any type of ladder if it is slippery, snowy, or icy outside. Anytime that you do climb a ladder, make sure you have someone hold it for you.
• Location. The main idea behind decorating with lights is to highlight points of interest. Look at the edges, frame and windows of the house—basically the straight edges. When you use lights to decorate trees or shrubs, use the natural shapes and refrain from using any straight lines.
• Mounting. Refrain from using anything that could actually puncture the light cables. The best possible things to use for mounting lights are wire and zip ties. Use wire (such as floral or landscaping wiring) to attach the cables to the home, and zip ties for attaching the cables to shrubs and trees. Make sure you keep things nice and tight.
• Style. There are several different styles of lights you can use. The style you choose depends on your personal taste. Possible styles include LED lights, timed flashing lights, lights that are in special or unique shapes, and of course the traditional light bulb. All of the different styles of lights can come in a variety of colors or even be all the same color. Personally, I would suggest that you use icicle-shaped lights for the house and traditional bulb or LED lights for trees and shrubs.
• Type. Finally, you need to make sure you have the correct type of lights. What this means is that you use exterior lights to decorate outside since they are actually designed to withstand the elements.