Outdoor Christmas Lighting Tips

Use Caution when Hanging Exterior Lights

Make sure you use a stable ladder and secure light holders when hanging lights outside. Make sure no lights on trees come in contact with power lines and that you turn them off anytime before bed or when you are not home. Plug all your lights in to check that they work and then hang with them unplugged.

Use the Proper Outlet

Safety First! GFCI outlets is where your source of power should come from. This type of outlet will shut the circuit down if there is over current to make sure your lights only shine, and not shoot sparks! If you don’t have a GFCI outlet, Handyman Connection can provide a licensed electrician to install one for you.

Keep Extension Cords Tucked out of the Way

Keep connections above snow, ground and water while also avoiding high traffic areas. Tape cords across walkways and try to use the correct length of cords.

Choose water proof lights

Always look for the tag marked “UL” so you know the lights meet the national industry standard. Never use indoor lights for outdoors.

Which Bulbs?

Use C7 or C9 bulbs for the more traditional Christmas look. You can buy as little as 25 to as big as 100 bulb strands at most home or convenient stores. If you buy the 100 strand bulbs, do not connect them together. If on bulb fails, it will create the whole strand to fail. A great way to prevent this is to buy light strands with inner fuses.

Miniature Bulbs – Positive or Negative?

Mini bulbs cost less as well as draw less power then the classic string. These run in series so that if one bulb fails, the whole series can be lost. The positive is that the if you quickly replace the bulb, the others will remain lit. BUT the voltage increases which reduces lifetime. You get what you pay for with mini bulbs so pay for quality lights.

Landscape Net Lighting

Net lighting is perfect for shrubs and bushes. They are a mesh of mini LED lights interconnected together that you can drape over top instead of connecting and stringing!

Animated Lighting

Nativity scenes, reindeers or angels are great displays used with animated lighting. These are made from wired fames that surround mini lights in different color patterns or variations.

Shimmer Spheres

These are made up of many lights in different sizes and are shapes like snowballs, stars or striped formations. Your house will be shining for the whole block to see!