Exterior Holiday Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating the outside of your home for the holidays is always an adventurous challenge. If you’ve ever been through anything like the Griswold’s Christmas disaster, you know how difficult it can be. Covering your home with holiday spirit should be fun and easy, so we would like to share some tips that we’ve learned over the years to help you this season. Whether you want simple lighting to highlight your home or you want your house to be seen from space, we have you covered. From how many lights to use to preventing damage to your roof or home, holiday decorating will be a breeze this year if you follow these useful exterior holiday decorating tips!

1. Plan Ahead

The number one rule to exterior holiday decorating is to plan it out. This is not something you want to just wing and hope for the best. To ensure that your home stands out on the block, sit down and think about what you want to do before you start throwing up lights. This will limit the time and damage you waste on changing anything that doesn’t turn out like you hoped. A good place to start your planning is by choosing a focal point, such as the door.

Next, measure your surfaces. Try to get a good estimate of how many lights you will need and what you will need to hang them with. A good rule of thumb when it comes to your yard, according to HGTV, is 100 lights for every 1 to ½ foot of tree or shrub you want to cover.

2. Choose a Light Strategy

There are a variety of lights that you can use for home decoration, so this needs to be an early step in your plan. You need to decide if you want to use white or color – and, if color, which colors to use. Then decide what type of light you want to use (LED, classic, rope lighting, icicle, etc.).

A few tips to follow when deciding on lights are:

  • LED lights will save you money on electric.
  • Net lights are great for bushes and shrubs.
  • Rope lights are very safe for outdoors.
  • Don’t forget that certain lights need specific hangers.
  • Light clips are an easy way to secure lights to almost any surface.
  • ALWAYS TEST YOUR LIGHTS BEFORE HANGING THEM! (Even if they’re new)

3. Clean Your Roof & Home Exterior FIRST

After hours planning light displays and climbing around on ladders, the last thing you want is for all your hard work to highlight the work that hasn’t been done. Before you light up your home, make sure it will really sparkle and shine! Hire a roof cleaning company to clear away any mold, mildew, or grime on your roof, walls, or pavers. To keep your home health and clean, hire a company that uses gentle, soft-wash cleaning methods to ensure no damage is done.

4. Remember: Safety First!

When decorating the exterior of your home, it’s easy for things to go wrong. Be sure you and your family are safe this year by following these basic suggestions:

  • Use UL approved extension cords that are specific to outdoor use. You also want to double check that any lights you put outside are for outdoor use.
  • Be sure that none of your lights or cords are damaged, frayed, or missing bulbs. This echoes our point above to test & check your lights before you hang them. The last thing you want is a fire!
  • Do not connect too many strands to each other. This can cause shorting and is a fire hazard.
  • Be careful when mounting and hanging lights. We recommend you always have someone else with you just in case.

If you follow these exterior holiday decorating tips, you’re sure to have a successful holiday and be the envy of all of your neighbors! Don’t forget to take your lights down at the end of the season. Leaving your lights up well after season can cause unnecessary damage to the wires, bulbs, and cords. This can also lead to fading in color, which could lead to buying new lights next year! We hope these tips help your home stand out this holiday season and bring your family lots of joy.