The holidays wouldn’t be the same without twinkling Christmas lights adorning our homes. But for many homeowners, hanging Christmas lights can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially if tackling it alone. Luckily, with the right approach and preparation, you can quickly decorate your home with beautiful Christmas lights this season.
As veterans of holiday lighting services and installations throughout Boynton Beach, FL and nearby areas, Griswold’s Christmas Lights shares their expert tips for effortless Christmas light hanging. With over 20 years of experience under our belts, we know something about efficiently decorating homes for the Christmas season while avoiding headaches and hassles.
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Map Out Your Christmas Light Display Plan in Advance
The first step for frustration-free Christmas light hanging relies more on preparation than physical exertion. Before you haul boxes of sunshine out of storage, map out your lighting display plan. Decide which areas of your home you want to accent with Christmas lights—typically, the roofline, windows, doors, landscaping, columns, and fences make great focal points. Consider mixing large net lights to broadly cover shingles with targeted strings of lights to highlight architectural elements.
You’ll also want to decide if you’re sticking with all-white lights or want to incorporate coloured Christmas lights—factor in how and where electrical outlets can support light strands or if you need extension cords. A complete Christmas light display plan takes the guesswork out of hanging them. And when it comes time to put up all those holiday lights, you’ll work confidently and efficiently.
Invest in Quality Christmas Light Hanging Equipment
Another often-overlooked tip for easy Christmas light hanging relies on using the right equipment. “At Griswold’s Christmas Lights, our Christmas light hanging service uses commercial-grade ladders, lift equipment, and lighting installation tools to expertly and safely decorate Boynton Beach area homes,” says Tim Allen, owner. “Homeowners trying to DIY their outdoor Christmas lights would benefit from borrowing, renting, or purchasing supplies that make reaching high areas effortless and reduce the risk of falls and injuries.”
For homes with a second story, investing in a multi-position ladder or renting a scissor lift or boom lift simplifies hard-to-reach areas like rooflines. Please ensure any equipment used is rated to hold more than your weight to remain stable when shifting lights overhead. You’ll also need to use ropes to secure lights as you work to prevent shorting or weather damage. Consider handy tools like light-hanging pole systems or suction cups to securely smooth surfaces when attaching light clips. The proper Christmas light hanging equipment lays the foundation for an efficient, frustration-free experience.
Enlist Help from Household Members or Friends
Attempting to cover a multi-level home with hundreds of Christmas lights on your own can quickly lead to exhaustion. “We always dispatch teams of two to four trained lighting installers when servicing client homes for the holidays,” says Clark Griswold, founder of Griswold’s Christmas Lights. “Many hands make for light work—that’s true even in Christmas light installation projects.”
If hiring professional Christmas light hanging help is outside your budget, turn decorating your home into a fun family activity. Enlist your spouse, kids, or friends to help hang lights, run extension cords, and test displays. Assign groups specific zones like dormer windows on the second floor or the entry courtyard to prevent clustering in one area. With a few extra sets of hands, you can make quick progress decking out your home with cheerful lights. Play some favourite holiday tunes and enjoy the time bonding with loved ones. You’ll accomplish more together than tackling everything solo.
Check Connections and Test Displays Frequently
Few things are more frustrating during Christmas light installation than discovering strands half-hung on the home are no longer lighting up. Before entirely securing light clips across shingles or along roof edges, take a few minutes to plug in connectors and confirm that the lights are illuminating fully. Check for loose plugs or faulty bulbs as you work. Nothing slows down your lighting progress more than troubleshooting wires you can’t easily reach once they’re fastened in place overhead.
Likewise, intermittently descend from ladders to view your emerging lighting display from the ground level. Look for darkened areas that signal dead bulbs or detached wires. Fixing issues as you go saves rework and climbing up and down repeatedly. Once your light hanging work is done, have a few people circle the home inside and out, looking for lighting gaps, while one person tests sections from the primary outlet. Catching and correcting any display issues immediately means relaxing and enjoying a perfectly-lit home throughout the season.
Carefully Storing Lights Prevents Headaches Next Year
Along with using commercial equipment and enlisting help, Griswold’s top tip for effortless Christmas light hanging relies on storage practices after the holidays. “How you take down and store light sets makes a world of difference in how easily they go back up the following year,” notes Griswold. “Taking care coiling each strand, sorting cords from clips, packing neatly in dated plastic totes can save hours of untangling or replacement costs down the road.”
After the seasonal excitement and work of decorating your home, don’t unravel all your efforts by haphazardly stuffing tangled light balls into cardboard boxes. Set aside time to walk along roof edges or through landscaping beds, disconnecting and coiling attached light strands. Remove any broken clips or damaged cords for replacement before packing away cables. Store lights flat with clips and accessories separate to prevent lines from twisting into knots before the following season. Labelling storage containers by location makes redispersing them simpler during future installations. Proper storage keeps your Christmas light hanging work easy year after year.
Reclaim Your Holiday Joy This Season
With Griswold’s expert tips for Christmas light hanging and a prepared, organized approach, adorning your home in cheerful lights for the holidays no longer needs to be an exercise in frustration. Contact Griswold’s Christmas Lights in Boynton Beach, FL, today at 1-800-XMAS-LITE for a free estimate on the cost of Christmas light installation. Their team brings two decades of experience efficiently installing stunning custom lighting displays on homes across South Florida. For DIYers, follow these pro tips on mapping out plans, using quality equipment, enlisting help, testing frequently, and storing properly to decorate your home this Christmas season quickly.
Regain your holiday spirit and nostalgically view those beautiful lights sparkling from sunset to bedtime. Let Griswold’s Christmas Lights take the hassle out of hanging lights so you can relax and enjoy the magic of Christmas with loved ones. For custom Christmas light installation services, call for an estimate. From our team to your home, have a bright and merry season!
