Christmas Outdoor Lighting Guide

It’s that time of year again. Christmas music is playing on the radio, and the kids are asking when you can cut down the tree. It can be a little dark and dreary as the days get shorter, but you can liven up the neighborhood with holiday cheer by putting up your Christmas lights. We have a Christmas outdoor lighting guide that can give you some ideas on how to make this holiday season even more magical.

Let’s see what kind of Christmas decorator you are.

Decorator Types

The Kranks

We get it. It isn’t always easy to be full of Christmas cheer around the holidays. You want to celebrate but can’t seem to find the time. Pick up a bundle of classic Christmas lights and outline your front door or put light stakes in your front yard for some pathway lights. You can switch out those old white lights for multi-colored ones to change things up or put up a star shower to project lights onto your home and just flip the switch to save yourself a “Bah Humbug.”

Holiday Cheermeister

It’s always fun to decorate your home for the holidays. Maybe you don’t want to turn your home into a winter wonderland, but adding some lights to your home would be a nice touch.

Grab some multi-colored lights for the front of your house, and maybe even pick up some icicle lights for your porch or patio or mount an outdoor Christmas tree light in your front yard to brighten the whole block.

Make sure you buy extra light clips to hold up those long strands of Christmas lights. Christmas light hanging poles are really helpful for tough to reach places. For rooftop decorating, choose reliable, adaptable ladders from brands like Little Giant to make your home shine this holiday season. It’s safer to use a ladder than climb on top of the roof, but that is also an option. If you haven’t decorated your roof before, make sure you have a safety harness and other necessary safety equipment like slip resistant shoes, or ask for help from professionals.

The Griswolds

If you decorate for Christmas like it’s your full-time job, you’ve earned the title of Clark Griswold. Turn your front yard into Santa’s workshop with Christmas inflatables, candy cane pathway lights, or some lighted reindeer.

For your average house, you will need about 500 lights. Getting a variety of lights at different lengths and sizes can help you cover more of your home. C3 light bulbs are your typical outdoor Christmas light size, about a ½ inch in diameter and 1 inch tall, and C9 bulbs are on the larger side at 1 ¼ in diameter and 2 ½ inches tall and shine much brighter than other bulbs.

Christmas light strands can range from 14 feet (50 ct.) to 32 feet (100 ct.) to best fit your home’s size. A 14-foot strand can outline your door, a 32-foot strand can outline your garage door, and you’ll want some more to cover your gutter, windows, roof, or trees around your house. Smaller homes can be well decorated with 300 or 400 lights, so you’ll need anywhere from 3 to 10 strands, depending on the surface area you’re trying to cover.

If you’re a white Christmas light fan, you can cover your whole home in them to look uniform, or you can add extra colors to your trees or other parts of your yard for a little extra holiday cheer.

Don’t forget to pick up an automatic light timer so your lights turn on at night and turn off before sunrise. These are just some ideas to help you bring Christmas cheer to your neighborhood.

There’s something for everybody this holiday season. You can find lights and other Christmas decorations at your local Fleet Farm, or at FleetFarm.com. It’s a one stop shop for all your holiday needs. We hope you enjoy the holiday season and wish you a merry Christmas!