Garden Decoration: Outdoor Christmas Lights

Garden Decoration

Using outdoor Christmas lights can be a fun and festive way to decorate your home for the holidays. There’s just something about brightly colored lights that add that little extra sparkle and touch of magic, especially when placed outdoors. Hanging outdoor lights can be a chore, but with a little careful planning you can transform your whole garden into a brightly lit showcase.

Before you get started, take into consideration the type of lights you want to use and where they will be placed. Make sure the lights you buy are specifically for outdoor use. You will need to know where all your power outlets are. It is important to measure. This is important to know so you can get the correct amount of lights needed. Don’t forget to include door and window frames and even the corners. This will also help you determine how many lights you will need.

You may wish to consider the types of outdoor christmas lights you want to use. Incandescent or LED? Incandescent Christmas lights are great for outdoor decorating. They are inexpensive and can be purchased and most retailers. They come in a variety of colors and styles. Sizes range from 50 to 300 lights per strand. When using incandescent lighting, you must take care not to overload your power outlet. Do not use more then 500 incandescent lights at one time.

LED lights have increased in popularity because they are more energy efficient compared to incandescent ones. They tend to shine brighter and last longer. You can find them in a variety of colors and designs. Solar LED lights are also available. They are powered by a solar panel and a lithium battery. Natural sunlight allows them to stay brightly lit for about 6-8 hours. Great if you don’t want to use your electricity.

Now that you’ve decided how much lights are needed and where they will be displayed, it’s time to start decorating. To give you smaller trees and shrubs height, try wrapping lights around the branches. A plain wreath can be transformed by the addition of colorful lights. The wreath can then be placed in a window or on your front door. Would you like to give your plain driveway or entrance way some pizzazz?

Add multicolor outdoor Christmas lights to each side. No need to take them down after the holidays, simply replace the colored bulbs with clear ones. Christmas lights look great when wrapped around some simple garland. Place around tree trunks or trellises. A string of lights wrapped around garland and placed around your door frame will add a festive and welcoming touch to your front door. For a fun look, use blinking lights in multicolors. Net lights and icicle lights look great when placed on the top front of your home. The can also be place around all your window frames.

Mike McKinally is a keen blogger and writes often about decorating your home with non-traditional appliances.