It’s nearly Christmas, which means many of us will now be planning out how we’re going to decorate the house. Christmas decorations are seen by many as one of the highlights of the season, and it’s not hard to see why; a fun, simple way to bring festivity and cheer to your home, there are hundreds of decorations to choose from. However, with their colourful designs and near-unrivalled appeal, it’s little wonder that the most popular Christmas decorations are outdoor lights.

Whether you’re hanging your Christmas lights up on your own or as part of an activity with family or friends, it is important that these lights are installed correctly to ensure that they remain reliable and secure for the duration of the Christmas season.

To help ensure this is the case we’ve put together this handy step-by-step guide to walk you through the process of creating your own outdoor winter wonderland this season.

There are several preparations you must make before starting to hang your outdoor lights. These are to make the process easier - and safer - for everyone taking part:

Measure Everything

It’s important to use a tape measure to take stock of the general size of the area you are planning on lighting up. To determine where you’ll position your lights and make sure you have enough lights to have the desired effect.

If you have a light kit – that is, a set of lights that create a certain pattern or image - you’ll want to ensure you have enough space to accommodate it.

If you intend on using mains-powered lights, you will want to determine the length of your lead cable as well as the proximity to the closest power source.

Gather Your Decorations

Be sure that you have every decoration you intend on hanging up before you begin, as this will save you time and hassle.

Having everything together from the start ensures you will be able to measure and space everything more efficiently with minimal impact on the end results.

This will also give you the opportunity to check that all lights are compatible. Lights that are hung externally must be suitable for use outside.

Extension Leads

On larger homes especially, you may find yourself in need of an extension lead to help connect light arrangements to your mains electricity supply.

You will need a specialised extension lead that is able to withstand exterior conditions.

You may also benefit from an exterior socket that connects directly to your mains supply. These are more commonly built into newer builds, but can be easily installed on all homes, especially with the help of a qualified electrician.

Testing Your Lights

Testing your lights is an important step in ensuring that they are suitable for use before actually hanging them up.

This saves you time but is also much safer and prevents you from having to spend unnecessary time at a potentially dangerous height.

If you locate faulty cables, it is recommended that you discard the entire string of lights to be on the safe side and avoid hazards such as electrical shocks and fires.

We’ve taken the most common areas in which you tend to hang exterior Christmas lights and created miniature guides for each. From our research, the most popular areas are brick walls, gutters, trees/bushes, and windows/doors, so if you have lights for any of these spaces, read on to find out how to hang them properly.

How to Hang Christmas Lights on Your Brick Walls

1. Use a drill to create holes in your mortar. Avoid drilling into the bricks.
2. Begin with a guidance hole, then drill the full length of the screw.
3. Insert your wall plug before tapping it into place with a rubber mallet.
4. Insert a wall hook and use pliers to tighten it if necessary.
5. Hang your lights.

How to Hang Christmas Lights on Your Gutters

1. Plug in your lights. Do not switch them on.
2. Collect your gutter hooks. Hang them about 50cm apart.
3. Thread the bulbs through your gutter hooks as you go.
4. Repeat this process until your lights are applied.

How to Hang Christmas Lights From Your Trees and Bushes

1. Plug in your lights. Don’t switch them on.
2. Wrap them around your tree or bush using the branches as leverage.
3. Test the lights now they are applied to see if you are happy with the results. 

How to Hang Christmas Lights From Your Doors and Windows?

1. Wipe down your surfaces.
2. Fasten a command clip to the bottom of the first lighting string and position them 50cm apart or 30cm if you are hanging heavier lights.
3. Peel off the adhesive backing and carefully attach the clips to your chosen surface.

Of course, just as important as putting up lights is tasking them down, and while we don’t want to spoil the festive mood by covering this subject in the same article, it’s better to know how to take down your lights beforehand so the process can be carried out swiftly and efficiently come to the end of the Christmas season.

Again, we will be covering each of the areas mentioned above. Most are fairly straightforward – in fact, they are pretty much the reverse of what you’ve already done, with only a couple of extra tools required.

How to Take Down Christmas Lights From Your Brick Walls

1. Remove the wall hook and use pliers to loosen it if necessary.
2. Carefully remove lights and feed them down to your helper below.

How to Take Down Christmas Lights From Your Gutters

1. Slide off the hooks
2. Remove the lights, taking care not to reach out too far from your ladder.

How to Take Down Christmas Lights From Your Trees and Bushes

1. Unplug the lights.
2. Gently untangle the lights from the branches, gathering them up as you go.

How to Take Down Christmas Lights From Your Doors and Windows?

1. Peel off all adhesive backing.
2. Remove the lights from your windows and doors.

Hanging Christmas lights from your home is an exciting and fun-filled experience for the whole family, or at the very least a straightforward task for whoever volunteers to do it!

Whether you’re looking for a way to build up the kid’s excitement for Christmas or even show off to the neighbours, we hope our guide has given you a clearer idea of what needs to be done when hanging up your Christmas lights!

Enjoy the holidays and season’s greetings from us here at DIY Megastore!

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