You must be a Christmas decorating and lighting enthusiast, right? How do we know that? Because you’re here -- reading about decorating and lighting your house for Christmas. If you’ve never decorated your house in a real amped-up way, you’ve come to the right place.

At Christmas Designers, we can help you achieve your wants and desires for a beautiful, festive Christmas display by providing all of the lights, displays, and accessories you’ll need. Before you get started, you should prepare yourself for how to achieve the look you want.

Christmas lights

 

  • Budget: First, you need to set a budget for how much you are willing and able to spend on your display. Want to do more than your budget allows? Then plan for a multi-phase approach, spread out over a few years. Thanks to LED Christmas lights, your Christmas décor and lights will last a lot longer. Once your budget is set, you’re ready to get into the fun part…..planning.
  • Planning: Design, on paper, how you would like your house to look. Are you going to go full-on like Clark Griswold on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, or something a bit more modest? Decide If it’s going to be just lights or lighted decorations and dimensional displays as well.
  • Supply list: Determine what additional supplies you may need like extension cords, clips, timers, and storage needs.
  • Buy supplies and lights early: Don’t wait for the Christmas season to be upon you before making your purchases or you may miss out on some of the items you want. This could also help you spread your budget spending out by purchasing a few things each month. Also, buying early allows you to take advantage of off-season discounts.
  • DIY or Pro: Determine if you want to do the decorating yourself or hire an experienced professional to take care of it for you. The nice thing about this choice is you can change it mid-stream and call a professional to help you get the look you desire.

WHAT ARE LEDs?
According to Energystar.gov, LEDs use diodes that emit light, which passes an electrical current through a microchip to light the LED bulb. Incandescent lights use a filament to produce light. This means that LEDs don't burn out like incandescent lights, and they won't get hot either -- making them safer to use. LEDs not only last significantly longer but are also brighter.

LED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS vs INCANDESCENT
Most people these days are decorating with LED Christmas lights rather than old-fashioned incandescent light sets and bulbs. That’s because they are visually more appealing and come with several other key advantages. 15 years ago, the early generation of LED Christmas lights left a lot to be desired. They emitted a terrible blue hue and the overall illumination intensity was not very appealing and the cost was outrageous. But thanks to advances in technology and the high demand for LEDs, significant improvements have been made. In fact, LEDs have now surpassed traditional bulbs in virtually every category.

ADVANTAGES OF LED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Nowadays, nearly every commercial holiday lighting project is done with LED light sets and bulbs. Over the past 5 years, more and more residential homeowners have begun to make the switch to LEDs. As prices have dropped and quality has improved, the switchover has been a great benefit to the average Christmas enthusiast. Here are some of the top advantages of LED lights

  • Colors are more vibrant and not prone to fading
  • Overall brightness (lumen output) is better
  • Up to 90% less energy consumption
  • Cool to the touch
  • Withstanding the elements, even in the harshest winter conditions
  • Ability to connect more light sets together (up to 10 times more sets together)
  • Significantly more bulb design options available

OTHER TYPES OF DECORATIONS
LED Christmas lights aren’t your only option when decorating your home, there are a variety of illuminated decorations and displays that can be used as well. Consider using lighted wreaths, garland, sprays, ornaments, and dimensional displays to give your house and yard that extra special touch.

Christmas Designers can provide beautiful outdoor decorations like Christmas wreaths that come in a wide variety of sizes and are fully lit and decorated as well. The same goes for the garland and sprays, and you can choose styles made with fabricated materials that precisely resemble natural pine and fir trees.

Ornaments are also a great decorating option. These range in sizes from 1.5” all the way up to 50”, in turn giving your home display a magical touch. Dimensional displays come in a variety of options including oversized presents, arches, animals, ornaments, snowflakes and so much more.

TIPS FOR DECORATING YOUR HOME
Follow these tips when installing your home display lighting:

  • Use a ladder and equipment that’s in good condition.
  • Secure lights with proper light hanging hardware.
  • Use pro-quality lights and materials. 10% additional cost will result in a light set that lasts twice as long.
  • Test the lights: check and test your lights before you begin installing.
  • Spend time on YouTube and Christmas blogs learning as much as possible about installation techniques and how to get the most out of your holiday display.

Now that you are armed with the tools to decorate your home for Christmas, you can decide how you want to decorate your home for all the other holidays!