The holiday decorating season is here (in fact, for some people, the holiday decorating season began with Halloween). It’s time to get ready for brightening up your landscape with some fun holiday lighting!
Whether you want to merely spruce it up or you’re looking to outdo Clark Griswold from Christmas Vacation, we’ve got plenty of ideas on how to prepare before you transform your landscape into a holiday wonderland.
Design Your Holiday Lighting Dream Display
An often overlooked aspect of holiday light shows is the design. Even if you are only making a small display, it helps to plan ahead.
Do you want lights around your windows? What about your roof? What about other display items such as inflatable novelty characters? Some folks even go as far as incorporating sound into their presentation.
Once you know what you’re displaying, you can proceed.
Measure Twice, Cut Buy Once
Measuring the areas you are displaying lights in will help you determine how many lights you need, how many outlets you need, and the best way to hang them.
This will help you design a more aesthetically-pleasing display and save you trips back to the store. Just like any DIY project, save yourself aggravation and do the proper prep work!
Go Big or Go Home?
Is bigger really better? It all depends on how much you plan on dazzling your neighbors (and how much you’re willing to pay the electric company—more on that next). Here is a handy guide to the different levels of light displays. The website Christmas Lights Etc. has three levels of lighting:
- “Light” Usage: A few strings of lights on your home. You may light up shrubbery or trees.
- “Heavy” Usage: This involves adding lights to your home, driveway, and shrubbery. You’ll have displays which could be anything from an inflatable snowman to a manger display.
- “Enthusiastic” Usage: What isn’t lit up at your home? Your goal is to create a winter wonderland that has people driving in from all over town to check it out.
The Dreaded Electric Bill
Another concern is just how much it will cost to light up your display. This is another reason why planning is important. Before you buy your lights, you’ll want to pick between incandescent lights and LED lights.
If you’re a traditionalist, you may want to stick with incandescent lights… but be prepared to literally pay the price for your old-school approach to things.
LED lights are more durable, more energy-efficient, and cost a fraction of what you’ll pay for incandescent lights. If you’re building a heavy or enthusiastic level display, you’ll want to seriously consider LED lights. Your wallet might thank you.
As a rule, don’t mix incandescent lights and LED lights because this can affect your display, damage the lights, and even present a safety hazard.
No-Hassle Installation
Check all your lights, holiday displays, and cords before beginning your project. This allows you to avoid having to restring lights if you discover lights are not functioning or a cord is not functioning.
The days of having to break out the ladder for hanging all of your lights is largely over. While you’ll likely have to climb a ladder to hang lights on your roof, much of your other lighting can be done with plastic fasteners.
Many times, you can use a special hook to attach them to your gutters without having to climb up the ladder.
Preparation will save you time, money, and stress. The holidays can be stressful enough without subjecting yourself to unnecessary hassles to light up your landscape.
In Summary…
Holiday light shows can be a fun way for Mainer’s to show off their landscape while we’re getting into those cold, snowy months. Although Davis does not specifically offer a holiday lighting service, we do offer general landscape lighting services, which can absolutely compliment your DIY holiday lighting plans.
Contact us for more information about using softscape and hardscape features to add functionality, form, and value to your property. Davis Landscape is family owned and operated for over 45 years, spanning two generations.