We shed light on the best ways to stay on budget while decorating this holiday season
Take measurements to determine the number of lights you’ll need.
Buy lights right after Christmas to get 70-90% off.
Cable ties, removable hooks, and gutter hangers make installation easier.
Holiday decorations are one of the best parts of Christmas celebrations, but the expense of buying them and the hassle of getting them hung can feel like a chore. Luckily, there are ways to save time and money (like knowing when is the best time to buy Christmas lights) so that you can focus on the festivities instead of your to-do list. Whether you choose to do your own lights or hire a local professional, here’s what you need to know to get your tree trimmed and your lights twinkling.
The best way to save money on Christmas lights is to know exactly how many of every type of light you need, where you plan to put everything, and how you plan to hang or attach the lights. Here are the most important things to consider when planning your display.
Measuring the length of a particular run of lights along your roof line or on a banister isn’t always simple. Luckily, there are some easy ways to measure to estimate the length of light string you will need for each area.
First, use a tape measure or laser measuring tool to measure the total length of a roofline, the side of your house, a railing, or a fence line. Once you have the total length, add ten percent of the total measurement to make sure there are enough lights. For trees, bushes, and shrubs, you will need about 25 feet of lights per four feet of height. This is of course a rough estimate. If you want your lights to be closer together or if you have dense branches, you may need more lights.
Choosing what you plan to light is an important part of estimating your total amount of lights. If you only want to do a roofline, that will require a linear number of feet of lights that’s pre-determined by the shape and length of the roof. Trees and bushes will need different amounts of lights depending on the density of the plants and how close together you want your lights to be.
If you have lots of lights to plug in, planning ahead to plug them in to the closest outlet, or multiple outlets to spread out the electric draw across more circuits, is key. The holiday season shouldn’t mean tripping over extension cords for months. Planning a cable path and making sure you have enough extension cords and power strips to handle all of your light strings will make installation much simpler.
Most residential outlets are 1440 watts. Christmas lights are labeled with how many watts they need. Divide the available watts (1440) by the number of watts your strands of lights are to determine the maximum number of strands you can connect to a single outlet.
Having said that, most Christmas lights will tell you right on the package how many strands you can safely connect end-to-end, based on UL (Underwriter’s Laboratory) safety guidelines that recommend no more than 216 watts per circuit. You should also always follow the manufacturer recommendations for how many strands of lights you can string together at once.
| Type of Christmas Lights | Watts Per Strand | Number of Connecting Strands |
|---|---|---|
| LED String with 70 G12 Lights | 4.8 | 45 |
| LED String with 100 C6 Lights | 7.2 | 30 |
| LED String with 100 Mini Lights | 9.6 | 22 |
| Incandescent String with 250 Mini Lights | 72 | 3 |
| Incandescent String with 25 C9 Lights | 175 | 2 |
String lights come with different spacing between bulbs. Most are either six or four inches apart, but specialty lights might have unique spacing. There are also other configurations of lights, like netting-type lights for bushes, icicle strand-type lights, pathway lights, illuminated decorations, and pre-lit wreaths and garlands. Choosing the type of lights you want and noting the wattage, cord lengths, and other specific features of your lights will help you plan your display and avoid last minute or unplanned expenses like extra extension cords.
Once you have a plan, the other part of saving money on Christmas lights is timing your shopping. The cheapest time to buy Christmas lights is right after Christmas. Holiday decorations often get a steep markdown of 75 to 90 percent off right after the season is over. The downside to this strategy is that selection can also be limited, so getting the type and quantity of lights you want can be tricky.
Many retailers will have specials on decorations in the months of November and December, so if you have a plan and you know exactly what you want, this can be a good time to get 40 percent off your decorations. Other sales that can help out on the cost of decorating are specific days like Black Friday or Cyber Monday in the run-up to Christmas. Just keep in mind that many of these deals will be “while supplies last,” so if they run out before you can get what you need, you might have to wait or pay a higher price to get what you want.
Planning for hanging your lights is important as well for simple installation. Having hooks, zip ties, and any other hardware you need to put together your display will set you up for a more enjoyable, less stressful experience with decorating.
Using removable Christmas lights hooks is a good way to attach lights to a smooth surface without making holes or damaging paint. This type of hook can also be repositioned easily to allow you to adjust your display.
To attach lights to garlands or wreaths or to secure multiple strands together, you can use zip ties, velcro cable ties, or twist ties. These can also come in handy when you’re managing wires to hide them or keep plugs from coming loose.
Special hardware for hanging string lights on gutters is handy if you’re planning a roofline installation. These hangers are only designed for the weight of the lights, so if you have garland or other decorations, you’ll have to use a different attachment method. It’s also not a good idea to overload the edge of your gutter by attaching more than a strand of lights to the edge of it. A gutter can hold the weight of a garland until it fills up with rain, and then the hardware that holds it up can fail.
