Outdoor Christmas Lights Decorating Ideas Photos

15 Types of Outdoor Christmas Lights

The holidays are quickly approaching, which means it's time to hang your outdoor Christmas lights. We'll show you all of the different lighting options and how to effectively hang Christmas lights.

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LED Outdoor Christmas Lights

While LED Christmas lights are more expensive upfront, you'll save money in the long run. You can pay $13.65 per month to decorate your rooftop with those old incandescent lights, or you can pay 22 cents with LED lights (prices estimated by Xcel Energy Colorado).

In comparison, LEDs are long lasting with some LEDs rated to last up to 100,000 hours. Additionally, LEDs come in both warm-and cool-glow varieties.

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Mini String Christmas Lights

Mini string Christmas lights are great for when you want your lights to blend seamlessly into their surroundings when they aren't in use. These lights have smaller bulbs and are a popular trend right now.

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Smart Outdoor Christmas Lights

These outdoor Christmas lights can be controlled by an app, making them the perfect element for any light display. Download the "XMcosy" app and then connect the lights to a bluetooth device including the Alexa and Google Assistant. These lights also include a preset scene set up. Simply pick the ambient motion you like including: fade, pulse, blink, Christmas, multi, customize and many more.

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Large Bulb Outdoor Christmas Lights

These retro Christmas lights are everywhere during the holidays. These large bulbed lights (also known as C3, C5, C7, C9 and G40) evoke a sense of nostalgia and thanks to LED technology we'll see this type of lights for many years to come.

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Animated and Color-Changing Lights

Animated and color-changing Christmas lights add eye-catching action to any holiday lights display. These lights, have 16 color options and four dynamic multi-color modes. Here's how to fix your Christmas lights.

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LED Rope Lights

These LED Outdoor rope lights are ideal for outlining doorways, windows and walkways, and for creating intricate shapes and designs for Christmas time light displays. The crystal-clear PVC jacket on these lights enables it to withstand extreme external environment weather conditions and temperatures. Mounting hardware is also included in this kit.

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All Purpose Gutter Hooks for Outdoor Christmas Lights

These All-Purpose Light Clips are perfectly designed to fit almost any gutter, shingle or roof edge and the work with a wide variety of outdoor Christmas lights. They are extremely easy to use and install because the clip can be configured multiple ways. The clip inconspicuously snugly holds Christmas lights in place without damaging surfaces.

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FH12DJA_524_08_012 christmas lights clips Family Handyman

DIY Light Clips

Make inexpensive and long-lasting holiday light clips using a common staple for electrical cable wiring. Snip the staple in half and fasten it to your fascia or trim with the remaining nail. It holds the wire securely, but it's still easy to slip the wire behind the clip. These clips hold up year after year no matter how cold it gets. And if you have metal fascia, use stainless steel screws so they won't rust.

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clothespins for hanging christmas lights Family Handyman

Damage-Free Holiday Light Hangers

Instead of poking nails into aluminum soffits and fascia when you're hanging holiday lights, clip the wires to the bottom lip of the fascia with clothespins. But be careful up on the ladder. Learn more about ladder safety.

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FH98DJA_GUTTER_01_02_03 hanging lights from gutters Family Handyman

Handy Light Hanging Hack

If your home has gutters, you can hang lights from them without leaving the ground. And all you need are an 8-ft. 1×2, a strong magnet and some galvanized steel plumber's hanger strap. Cut the hanger strap into 7-in. sections, bend the sections into hooks, and attach the hooks to the string of lights every 5 ft. or so. Here's how to make this light hanger.

Originally Published: November 30, 2020

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