The story of the first electrically lit Christmas tree says Edward H. Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison, had electric Christmas lights made especially for himself.  The first known electric Christmas tree, as pictured here, was reportedly displayed in Johnson’s New York home in December, 1882.  Electric Christmas lights are still hung in this manner, indoors and outdoors, more than a century later!  Clearly, people love the luminescent luxury of decorating for the holidays using electric Christmas lights.  One of the easiest ways to hang electric Christmas lights is to start from the bottom and move upwards in a ribbon candy pattern, an “S” curve, that travels back and forth around one-third of the tree at a time.  Electric Christmas lights can also be used to outline a building or landscaping.  Hanging Christmas lights on a building is best done using lighting clips.  Small and transparent plastic clips are good for attaching lights to gutters or roofs and are discrete enough to allow them to be hung year-round and reused in future years.

Battery-Operated Christmas Lights Are Safe and Easy to Use

Battery-operated Christmas lights are the perfect answer when deciding how to hang outdoor Christmas lights where electrical outlets are not available or are hard to reach.  The freedom and ease of battery-operated Christmas lights allows anyone who wants to illuminate their outdoors to do so without the inconvenience of unsightly extension cords.  A small battery pack powers light sets for a long time and allows for discrete camouflage.  Holiday decorating can be safe and easy with the convenience of battery-operated Christmas lights.

Solar-Powered Christmas Lights Glow with Radiant Energy

Solar-powered Christmas lights are a dream-come true for “green” enthusiasts.  These energy efficient lights use an energy panel that collects radiant energy from the sun during the day to power a battery that automatically turns on when dark providing light throughout the night.  Hung in the same manner as all other string lights, solar-powered Christmas lights can decorate trees, shrubs, and buildings.  Solar-powered Christmas lights have the convenience of battery-operated Christmas lights and the advantage of being the most energy-efficient and the best for the environment.  Like battery-operated Christmas lights, solar-powered Christmas lights can be easily transported from one location to another.  Light up your holidays with solar-powered Christmas lights.

Installing Exterior Christmas Lights Can Be Handled In A Few Easy-to-Understand Steps

Do you love the look of outdoor holiday lights, but dread the idea of installing them? Don’t worry. The process isn’t as daunting as it seems. Just follow this primer, and you’ll have no trouble hanging outdoor Christmas lights.

Start With the Basics

The basics of how to hang outdoor Christmas lights include performing a few basic preliminary steps. First, find an electrical receptacle. You’ll want to use heavy-duty extension cords, running from a 120-volt electrical outlet protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter.  Then, take a long measuring tape of 30 feet or longer and measure both the length of your home along the ground and its height. Also, measure the height of any component of your yard–such as bushes and trees–you will want to embellish with exterior Christmas lights, as well as the lengths of Christmas light strings needed to decorate the periphery of doors and windows. Then calculate how many 50-foot Christmas light strings are required to accommodate these measurements combined.

Get A Good Look

Take a good look at the Christmas light strings you’re going to hang. If there’s one important thing to remember about how to hang outdoor Christmas lights once you’ve finished the basics ,but before you actually start doing the job, it’s this: Inspect all light strings for broken and missing bulbs, and thoroughly examine wires for defects and excessive wear. Pull broken bulbs out with long-nose pliers, and don’t forget to wear gloves. Unplug strings to replace faulty bulbs, re-testing them to make certain that lights work. Check for a blown fuse on any Christmas light string that doesn’t work at all, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for replacing the fuse and perform a re-check, replacing the whole string if the fuse blows again. Discard any outdoor holiday lights whose wires are worn out or otherwise defective.

Up On The Ladder

Finally, it’s time to actually climb the ladder to install those exterior Christmas lights. It’s best to use an extension ladder, unless you reside in a home with low eaves. Lean the ladder against the eaves, ensuring that it sits firmly on flat ground. The ladder should extend fairly far above the eaves and be propped in a position that allows for comfortable climbing. Any gutter against which a ladder leans should have a short piece of 2 by 4 inserted in it to secure that ladder. Attach outdoor holiday lights along your gutters and/or roof with plastic clips manufactured especially for that purpose. The clips work by gripping shingles or gutters; they feature lower hooks designed to hold Christmas light strands and extension cords. Attach exterior Christmas lights to the trim of your home’s windows trim, as well as to other vertical surfaces, with tube light or nail-on plastic clips spaced at intervals of about 12 inches. Then stand back and admire your work. Now, learning about hanging Christmas lights wasn’t that hard, was it?