The Best Way to Hang Christmas Lights
Hang Christmas lights inside and outside your home to make it feel festive when December arrives. Use a few simple techniques to get the lights to stay in place and ensure that your home and family remain safe during the Christmas season.
Indoors
The focal point for indoor Christmas lights is your tree. Rather than hanging lights in a spiral all the way around the tree, simplify the process by dividing the tree into three vertical, wedge-shaped sections. Plug in the lights before you begin, start at the bottom of the first section, and weave the lights back toward the trunk and out toward the tips of each branch. Work your way up the section and switch to the next section only after the first section is lit from bottom to top.
Use Christmas lights as indoor accents around windows and banisters or railings. Hang the lights along banisters or railings by coiling the lights around a piece of cardboard and passing them around the item in a spiral configuration. For windows, tape the strings of lights to the window frame, ensuring that the bulbs stay at least three inches from the curtains.
Outdoors
Work during daylight hours to hang lights outside, taking care to exercise extreme caution when hanging Christmas lights outdoors in icy conditions. Use non-slip footwear and never set a ladder on ice. Have a spotter to help you and steady the ladder if needed. Use extension cords to start at the highest point, whether that is your roof or the top of a tree. Never connect more than three strands of lights together, as this can create a fire hazard.
Use removable plastic hooks to hang lights from your rain gutters without damaging them. Hang lights from a wooden trim by installing screw-in hooks or nailing plastic hooks to your home. To decorate trees, wrap the lights around branches to secure them or use clips designed for holding lights on trees outside.
