What you’ll need:
- Outdoor Christmas lights
- Gutter clips
- Batteries
- Extension lead
- Ladder
- Tape measure
- Wall plugs
- Adhesive Command hooks
- Rubber mallet
- Masonry drill/ drill bit
- Glue gun
- Weatherproof box
How to safely hang Christmas lights
- Always use a steady ladder to hang lights somewhere that’s taller than you are.
- Always get another adult to help hold the ladder.
- Be careful not to burn yourself when using a hot glue gun.
How to prepare for hanging outdoor Christmas lights
Getting your home perfectly prepared for Christmas lights comes down to three top tips:
1. Pick the right lights
It might sound obvious, but the most important place to start is choosing Christmas lights suitable for outdoor use, as indoor lights are likely to get damaged or broken. Once you know they’re safe to use outdoors, you can choose your favourite style, type and colour. Safe Christmas lights will usually be weather resistant and battery-operated outdoor Christmas lights. They’re also a great option for easily brightening up your outdoor space.
2. Measure your space
Before you start hanging your lights, it’s important you grab a tape measure and map out your lighting area to make sure you have enough. If your lights are mains powered, you’re going to want to measure the distance between your outdoor plug and where the lights are supposed to go. If your cable’s too short, an extension lead can make all the difference. Also, remember to use a weatherproof box for safety.
3. Test before you start
It’s always the same, you take your Christmas lights down from the attic and some of the bulbs have blown since last year. Well, that can happen to outdoor Christmas lights too.
It’s much harder to fix bulbs once you’ve hung them up, so be sure to plug them in first and check. If you’ve had them a few years and more and more bulbs are going each time, it might be time to invest in some new ones.
If you have outdoor battery Christmas lights, it would also be a good idea to invest in rechargeable batteries to help reduce waste.