Outdoor Christmas Lights

What sets outdoor Christmas lights apart

Lights made for indoor use belong on the tree and the mantelpiece, away from the damp, and we would never hang them in the garden. Ours are the outdoor kind, but where you put them still matters. A spot under the eaves, beneath a porch roof or among the branches of a sheltered tree keeps the worst of the rain off, and the plug, the connections and any battery box are best kept dry and clear of the ground.

How your lights get their power

Some of our outdoor lights take their power from the mains, which suits a long display along the guttering or the front windows, close to a socket. You will also find battery sets, the easy answer for a gate, a window box or a tree at the far end of the garden, where a cable would have to trail across the lawn. Before you choose, find your nearest socket and work out how far the lights need to stretch.

Picking a colour and a mood

The colour of your lights sets the tone outside. Warm white gives a soft, cosy glow that sits well with an older house or a traditional front door. White is crisper and cooler, and it suits a modern house or a pared-back front garden. Some of our lights come in warm white and some in white. You will also find lights with several lighting effects, so you can change the look from one evening to the next.

Why some lights have a timer

A timer switches your lights on and off for you, which saves a trip to the plug on a cold night and stops the porch staying lit until morning because nobody remembered. Some of our lights have one. It is especially handy where the plug or switch sits somewhere awkward, such as behind a planter or in the garage, and on a battery set it means the batteries are not running round the clock. Check the instructions that come with your lights for how to set it.

The best spots for outside Christmas lights

Start with the front door, since that is the first thing visitors see. Lights around the door frame, along a porch or through a hedge by the path give a cheerful greeting without much work. Then look at the front windows, the railings and any tree or shrub you can see from the street. Before you buy, measure the line the lights will follow, and for a plug-in set allow enough lead to get to the socket. A few lights in the right places often look better than a busy display spread thin.

Lights that double as decorations

Christmas outdoor lights do not have to be a simple line of light. Some of ours are outdoor Christmas light decorations in their own right, and some are acrylic. You will also find cluster lights, which pack lots of small lights close together along their length for a full, dense effect. They are lovely wound around a tree trunk, a clipped bay or a run of railings, and a single decoration by the front door can be enough to say Christmas has arrived.

Keeping your lights in good order

Before anything goes up, lay the lights out indoors and check them over, and do not use a set with a cracked casing, damaged cable or loose connection. Follow the instructions that come with your lights, and switch off before you move or adjust them. Where a light has acrylic or plastic parts, wipe them with a soft, dry cloth, as rough cloths can scratch. After Christmas, take the lights down on a dry day and let them dry indoors before they go back in their box.