Christmas Outdoor Lighting Ideas

House and Porch

• One of the most effective outdoor Christmas lighting ideas is to adorn your home with lights. Lighting up your home gives that magical winter feeling that people love, especially during the festive season. You could choose any color lights to create a good effect. Sticking with plain white lights is more of a classic look, or going with red and green lights uses those typical Christmas colors. You could go for multicolored lights, too, if you want to create a really bright and fun scene. A great way to light up your home is to attach the lights to the natural lines of your house, such as along the guttering at the top of the house, along the railing of your porch and around the outline of your door. You’ll need a hammer and nails to make sure the lights stay firmly in place. Another pretty Christmas lighting effect is to buy white lights that drape downward from a horizontal cord. If you hang this along your guttering at the top of the house or along your porch railing, it can create the effect of icicles hanging down.

Front Yard

• You really can make a winter wonderland scene in your front yard if you have the inclination to. First, set the scene with what you already have in your yard. Drape lights on trees you have in the garden – if you can position the lights so they follow the lines of some of the branches on the trees it can look especially magical. Attach strings of lights to your fences, too. You could twist the lights together with green garlands and stick red bows to them to add to the effect. If you have any pillars or lamp posts in your yard, attach the same lighted green garlands to them, too. Once you have set the scene for your winter wonderland, you should think about putting some Christmas light sculptures in the yard as well. Sculptures such as a giant Santa Claus, Santa’s reindeer or cute snowmen are available in stores around Christmastime and are a real eye-catching addition to a Christmas light scene in your yard.

Driveway

• Your driveway has the potential to be beautifully lit at Christmastime and is a lovely way to make your visitors feel as if they have been transported into a Christmas haven when they pull their car in. For a modern take on outdoor Christmas lights, line your driveway with electric tiki torch lights. If you want to add some festive color to the scene, add in a handful of red LED cherry blossom trees, too. Together they create a really pretty effect without being over the top. If you like your lighting more overt than that, get some multicolored flashing rope lights and line your driveway with them or attach them to the bushes lining the driveway if you have them.

Windows

• Using your windows to create a Christmas lighting effect can just add the final touch to your lighting display. You could hang the lights with the icicle effect below every window to give a special, snowed-in look. You should also remember that your lights don’t have to be hung on the outside of a house to create a lighting effect that is visible from the outside. Candles are synonymous with Christmas and give a home a warm, festive glow. Arrange candles along your windowsills in some order, such as having a large candle in the center with two smaller candles on either side of it. Light them in the evening when it is dark outside so they create the maximum effect. If you’re concerned about the fire hazard, you can also buy electric candles that can look just as real.