7 Ways to Light Your Home for the Holidays

Holiday lights are an indispensable part of festive decorations. From endowing your home with a quintessential Christmasy signature to painting the home with a warm and inviting glow, lights are an essential go-to decor statement of the season.

Deck Out Your Front Porch

Before your guests arrive, it’s important to elevate the aesthetic of your front porch. Aside from sprucing your outdoor furniture with premium pillow covers and chair covers, use accent lights to instantly brighten the space. An enchanting glow goes a long way with string lights.

Opting for stunning microlights and exquisite light trails can be a simple way to echo the visual hints of falling snow. Netted designs can be used to drape over potted greens or hedges to bring home seasonal joy, whereas delicate wire lights can be integrated into wreaths or garlands to enhance striking decorative pieces.

Illuminate Small Spaces

Irradiated corners of your home not only extend a cozy ambiance but can also make any house look more spacious. While giving your porch and yard a festive glow, don’t forget to brighten up nooks and crannies in order to uplift your holiday decor.

Maximize the festive fun by adorning your staircase with LED lanterns or votive candles.
Kindle warmth around the fireplace by swapping logs with holiday-scented candles that percolate seasonal aromas.
Get creative with string lights. With just a few handy pins and a set of string lights, you can create the shape of a Christmas tree against a plain backdrop.
Tiny wreaths integrated with a single battery-operated lantern look exquisite as a small window decoration.
Add a soft glow to your indoor decor by hanging string lights over the window with a sheer curtain on top.

Add Whimsical Touch to Snowy Landscape

With your yard turned into a snowy landscape, it’s time to uplift its whimsical appeal by adding fairy lights and light-up characters.

A frosty wonderland can be raised using the icicle lights cascading down the front wall, trees, and branches mimicking showering snow.
To maximize the idea of creating a snowy escapade, opt for cool white exterior-grade lights with gentle flicker.
You can even invest in a light projector with slide projections featuring snowflake designs and messages such as “Let it Snow” and “North Pole”.
Augment the fun by incorporating nicely lit cutouts of Santa and reindeer on an antique sled and sculpting a snowman.
Wrap branches that overhang garden walkways to create a canopy. Weave cool white exterior-graded lights with gentle flicker among them and hang Moravian stars by randomly spacing them throughout to create a picturesque wonderland.

Don’t let your newly raised snowy wonderland get ruined by inclement weather. Make sure to sheath the outdoor setting with weatherproof custom tarps.

Accentuate Your Home’s Eaves

Let your house outshine the rest of the block by running the string lights along the eaves and window casings. Fairy lights not only accentuate the house’s structure and garden edges but also endow a classy, elegant, and exceptional feel to the entire decor. To amp up the festive vibe, consider chasing water lights in white that exhibit a cascading water effect.

While the use of lights in a warm-white scheme throughout the house extends a plush appeal, opting for a mix of fairy lights, icicle lights and rope lights in different hues give your space a strikingly playful charm.

Keep Things Cozy with Luminaries & Dimmers

Luminaries and dimmers are sure fire ways to enhance the outdoor mood of your home. Light up your walkways or driveways with luminaries that give off a warm, inviting glow.

Use glittering metal luminaries, galvanized candles holders, lanterns filled with battery-operated lights, or illuminated bags along the walkways leading to the entrance of your home for an illuminated welcome.
Confer your interiors with a welcoming radiance by scattering clusters of votive candles and strands of bulbs coiled around banister and door frames.
Bring cheer to your abode by plugging the table lamps into house dimmers.
Remove weatherproof firepit covers to let the roaring blaze of fireplace light your home naturally.

DIY Light Ideas

A DIY touch can go a long way in adding a little extra holiday magic to the mix. From hanging light globes to incandescent accent glass bottles, there are plenty of ways to do it yourself this winter.

A hanging light globe is an extremely attractive and easy option to light up your entrance or place across your porch to create a dramatic effect. All you need are a few wire baskets, floral wire, or mini lights to make the magic happen.
Mason jars filled with copper wire firefly lights make for striking centerpieces for any table spread. Make sure your table covers a wide length for optimum depth.
Upscale incandescent glass bottles make for exquisite accent pieces. Fill them with battery-operated fairy lights and place them along walkways or staircases for whimsy appeal.

Ensure Safety

Prioritize safety while handling holiday lights. Keep outdoor Christmas lights off the ground to avoid moisture and consider laying custom tarps before you put hanging lights up.

Plug lights into exposed electrical outlets. Avoid broken outlet covers and wet & moist lights for they can cause an electrical hazard.
Avoid stringing multiple lights in the same socket. Make sure they don’t draw more power than your outlets can handle.
As indoor lights are not meant for outdoor use, they are more susceptible to short circuits due to inclement weather.