Christmas, no matter where people live, is always a celebration full of gaiety, lots of merriment, and of course delicious and yummy food. It is a much anticipated time for family to have fun, reunite with each other, and attend parties with friends and neighbours. In Australia, which is located in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas season coincides with the beginning of summer (December to February). Instead of being bundled up to keep warm from the cold winds, Australians don their beach suits and sundresses and head for the beach. Nonetheless, no matter if it is freezing cold or scorching hot, you cannot let Christmas go by without a merry celebration or without adorning your homes for the holidays.
Holiday Decorations
Decorating your homes for the holidays can be fun and entertaining. It may entail a whole day of hard work especially if you have a big house or a sizable property. You can do it alone or with family members and make it a family tradition. Sometimes, friends and neighbours might volunteer to pitch in. If you are a creative person and are fond of crafts, you can make your own decors for Christmas. There are a lot of DIY holiday decor ideas online that you can check out for inspiration. If you do not have an extra time to make your own decorations, there are a lot of items you can directly purchase from the stores near you. Some may be affordable, while others can be pricey. Holiday decorating is not limited indoors or inside your house. In Australia, where Christmas comes during summer, you can enhance the Christmas atmosphere by decorating the outdoors too. Have fun with friendly competition against your neighbours on who among you have the best decorations or whose yard becomes a bright Christmas wonderland especially at night.
Christmas Lights Decoration
One way to brighten your home during Christmas is to decorate with outdoor Christmas lights. Holiday decorations look best with lights, especially those twinkling, blinking, and flashing colours in tune with Christmas carols. By using different kinds of lights, you can decorate your roof, the rooflines, and the eaves. You can also line them around windows, door frames, and even plant boxes. You can wrap them around pillars or columns on your entryway or on trees in your yard. You can place net lights atop bushes and hedges. If you want, you can also line your entire fence with blazing lights. Do not worry about increasing your power consumption. You can opt to use Christmas LED lights which are definitely power savers. Better yet, use solar Christmas lights. You can charge your sun-powered lights all day and be assured that they will light up throughout the night. While dressing up your homes for a cheery Christmas and holiday celebration, do not forget to observe precautionary measures. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions so that you will be able to install your holiday lights appropriately and securely. Here are a few tips to maximise the use of your outdoor lights and create not just a stunning and glittering outdoor Christmas lights display, but also have a safe celebration. You do not want an untoward incident to ruin your holiday. Always be on the safe side.
1. Have a plan.
In everything you do, be it a simple task or a complex activity, always work with a plan. This will help you accomplish your task, such as an outdoor Christmas decorating project without any hassle. You can start with planning your design. Having a theme in mind would help immensely. You cannot just randomly pick a few bunches or sets of lights, then hang them anywhere you want. Decide on a focal point or centre for your lights display and work from there.
2. Take measurements.
Consider the straight lines that you would want to outline with lights. This will help you determine how many sets you would need for the roof, shingles, windows, door frames, or the entire area of your front porch.
3. Consider the number of lights.
Whilst you need to measure straight lines, it would not be necessary when you are decorating trees. You can get as many as you want or make them as dense as possible. Short-spaced or denser lights would look brighter. Blanket or net lights are also available and are ideal to lay on wide spaces such as hedges and bushes.
4. Choose the right type of lights.
Decide on the kind of lights you would need. You can use Christmas LED lights for the straight lines and multi-coloured lights on trees and shrubs. Icicle Christmas lights would look perfect, if clustered on your eaves.
5. Inspect the lights before use.
Once you have decided on the kind of lights you prefer, you are now ready to visit the store or shop online. Make a thorough check of the items you bought for cracks or frayed wires. Even new, sealed, or unopened sets could sustain a damage which would not be visible, if not inspected properly. If defective, discard the whole strand. Most importantly, check for the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) tag. A UL tag means that they have passed the safety standards. Specifically, look for coloured markings. A red mark indicates that the lights can be used for both indoors and outdoors. A green mark would tell you that the lights are for indoor use only.
6. Test the lights before stringing or hanging them.
You would not want to waste your time clipping them to your roof only to find out that some or all are not lighting. Check for empty sockets. Some bulbs may have loosened and dropped from their sockets. Replace them and make another test.
7. Organise your decorations as well as your tools.
Make sure that everything you need to mount or hang your lights on is available once you start the job. You would not want to run around the house or rush to the store to pick other items you missed or neglected to pick. Be sure to buy light clips and deck clips from the store. Do not use staples, nails, or clothespins to secure the lights. You can clip them on so they would stay in place.
8. Ask for help or assistance.
Having more helpers to hand you a tool or to hold the lights in place as well as move and secure a ladder would make your work easier. Another set of eyes will also make sure that your lights are strung straight and properly or if they are drooping or askew. Likewise, you can consult with one another and decide which effect would look better before you finalise your decorating tasks.
9. Hang your lights methodically.
Start from the ground such as bushes and trees then towards the house. Work on the porch, windows, and doors. Make sure that your Icicle Christmas lights are evenly clustered on your roofline and not stretched too far for a more charming effect.
10. Use light hanging poles.
You can hang your lights using a pole so that you can stay on the ground and avoid an accidental fall. If you need to use a ladder, make sure that it stands firmly on the ground and is not touching a power line or any cable. Put your ladder on standby and make it lean on a secure area in your yard so that it would not cause an accident while you are not using it.
11. Brighten up your walkway.
Illuminate your pathways by using string lights mounted on light stakes. You can use white or multi-coloured bulbs lined up from the gate to your doorstep.
12. Make use of a Christmas light projector.
The play of dancing colours and shapes in your yard or garden would add to the enchanting scene you have created.
13. Use extension cords that are heavy duty and can be used outdoors.
Make sure to follow safety instructions. Do not overload your extension cords to avoid fire and other accidents.
14. Take advantage of modern technology.
Install a timer so you would not forget to turn the lights off, before you retire for the night. You can also use a sensor device that can automatically turn on the lights once it gets dusk or dark in your area and turn them off at the time you have set.
More Outdoor Holiday Decorations that Use Lights
1. You can put your Christmas tree in your porch instead of your living room. Hang ornaments and glitters, and for the final touch, your string lights. You can use white LED lights for an elegant touch or multi-coloured lights for a more festive finish. 2. If you do not have a lot of bushes, plants, and hedges to put or string the lights on, you can use other items that can make your front yard sparkle. You can buy or make your own giant Christmas balls using chicken wire mesh. Wrap the lights around each ball. You can make green and red balls and place them by the walkway to your entrance or any strategic place around your yard. 3. Make your front door more festive looking by outlining a garland around the door frame. Decorate it with ribbons and balls and wrap a few sets of your outdoor Christmas lights around it. Use twines and hooks to secure the garland. 4. Make your own Christmas sign. Spell out a Christmas greeting such as â˜Merry Christmas', â˜Happy Holidays', or â˜Joy to the World' using Christmas lights. Make your sign on a rectangular piece of wire mesh, then hang or attach it in an appropriate place. 5. Pick a few topiary animals. Lighted animals made of twine and other materials and lighted within can add charm to your yard display. Place them near bushes or greenery.
Other Outdoor Decor Suggestions
1. If you have a mail box, you can decorate it with a red and green scarf. Complete the decoration with some ornaments like twigs, pine cones, and hollies. 2. Your doors and windows would look festive with traditional wreaths. You can make your own or buy ready-made wreaths complete with lights from the stores. 3. Inflatable decorations are also becoming popular. Giant inflatable Santa and his reindeer are a hit especially among kids. Put them on your roof or on your porch. Just make sure that these are securely placed and would not tumble down. 4. Candy canes made of wood, peppermint candies, and giant cookies would make your home look delectable like a gingerbread house. Attach them to windows and doors or place them around your roof with enough lighting to make them glittery and enticing. 5. Project a winter wonderland look using snowflakes pasted on windowpanes and glass door panels. You can also tie snowflake decals on strings and hang them on trees. They would add a magical look to your glittering trees.
Shop at the Right Place
Christmas is a special season. Whilst you may opt for subdued decorations, it does not diminish the celebration as long as you are able to enjoy the season with your loved ones. It is not about how much you spend, but how you spend and enjoy every moment of the celebration with family, friends, and even strangers. After all, Christmas is about loving everyone. There is no one stopping you if you want to splurge on gifts and decorations. Christmas comes only once a year and you may want to contribute to its merriment and festivity and add to other people's joy. If you are thinking of online shopping for new sets of Christmas lights to replace your old ones or are planning to level up your holiday decorations using the newest designs and models of LED and laser Christmas lights and other outdoor Christmas decors in Australia, you can find everything you need at Outbax.com.au. Check it out as soon as you can. You may also avail of our promotional sale and holiday discounts.
