Outdoor Christmas Light Decorating Ideas

Featured Front Porch Lighting for Christmas

We are excited to share Yvette's Christmas lights with you. She has created a magnificent display that I am sure is the envy of her neighborhood; we hope you enjoy them too and glean ideas for your own holiday lighting.

Yvette's beautifully lit front porch and yard

Candy cane porch columns and icicle lights

A light fest for the holidays

Notice the wonderful red and white color theme - just perfect for Christmas

Windows framed with lights

Note the very charming lanterns and shutter decorations

Yvette created a brilliant and fun lighting display! One that we both enjoy.

How Many Kinds of Christmas Lights Are There?

There are ceramic Christmas tree lights, twinkle, crystal cut, bubble lights, and string lights, lights that stay on and lights that flash, rope lights that chase, multi color, big lights and little lights.

And don't forget the ever popular basic, small colored or clear lights.

There are LED Christmas lights, net lights, solar lights, icicle lights, button lights, cascade lights, painted lights, and tear drop lights. How's that for outdoor Christmas light decorating ideas? Wow!

See more of our Christmas light inspirations.

We hope our outdoor Christmas light decorating ideas and tips will inspire you to decorate your front porch for Christmas. As you can see, it is easy, fun, and can be rather inexpensive too.

Put them all together and the effect is something like this.

To determine how many watts you are using, multiply the number of holiday bulbs by the number of watts per bulb.

If you're not sure of the wattage, use 10 watts per bulb just to be safe.

When you're calculating the total, don't forget to include appliances, normal lighting, and other electrical equipment already running on the same circuit.

• Make sure all lights you purchase carry the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label, which means they meet UL safety requirements.
• Check for broken or cracked sockets, bare wires, and loose connections. Either discard or repair damaged sets of lights before using.
• Check your light's labels to ensure they have been certified for outdoor use. Use hooks or insulated staples to hold lights in place. Do not use nails or tacks.
• Each receptacle used for your light must be ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protected.
• Use no more than three standard-size sets of lights per single extension cord.
• Light your tree only when you are at home and awake to enjoy it. As an extra precaution, keep a fire extinguisher handy, and be sure your home's smoke detectors have new batteries and that they're working properly.
• Turn Christmas lights off during the day or when you are away or when you are asleep. Timers are a simple way to do this and also are a safety measure since lights can cause fires if not used properly.
• For safety's sake: always unplug your lights before going to bed or leaving home.
• Along with smoke detectors, a fire extinguisher should be in every home. This holiday season, why not be good to yourself and your family and purchase one.
• Don't be the one standing in the street in your PJ's as your house burns down saying "If only I had spent a few bucks on a fire extinguisher."