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That time of year is approaching fast and a little pre-planning on your part can really help to make your holiday lighting project a lot easier. Let me guide you through what I do each year and maybe one or two tips can help you.  Not only can a game plan reduce some of the usual frustration, but also could mean less time up on a ladder later. 

(Stringing the lights on the QVC outside set) on yes one of our Little Giant Ladders..)

Now before I begin let me say I don't expect you to go to the extremes, I do.  First, because you are probably sane, and for me, that train left the station in regards to Christmas lighting several years ago.

Start with a simple outline sketch of your home or the building/buildings you wish to light. You don't have to do what I do and that is start from detailed scale architectural drawings that I sat at my drafting board for days to create.  (what can I say, I wanted to be an architect when I was younger and who knew this televised shopping things would actually catch on).

On your drawing mark were each one of your outdoor electrical outlets are located.  This will help later when deciding where to start your light strings without excessive need for extra extension cords later.  Nothing is more frustrating than stringing a lot of lights only to find you put them up backwards with the wrong end of the cord at the far end of the gutter instead of closest to the wall outlet.  I have done it...more than once.

Measure estimated lengths of your gutters from on the ground, This doesn't have to be exact at this point.  If you’re going to be purchasing new light strands this year you have some numbers to work with when you do your shopping instead of just guessing. 

I am a man; therefore if relying on a well educated guess is my only alternative I will most always screw it up and buy three times more lights than I really needed.  When measuring a roof line from the ground that includes the peak of two roof lines coming together, don't just measure from corner to corner or you will come up short on your lights.  The peak of the roof has to be added into that measurement as well. 

The picture of one of my roof lines helps explain this.  If you draw an imaginary line from the lowest point of each side of the roof to the other...imagine in this case it would cut right through the chimney and would be right above our sliding glass doors.   Estimate the difference from that imaginary line and the top peak of the roof.   Double that distance and add it to the original measurement for the length of that wall.  I have found this works very well.

(Here i am on helping light the QVC outside set.. see the roof lines..)

Always be realistic in what you can accomplish. Read the boxes that lights come in and make sure you don't have more strands hooked end to end than the manufacturer recommends. Over loading a circuit is a recipe for bad things to happen.  Remember LED lights draw less energy than "light bulbs" with a filament and the run length can be much longer.  I made the decision to go strictly to LED a few years ago and happy I did so. Plus this way my wife can plug in a hair dryer after dark between Thanksgiving and New Years, without blowing fuses and unexpected visits from our local fire department.

I do a simple sketch early this time of year of exactly where I want to run lights and the directions (with arrows) that I intend to use them.  You can purchase at any hardware store what is a called a "three way splitter" that will allow you to continue a length of lights but head in another direction as well.  Again don't over load your circuits with the total number of lights on one outlet.  But if you are within the manufactures limitations than this is fine and will help you to get lights to an area that is not just in a straight line.

Ok one last thing, bushes and shrubs are tough to estimate in terms of how many lights it takes to make them look festive.  It takes more than you might think because you will be wrapping them around the circumference of that bush.   A good way to estimate the length of light stand or strands you will need is measure the height of the bush or shrub, then multiply that number by it's width.  Than take that measurement and multiply it by three.  An example, the two vertical acacia bushes that line my front entry way are roughly 6 feet tall, and 3 feet wide. 3 X 6 = 18...times 3 = 54 feet of lights..  for each bush. That was a lot more than I would have expected when I started this adventure but I have learned these things the hard way.

Bushes, trees and shrubs are the toughest things to light and we will tackle that together in my next blog. Enjoy the path way as much as the destiny.  Enjoy the planning as much as the end results.  Start now before it gets cold and allow yourself to get excited about it. 

The holidays come so quickly that is it so easy to get swept up and feel like they pass us by before we are even prepared. I know it is only October.  But starting now extends the holidays and keeps me in the spirit longer. To be honest, it's not about the lights at all, it's all about the feeling that I am actively in the moment and remembering the important things in life while doing so. 

Christmas lights are kind of my "electrical metaphor" for my private time with our creator.  And I don't just means the times when I say out loud, “OH please God don't let me fall off this ladder, or please don't let me get electrocuted".  I truly mean this when I say this.  

On a quiet night when the air is cool here in Pennsylvania, and I am able to get outside and see all the things I started planning weeks ago come to fruition, makes me smile.  And hopefully it makes make him smile as much, if not more so, than the neighbors who will drive by and see the lights for themselves. It reminds me be thankful, and for me that is the purest essence of what the holiday's mean. 

Enjoy.

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