Preparing for Christmas means decorating the home. After all, it’s difficult to feel festive when your surroundings don’t convey the right festive vibe. And this applies not just to the inside of your home: it also applies to the exterior, and to your garden, too.
In particular, a light display can be an extremely powerful way to establish the Christmas mood. But what goes into a good Christmas light display? Let’s consider a few of the key components.
Planning Your Outdoor Christmas Light Display
A light display should ideally be planned. Take a look at your garden and establish the key focal points. Which areas do you want to highlight, and which do you want to disguise? Get all of your ideas down in a plan, and establish how many lights you need. From there, you can come up with your budget.
Choosing the Right Lights for Your Garden
For your display to work, you’ll want to choose the right lights. Outdoor Christmas lights come in a range of different types and colours. Yours should be bright enough that you can easily see them, but not so bright that they risk dazzling the neighbours (or passing motorists).
Traditionally, warm-white is the preferred colour, since this most closely emulates firelight, and the incandescent lights of bygone years. LED lighting, of course, provides us with a wider gamut of colours to choose from. Cold LED bulbs tend to get across the frostiness of Christmas, and they’ve been popular for several years. The multicoloured fairy lights that were popular in the 80s and 90s are making a comeback now, too.
Incorporating Trees, Bushes, and Pathways
You can use already-existing lines formed by paths, tree trunks, and the boundaries of flowerbeds and lawns, to guide the eye around. Arranging lights along these edges might be worthwhile.
You can use pathway markers, which will sit just above ground level. On the other hand, you might drape string lights around trees and bushes. If the trees and bushes in question are suitably shaped, the results can be spectacular.
Weatherproofing and Safety Tips
Since these are outdoor decorations, it’s vital that you take precautions to safeguard them against cold and wet weather. Make sure that the bulbs you choose are explicitly marketed for exterior use. Ensure that they are tied down to an extent that will make them able to resist wind and rain. Generally speaking, it’s worth erring on the side of caution.