With the holidays quickly approaching, it's time to get your outdoor Christmas lights out and decorate. Illuminating your yard, trees, porch, and entryway is perfect for bringing the festivities home with you. Before you begin learning about these different outdoor Christmas lights ideas, it's important to remember that you need to purchase lights and decorations that are safe for outdoor use. This ensures they withstand different weather conditions and aren't dangerous.
Donning every nook and cranny of your outdoor space is fun! It's popular for competitions, tasteful designs, and thoughtful placement add warmth and a little holiday curb appeal to your home. These outdoor lighting ideas look beautiful paired together or alone, so you can easily adjust them to your preferences.
Candy Cane Tree
Image credits: Christina Abken via Unsplash
Sweet and stylish, adding a few easy-to-source candy cane lights to your trees is a great way to add a little warmth back to their bare branches. Of course, the classic red and white candies are inviting and kid-friendly, making them whimsical, beautiful, and festive!
Perfectly Lit Porch
Image credits: Andy Holmes via Unsplash
While you may have a lantern or two located around your porch year-round, there's something special about decorating with outdoor Christmas lights. Your front door is the ideal space to hang some lights.
Layer different colors, add dangling lit-up stars to the awning, or wrap lights around banisters and pillars! Placing lights around decorative trees and objects will bring cheer to your neighborhood.
Merry Mailbox
Image credits: Robert Zunikoff via Unsplash
What's better than mailing letters to ol' Saint Nick? Mailing letters in a box decorated for the holidays!
Try wrapping outdoor Christmas lights around the pillar of your mailbox and the edges and outside of the box. Pair this with holiday greenery, such as a wreath or bundle of pine branches.
Christmas Lights the Way
Image credits: James Wheeler via Unsplash
You may have heard of adding outdoor Christmas lights to your gutters, acting as a landing strip for Santa Claus. But why not light up your whole yard and porch with a mixture of lights and blow-up decorations? Wrap lights around the banisters, bushes, windows, and doorframe.
Then, add a few blow-up decorations to your front yard, such as a Santa Claus and snowman. This is the perfect way to keep things festive and exciting throughout the holidays.
Christmas Lantern
Image credits: Mira Kemppainen via Unsplash
If you want to keep things understated, try adding battery-operated outdoor Christmas lights to a few lanterns around your yard. You can place them at your entryway, the driveway, or the ground next to a pathway.
You can choose colorful lights for an extra Christmassy touch, but white feels simple and minimal. Of course, they'll look even better paired with some of these other holiday lighting ideas!
Trailing Twinkling Lights
Image credits: Ryzhkov Oleksandr via Shutterstock
Similar in appearance to icicles, these twinkling lights trail along anywhere you place them. They are perfect attached to the gutters of your roof, trees, and along an awning or around the entryway of your home. You can opt for neutral white or colorful lights depending on your style and pair them with any of the other lighting options listed.
Colorful Shrubbery
Image credits: EvgeniiAnd via Shutterstock
While many bushes produce colorful berries in winter, some are a bit more sparse for the season, such as red-osier dogwood. But if you want to add more texture and brightness to the bare branches, decorate with colorful outdoor Christmas lights.
Paired with a sprinkling of snow, the lights will glow whimsically in the darkness. But if you want to keep things warm and neutral, opt for a classic set of white lights!
Merry New Year!
Image credits: Impact Photography via Shutterstock
With Christmas comes the new year, and you might not have the time to switch up your decor in the few days that fall between the holidays. Fortunately, you can decorate for both holidays at once with a simple sign! You can either purchase a light-up sign for the year or DIY it using some Christmas lights and wire to hold them in place. Attach the sign above your door, outside a window, or on a bare wall outside your house.
Classic Christmas Tree
Image credits: Toni Cuenca via Unsplash
If you've got a few pine or cedar trees outside your home, why not decorate them like an indoor tree? You can add layers of lights and ornaments for a textured and thoughtful look. Top the tree with a sparkling star or angel ornament for that extra special touch. Of course, you can keep things minimal and stick to the Christmas lights for your outdoor Christmas tree!
Put A Wreath On It!
Image credits: everything possible via Shutterstock
If you're decorating for Christmas or the holidays, there's a good chance you're adding a wreath or two, attaching them to doors and windows. Brighten the look for night and add warmth to the wreath by adding outdoor Christmas lights. Wrap them around the wreath, plug them in, place your wreath, and you're ready to go!
Let Christmas Light the Way!
Bring your outdoor space to life this holiday season using one of these outdoor Christmas lights ideas. They're easy to implement and look beautiful, but they go even better together. Decorate the pine trees outside your home in lights, drape them around railings and poles, and line your driveway with lanterns filled with lights–it's all up to you.
Do you have any ideas for outdoor Christmas lights? Share in the comments below!