Full-service Christmas light installation, starting at $500
The Christmas lights and decorations market keeps growing, driven by energy-saving LED and smart lights, online shopping, and demand for personalized and eco-friendly decor. This article breaks down the biggest trends shaping how people buy holiday lights and decorations, plus the challenges the industry faces.
Dallas–Fort Worth has some of the best drive-thru Christmas light displays in Texas, from Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie and The Light Park in Arlington to Gift of Lights at Texas Motor Speedway. Here’s what each display offers. Dates and prices change every year, so check each venue’s website before you go.
Outdoor nativity decorations bring the Christmas story to your yard. Choose light-up LED scenes that glow at night, rustic wooden sets, easy inflatable figures, or weather-resistant plastic and metal pieces, then plan the lighting and placement so the scene becomes the focal point of your display.
Reindeer decorations are a classic way to make your yard festive. Pick lighted, animated, rustic wooden or DIY reindeer, then arrange them as Santa’s sleigh team, along a pathway, as a centerpiece or as a family group to get the biggest impact from your display.
Christmas trees and holiday decorations start hundreds of U.S. home fires every year. NFPA data show about 160 Christmas tree fires and 790 decoration fires a year (2015–2019). Nearly half of tree fires involve electrical or lighting problems, and candles start 45% of December decoration fires. Most are preventable.
Christmas trees were once lit with real candles. In the 1880s, Thomas Edison’s colleague Edward H. Johnson wrapped a tree in 80 red, white and blue electric bulbs and started a new tradition. Here are 7 fun facts about Christmas lights, from what they used to cost to the biggest displays today.
Faulty or damaged Christmas lights are a common cause of holiday fires. In this short podcast, we talk about how to spot risky lights and the simple steps you can take to keep your home safe during the holiday season.
To hang Christmas lights like a pro, plan your layout and measure first, test every strand before it goes up, use outdoor-rated lights and cords, and secure everything with plastic clips instead of nails or staples. Never connect more strands than the maker recommends.
Yes, you can cut some Christmas lights to length, but it depends on how they’re wired. Custom-length cords for C7, C9 and E26 bulbs can be cut and finished with new plugs, while standard mini light strings usually can’t. Here’s how to choose the right bulbs, cords and plugs.
Chasing Christmas lights, also called running or animated lights, turn bulbs on and off in a set order so the light seems to move along the string. A small controller sends power to one section at a time, and most sets let you adjust the speed or pattern.
