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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

About Outdoor Holiday Lights

Rebecca Alverico courtesy REALTOR.ca
hether you’re looking to have yourself a merry little holiday or shamelessly trying to keep up with the
Griswolds, there’s no doubt a well-planned light display is a mainstay of the season. Holiday lights represent
Wall that is jolly and bright—that is unless you find yourself tangled in a twinkly string of semi-burnt out
bulbs and frustration.
Luckily, this first world problem pales in comparison to the woes of our ancestors, as candles were first used in the
17th century to light up Christmas trees–yikes! As you can imagine, fires started easily and often, with homeowners
having buckets of water on hand to help battle a sudden blaze.

The advent of electricity saved many a festive tree and fewer and fewer Christmases went up in smoke. We have
Edward H. Johnson to thank for that. In 1882, Johnson—an associate of Thomas Edison—dressed up the first known
electrically-illuminated Christmas tree with 80 custom made walnut-sized incandescent bulbs in red, white and blue.
His look caught on and by 1900, businesses were dressing their window displays with the colours of the holiday
before the new strings became more commercially available (and affordable) for the average household by the 1930s.
To help you on your merry way, we’ve prepped this season’s most coveted holiday light cheat sheet with the help of
Edward Casey, Category Business Manager from Canadian Tire. Keep reading to learn tips and tricks for planning the
perfect display, ways to save money on your energy bill and holiday light safety 101.

Tips and trends in holiday light displays
Fail to plan, plan to fail. One of the most important things to remember when contemplating a holiday light display
of epic (or average) proportions is creating a master plan. “Make sure to have a good picture of the look you want to
achieve before you start decorating to avoid disappointment,” says Casey. This is where that high school math may
come in handy; measure twice, cut once. Casey suggests you take some time to calculate how many light strings
you’ll need and what accessories you need to pull it off–this will save you multiple trips to the stores during high
season. Don’t forget key accessories like light clips, extension cords and timers, too.
Smaller and brighter is key. Casey says energy efficient LED lights are gaining popularity as consumers look for bulbs

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