Should I upgrade my Christmas decorations this year?

Brushing the dust off your huge box of old Christmas lights and sorting through the strands that are dead and the ones that work? This may be the year you upgrade your Christmas decorations.

Hanging Christmas lights year after year can get exhausting. Hiring someone to do it adds up after a few years. Sorting through lights and buying new ones is time-consuming. Setting up a holiday lighting installation may solve your holiday problems.

Upgrading your Christmas decorations to a more permanent lighting display will save you tons of time. If you get a display with programmable, color-changing lights, you can use it throughout the year for accent lighting, security lighting, and lighting for any holiday and event you want. LED Christmas lights will stay lit for years before needing to be replaced. Once your display is up, it will require little to no maintenance.

What types of holiday lights should I get?

There are several types of lights you can get for Christmas. There are a few types of bulbs to choose from and more styles and shapes of lights and strands you can get.

The most popular types of lights are LED lights. They are so popular because they are so energy efficient as well as being much safer. They save so much energy that they can last for years, far longer than incandescent bulbs.

Even though a typical pack of LED bulbs is a bit more expensive than incandescents, you will save so much money in the long run.

Popular styles of light strands are just the general strands of white or colored lights, but novelty, icicle, and retro lights can also make your decorations pop.

Or, if you’re ready to take your lighting splendor all the way, you could install permanent Christmas lights on the eaves of your home. That way, you won’t have to go up and down a ladder every year, and you can even program the lights to activate for events year-round.

Is it worth it to go with Christmas trends or should I stick with my own look?

A common question people ask when planning their Christmas decorations is whether they want to follow the trends that are popular that year or if they want to go with their own outdoor Christmas light ideas for a unique look.

Some popular Christmas trends for this year revolve around color palettes, trees, and lighting. Lots of colors are trending this year: neutral tones to bright festive colors; the minimalistic look and the bright, flashy look; and all varieties of blue, white, green, and red.

Flocked Christmas trees are more and more popular this year. The fake snow-tipped branches bring a snowy, white Christmas feel to your home. Alternative trees are also growing in popularity. The big evergreens are not so universal anymore. People are opting for all sizes and all types of Christmas trees in their homes. Decorations like candles, strings of paper decorations, and colored glass bottles and bowls are growing in popularity this year.

Indoor lights like string lights and fairy lights are also in style. String lights can be hung up both inside and outside, on trees, in window sills, on balconies and railings, and in garlands. Fairy lights are often wrapped in a ball and placed in a bowl with ornaments, garlands, bells, or other Christmas decorations. The metal reflects the fairy lights and makes the whole bowl glow.

Another trend is lanterns. Lots of people are lighting candles and placing them in lanterns both inside and outside as lighting and decoration. The lanterns and candles call to mind a more nostalgic time and early Christmases.

As to outdoor Christmas light ideas, a more minimalist style seems to be trending. Warm golden yellow lights are preferred over normal white lights to give a more candle-lit feel. And some people are spacing out the lights on their roof more than usual to give a sort of gingerbread house feel to their home with big, spaced-out lights, rather than tight strands of lights.

Where is the best inspiration for Christmas decorations?

There are several places you can turn to for outdoor Christmas light ideas. Several people have a holiday tradition of driving around looking at all the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Besides admiring the lights, you can be taking notes too. People are putting their lights up earlier each year, so it won’t be hard to find displays you can draw from with plenty of time to put something together for your home.

With the rise of social media, it’s not difficult to find Christmas influencers with stunning light displays without going anywhere to see them. Instagram and Pinterest blow up this time of year (sometimes literally) with Christmas decoration recommendations.

People love to show off what they are doing and how they are preparing for the holidays. You can pull outdoor Christmas light ideas from any of them. You have access to thousands of people’s decorations, you may as well put it to good use.

Some good outdoor Christmas lighting ideas for this year include warm lights, vintage styles, metallic instruments to reflect the lights, garlands, wreaths, and using lights to highlight the architecture of your home.

How do I create my own unique Christmas look in my home?

So what are some indoor and outdoor Christmas lighting ideas to help make your Christmas decorations more unique? How can you combine the Christmas theme/personal looks into a display that is your own but still looks good?

The best way to create a unique Christmas look is to choose the themes that best suit your home and highlight the parts you love. Try to match your holiday decor with your home decorations. Color-clashing decorations won’t look good in your home. Christmas decorations that fit the aesthetic of your home will blend nicely and look more classy in your home. This will make your decorations look more personalized, as they will fit more naturally in your home.

If you tend to have a more minimalistic style, choosing simpler, toned-down decorations will make more sense in your house. If you have more bright colors and big decorations, then bigger, flashier Christmas decorations will fit your home better. The key is to pick the trends and styles of Christmas decorations that look the best in your home and which fit your style the best.

Choosing tons of new decorations just because they are trendy, trying to do too many styles of decorations, and clashing with the theme of your home will make it seem like you don’t know what you're doing and certainly won’t look good. Pick a few trends that you like and that work well with what your house already looks like. This will make popular trends blend well into your home and seem like they are your own.

How should I choose a Christmas theme this year?

You don’t want to have clashing colors for the holidays, so how do you choose the best theme to go with? Themes don’t necessarily have to be kept completely separate. So long as the colors don’t clash, Santa and his reindeer can still be put up even if you have a nativity too.

The best way to choose a color theme for Christmas is to decide what goes best with your house decorations and your personal style. You may want to go for more subdued tones if you have neutral colors in your home. If you have lots of bright colors or a fun Christmas is important to you, you can go with lots of bright decorations. If you want a more traditional, nostalgic Christmas, the traditional red and green lights are the way to go.

How can I get creative with Christmas decor while staying within my budget?

Outdoor Christmas lighting ideas don’t always have to be pricey. While DIY outdoor Christmas lights will save you money, there are a few things you should be aware of before you go for them. Make sure you choose the right lights. The most common lights for decorating a house are C7 or C9 bulbs. These bulbs are bigger and will stand out more on the house. String lights and shaped lights can be used around windows, on railings, and of course, on the Christmas tree.

LED lights are great to use for DIY lighting projects because they are so easy. LED lights are safer and more energy efficient, saving you money while lowering the fire risk. Besides this, you can connect several strands together.

That being said, it’s cheaper to buy something only once. You see, permanent LED lights not only use less electricity, they also prevent you the hassle created by storage bins, strands burning out, and other problems tied to temporary light strands. (Not to mention permanent lights’ usefulness year-round.)

How can JellyFish Lighting help me?

If you are looking for outdoor Christmas lighting ideas, JellyFish Lighting is a great place to turn. We offer high-quality color-changing LED lights that will last for years on your house. Having a permanent display allows you to change colors throughout the year to have the perfect accent, security, and event lighting for any holiday season. We've got millions of colors to turn any outdoor space into a warm, comfortable Christmas display.

If you want quality lights on your house for this Christmas and the next several years to come, JellyFish Lighting is the way to go.