I love Christmas lights, make no doubt about it.
Well, specifically, I like when they’re already up and twinkling prettily in the wintry night sky. I am not necessarily a fan of the setup operation.
The knotted strands of lights. The unmarked boxes and bags of decorations. The freezing temperatures that chill your fingers to the bone.
Not to mention the electrical issues.
My first grievance: Having enough lights. Somehow, my collection of outdoor Christmas lights has evolved to contain approximately 4,000 strands of white lights and, at the moment, 0 strands of red lights.
You should make a simple spreadsheet of X-Mas Lights and keep it updated a few times each holiday season to keep track of your stock of strands, especially if you have multiple types of lights. My house, for instance, uses white strands, red strands, and strands of white icicle lights.
My second grievance: Extension cords and electrical plugs. Over time I have evolved to have a large cardboard box filled with extension cords of every length and hue, as well as a smorgasbord of adapters and power strips.
To simplify, know what your usual Christmas light setup requires in terms of extension cords, adapters, and power strips and keep those in their own smaller box. Also, make sure to keep track of green and brown extension cords – they can lay, camouflaged, in your front yard for weeks before you re-discover them. Annoying!
My third grievance: Light repair and replacement. This part is the worst! Strands of lights will burn out on you. On the coldest evening of December, no less. Then you will feel compelled to suit up in your bulkiest winter clothing and rummage through a dark, chilly garage or storage shed to look for the lights you need.
This is your darkest hour, no pun intended. You will search forever and, by the time you straggle outside to fix the lights before your neighbors begin to criticize, you will feel like a half-frozen chunk of meat.
You should keep a few strands of each type you need inside the house in a drawer somewhere near your front door. When a strand goes out you’ve got its replacement in a convenient, warm spot – no need to freeze your rear off in a garage or storage shed re-opening all the Christmas light boxes!
A final note: If wrapping trees or bushes, consider securing a power strip to the trunk of the tree to plug in each strand of lights individually. That way, if one burns out, you can replace it without having to unwrap multiple other strands – the one that burns out is never at the end…always inconveniently in the middle!