What to buy for a Christmas light display that lasts
Seven guides to the gear we would put on a customer's house - the strings, clips, timers and cords that survive a Georgia winter, with what each spec actually means.
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Most of what sells as "outdoor Christmas lights" is built for one season. The strings on the end-cap at the hardware store use thin wire and unsealed bulbs, and by the second December half the run has gone dark or drifted blue. That is not bad luck. It is what the price bought.
After thousands of installs across metro Atlanta, from Alpharetta and Marietta to Buckhead and Lawrenceville, we have a clear view of what actually survives a wet Georgia winter and what does not. These guides are that view, applied to gear a homeowner can order. Every spec quoted below is taken from the product's own listing; where a manufacturer does not state a figure we leave it blank rather than guess, because an unstated bulb spacing is genuinely unknown.
We are a lighting company, so the honest disclosure is this: we would rather you hired us. But if you are doing your own display, doing it with the right hardware is better for everyone, and if the job turns out to be bigger than the afternoon you had in mind, our DIY-or-pro wizard will tell you that plainly.
Not sure what you need?
The planner takes the front width of your house and gives you the whole list: how many feet of roofline, how many bulbs, how many clips, what it draws in amps and what the whole list costs.
The buying guides
LED light strings
8 productsC9 and C7 strings that survive a Georgia winter - what wire gauge, bulb sealing and color consistency actually buy you.
Read the guide →Clips, hooks and stakes
12 productsThe clip has to match the surface. Shingle, gutter, leaf guard, clay tile and ridgeline each need something different.
Read the guide →Timers, plugs and cords
12 productsTimers, smart plugs and the right cord gauge - plus why your GFCI keeps tripping and how to stop it.
Read the guide →Custom-cut C9 runs
8 productsEmpty socket spools, bulbs and slip plugs - build runs cut to your exact roofline, the way the crews do it.
Read the guide →Minis, nets and tree wrap
9 productsLandscape lighting is the part of a display that is genuinely easy to DIY - and the part most people under-buy for.
Read the guide →Installation tools
7 productsA hanging pole and a ladder standoff change the risk of this job more than any other purchase.
Read the guide →Storage
5 productsThe cheapest category on the site and the one that saves the most money - storage is what decides whether your lights see a second season.
Read the guide →Or let us do the whole thing
We design, install, maintain and remove commercial-grade displays across metro Atlanta, then store them until next season. Nothing gets nailed or stapled to your roof. Call (470) 777-7443 for an exact quote.
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