So, you want to decorate your home’s exterior for the holidays, but you’re not sure how to go about it?
Here are some easy tips.
1. Gutter Hooks
These plastic, curled hooks couldn’t be easier to install. Just clip the large curved ends onto the edges of the gutters, and string Christmas lights through the smaller curved ends.
You can easily remove the Christmas lights and gutter hooks after the season’s end.
Best of all? This setup won’t leave a mess!
2. Self-Adhesive Hooks
3M Command Hooks have adhesive backing and are made for indoor and outdoor applications.
Just purchase the ones designed for exterior uses and the right weight class so that your decorations won’t fall off over time.
When it’s time to remove these hooks, just peel them right off with no residue showing whatsoever!
3. Vinyl Siding Hangers
Your local home center has hangers that attach directly to vinyl siding and fit on the siding itself or, more commonly, on the soffits.
The cup hook or wire hook attach to the siding in a manner that prevents any damage.
Just make sure to space the hooks enough to securely hold your decorations.
Tip: You may want to leave these hangers in place all year so that you can reuse them. This will eliminate some of the time it takes you to decorate.
You need a plan to efficiently decorate your home for the holidays and have an easy setup and breakdown.
Use these ideas to make the process easier!
Who Invented Electric Christmas Lights?
Thomas Edison invented the modern light bulb, as we know it today, basing his plans on the work of English chemist Humphry Davy, who invented the electric lamp, and physicist and chemist Joseph Swan.
Edison also had a hand in creating Christmas lights. He made the first strand of electric lights in 1880, even though they didn’t catch on for decades.
Edward H. Johnson, his business partner and friend, put the first string of electric, red, white and blue Christmas tree lights together in 1882. But that was just for his personal use because the public didn’t trust electricity in those days.
It wasn’t until 1917, when a teenager named Albert Sadacca suggested that his family’s novelty lighting company sell Christmas lights, that the trend began.
And, eventually, took off.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer based in Los Lunas, New Mexico. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.
