Stress Saver – Prepare Early for Your Christmas Light Display

Summer is in full swing across the country and staying cool is the task at hand. But, as I sit and stare at my lighted palm tree, I can’t help but think that soon my favorite season will be here…Christmas. Each year I go through schedule that allows me to prepare my Christmas lights, trees, and outdoor decorations in a gradual manner so I do not have a lot of stress scrambling to fix light strands, repaint blowmolds, and repair wireframe rope lights in October and November.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love being outside as much as possible during the summer so I keep the light fixes to a minimum in order to make the most of the nice weather. But, when there are a few spare moments, I like to get some tasks out of the way. July is usually when I start the process by taking care of my outdoor Christmas decorations and wireframes.

It never fails that the harsh winter weather will do some sort of damage to my wireframes. The most common issue is clips which get broken and can no longer keep the rope lights on the wireframe. In July, I go about re-attaching rope lights to the wireframes. I personally like to use crocodile clips to attach the rope lights because they are built for rope lights, are very sturdy, and can be rotated in any direction for a perfectly aligned look.

I also take a look at the shape my rope lights are in. There are times when the rope lights may have been accidentally cut or I may just want to change the color of lights on my wireframe. Whatever the case may be, I take a quick assessment of the lights and decide how many new strands of rope lights I will need to fix the wireframes. I will do my best to repair the lights with a splice connector so I can save the lights if at all possible.

I have to be honest, if I have used a wireframe for a few years in a row, I like to branch out and see what new outdoor Christmas decorations I can add to my display. I personally like to focus on large wireframes that can complement my display but a simple addition of a few walkway trees or wireframe snowflakes will also do the trick. Since I normally know how my display will look, I go ahead and plan for a few additions to my display and factor in what I need to buy.

I am ready to place my order for new clips, rope lights and some new outdoor decorations now that I have taken quick stock of my wireframes and decorations. I normally order more clips and a few more rope lights than I think I may need just in case another wireframe calamity strikes or I want to use different color rope lights. I probably spend about a half hour on a rainy Summer night to figure out what I will need. Rather than scrambling to attach my rope lights to a wireframe in late November, I can take my time and replace what I know is broken…and then get back outside to sit under my palm tree. :)