Christmas light guides for your house
Plain answers for anyone putting lights on a house: which look to pick, how many strands to buy, what it costs, and how to hang them safely. Every guide links to a free tool that previews the look on a photo of your own house.
Start with the one that matches your question
- Not sure what look to pick? Read Christmas light ideas for a house or browse all 24 Christmas light styles.
- Need to know how much to buy? Use the Christmas light calculator for a house or the tree light calculator.
- Choosing between bulbs? Compare C9, C7 and mini lights, warm white and multicolor and LED and incandescent.
- Ready to hang them? Follow how to hang lights on gutters or the guide for siding, brick and shingles.
- Thinking of paying someone? See Christmas light installation cost and how to hire an installer.
Guides by type of house
A colonial, a ranch and a townhouse need different plans. These pages give typical roofline lengths, where lights look best, and which of the 24 styles suit each: colonial, ranch, Cape Cod, two-story, townhouse, farmhouse, Victorian, modern, small house and apartment balcony.
The numbers these guides rest on
Every guide draws on the same short list of public figures, so the advice does not contradict itself from page to page. Each one is linked, and the guide that uses it says so.
| Question | What the source says | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| How risky is decorating? | CPSC counted about 14,700 emergency-room-treated holiday decorating injuries in November and December, about 240 a day. Falls were 41 percent of them, and ladder falls caused 3 deaths. | Hiring an installer, gutters |
| How many incandescent sets can I join? | No more than three, per CPSC. LED limits are printed on the box, and a common UL guideline caps one chain near 210 W (Christmas Light Source). | Plugging strings together |
| What does LED save? | Energy.gov: LED strands use 70 percent less energy, and lighting a 6 ft tree 12 hours a day for 40 days costs $0.27 with LEDs against $10 with incandescents. | LED vs incandescent, tree lights |
| What must the lights carry? | The electrical code requires holiday lighting to be listed (NEC 410.160) and limits temporary installs to 90 days, per IAEI. | Outdoor ideas |
| How do I set a ladder? | Base 1 ft out for every 4 ft of ladder length, three points of contact, 10 ft from power lines (OSHA, CPWR). | Gutters |
Preview before you buy
The Christmas light visualizer takes one photo of your house and shows how a style looks on it at dusk. The first three styles are free with no sign-up, and each style comes with a parts list and a DIY cost for a typical roofline.
Prices and counts in these guides are estimates for the United States in 2026. Package labels and your own measurements always win.
All guides in this section
Frequently asked questions
Where do I start if I have never put lights on a house?
Measure your roofline in feet, pick one simple look such as a warm white roofline, and preview it in the visualizer. A single clean line of lights on the front of the house looks better than lights everywhere done badly.
Are these guides free?
Yes. The guides, calculators and the first three style previews are free. Parts lists link to Amazon searches, which may earn Hollyhush a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Do you install lights?
No. Hollyhush shows you the look and the parts list. If you want a pro, how to hire an installer explains what to ask for.
Is the pricing in the guides exact?
No. Costs are typical US ranges and rough retail prices. Your roofline length, number of floors and local labor rates move them.
See it on your house
Upload one photo of your house and preview Christmas light styles on it. Free, no sign-up for your first three.
Preview it on my house, free- 24 styles to compare
- Parts list and DIY cost for each
- Photos deleted after 30 days
Ready when you are
Upload a photo and preview a look in about a minute. Free, no sign-up for your first three styles.