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DECORATE YOUR HOUSE WITH CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
By Katie and Gene Hamilton

You do it only once a year, but decorating the exterior of your house for the holidays is special. It's one project that can involve everyone in the family because the job requires a variety of skills and talents. Kids can help string lights on low shrubbery and bushes, and adults can do the ladder and electrical work. Together you can make your home a very special place for the holidays.

If this is the first year you'll be decorating your house, it's a good idea to start with a plan. Make a rough sketch or outline of your house with measurements of its height and width and the length of walkways and railings. Note where there's an exterior electrical outlet and any trees or yard details that you want to include.

This sketch will help you create an ultimate design for displaying holiday lights on your house, but you don't have to do everything the first year. Break up the design into components and add one of them each year. With a master plan the end result will be a coordinated design where you make several small investments over the years instead of one big one.

When choosing light sets, consider the exterior miniatures which are the most efficient to operate. Other considerations are if the strings have replaceable lights. Only buy sets that have been rated 'outdoor', which means they are fused to prevent the string from being overloaded by connecting additional strings of lights end to end. Be sure to check the package to find out how many light sets can be connected to each other so you don't overload them.

In general, strings of lights outline the architectural lines of your house while floodlights call attention to a special feature like a wreath on the front door or a stately pine tree.

You can determine the number of Christmas light sets needed to string lights across the roof line or around the front door by checking the dimensions on your sketch with those on the package.

To figure out how many feet of exterior miniature lights it takes to decorate a bush or tree, just multiply its height by its average width in feet and then multiply this number by six. If you're using full size lights, cut the number in half.

Place yard ornaments like Santa Claus or Frosty the Snowman in the focal point of the front yard. To do this, position the figure so it can be seen best from the street -- which might mean experimenting before you set it in place. Use a floodlight or two to focus attention on it. Since these lights can be used for other security lighting, they are an investment that you can use year-round. Buy only flood or spotlight bases that are rated for outdoor use with plastic, double insulated bases.

Invest in heavy duty outdoor extension cords and cover each plug and connector joint with plastic wrap to protect it from rain and snow. A cut up plastic garbage bag sealed with black electrical tape works fine. Try to hide the cord by running it behind bushes or plantings and prevent accidents by running cords out of harm's way, not across a walkway or door opening.

Don't forget to take a picture of your house with the lights on. The best time of day is at dusk when the Christmas lights shine brightly but there's still enough daylight for the camera to work.

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