How much does Christmas light installation cost?

Christmas light installation and removal services can be a huge help for anyone who wants to brighten their home for the holidays (and make sure Santa doesn’t miss their house on Christmas Eve). Professional installers will take care of the tedious and often dangerous task of hanging holiday lights at the beginning of the season, and will return to remove everything after the holidays are over. Let’s get a sense of what you can ask for in terms of Christmas lighting installation and how much it will cost you.

Average Christmas light installation fees range from $1.25 to $3 per linear foot of lights if you already own the lights you need installed. Most installers charge twice as much to hang lights on the second story of a home as they do on the first. If your roof is hard to reach for anyone without a sleigh, that may cost an additional 20 percent because of the special equipment needed for the job.

If you don’t already own Christmas lights, expect to pay between $4 and $30 per strand of lights on average, depending on the quality and type of lights.

Most average-sized homes between 1,000 and 2,000 square feet require at least 10 to 20 strands total. If you want the company installing your holiday lights to provide the lights, you can expect to pay between 50 cents and $2 per linear foot for the strands of lights alone.

Different kinds of lights are available, which will affect the cost. For example, LED lights cost more than incandescent lights, but use less energy and last longer, which can save money in the long run.

Wrapping outdoor trees with Christmas lights can cost anywhere from $60 for a small tree to $1,200 for a large tree, depending on the type, shape, and height of the tree. A deciduous tree with open branches requires tight wrapping of the light strings around the branches to achieve the best look, whereas putting lights in a conifer with a typical cone shape may take less time and require fewer lights.

Having the lights removed when the holiday season is over typically costs about half of what you paid to have the lights put up. Some installers include the cost of removal in the total price, so be sure to ask upfront.

Christmas light installers book very quickly once the holiday season is in gear, so plan to call and schedule your installation as early as possible, even as early as August or September.

In addition to companies that offer holiday light installation as their primary services, many landscaping companies offer the seasonal service as well.

If your home has multiple stories or has lots of landscaping in the yard, it’s a good idea to request multiple quotes and ask the holiday light installer to come out and look at your property to give you a free estimate. This is a good opportunity for the installer to tell you whether you will need to install outdoor outlets or ground outdoor wires, which is something you would hire an electrician to do before the installation.

You don’t need light up your entire house to make spirits bright. There are lots of ways to save money on holiday light installations and still have an end result that brings joy to the world. A few things to consider:

• Purchase your own lights instead of buying lights from the installer.
• Buy your holiday lights during the off-season or when they go on sale after the holidays.
• Choose LED lights that will use less electricity and last for more holiday seasons: They may cost more upfront, but save on energy costs over time.
• Be selective: Pick just a few areas to light in the exact way you want, rather than your entire home.
• Schedule your light show: Have your installer put your holiday lights on a timer in order to keep your electricity bill down.

Hanging Christmas lights is one home improvement project it’s usually better to leave to the professionals. Putting up lights is a festive way to decorate your house, but it can also be time-consuming, stressful, and dangerous. Instead of taking the risk of falling off a ladder and spending the holidays on crutches or starting an electrical fire, hire a professional who will go over your options, create a plan to make your vision come to life, use the right special equipment to hang everything safely and properly, and save you time and potential aggravation.