Courtesy of STL Holiday Lighting
A reader recently wrote in and complained about Christmas lights. “I hate, hate, hate hanging lights,” she writes. “Are there any tricks that can ease my pain. I’m okay on the traditional tree, but what about outside? What a pain!” Although it is probably too late to help this year, we thought you could use the information for coming yuletide seasons so…we turned to a pro, Nick D’Amato owner of St. Louis Holiday Lighting (314-718-0105, stlholidaylighting.com) for five tips.
- “Use one strand of mini-lights for bushes or trees and don’t stretch them out from bush to bush.”
- “Homeowners shouldn’t try to put lights on their second story; it can be dangerous without the proper equipment.”
- “Instead of trying to hang lights on every tree in the yard, just wrap the trunks.”
- “Icicle lights are a real pain,” adding that when the wind blows and breaks the bulbs, one broken bulb can darken 4 feet of the strand.
- “LEDs can save you a lot of energy, using just 20 percent of the energy of a normal strand, but they cost more,” or about three or four times more than traditional, incandescent bulbs.
