It’s that magical time of year, when families all across the country climb into their cars after dusk and drive around looking at all of the neighbourhood holiday lights and displays, creating memories that last a lifetime.. So, if you love the idea of delighting holiday merrymakers both young and old, here are some tips on decorating your home’s exterior for the holidays.
Research Before You Design
When researching this article, we visited a local Canadian Tire to get a feel for the types of available exterior décor products. What we discovered is that there really is something for everyone. Lights, inflatable characters, animatronic accents and more all come together to help homeowners create front lawn wonderlands.
Consider Your Neighbourhood
Take a drive or walk around and you’ll see that different neighbourhoods subscribe to different design aesthetics, as far as holiday decorating goes. If you live in an area with few small children, it may be neighbourly to forgo the giant inflatables and stick with a still, monochromatic lighting style.
By contrast, if you have a lot of young families and children in your neighbourhood, brightly coloured lights and inflatable characters are sure to delight. Additionally, with lights at the centre of so many different holidays, exterior lights are a great way for all of us to share in the festive season.
Take Steps to Keep Energy Expenditures Low
The cost of powering all of those decorations is often a point of concern for homeowners. Fortunately, there are ways to enjoy your happy holidays without a sky-high hydro bill. First, make the switch to LED lights. The difference in energy use per bulb is 6 watts for incandescent vs .8 watts for LED.
Placing everything on a timer and setting things to run for only a few hours in the evening is an excellent way to keep costs low. This is especially beneficial if you plan to decorate with inflatables!
Inflatable decorations are the greediest energy consumers. According to insideenergy.org, a large inflatable snow globe can use about 200 watts of energy. This can translate to a total of 149 kilowatts if it’s left on all day. Depending upon your energy rates this can result in an extra $19 or more on your monthly bill.
Secure Inflatable Décor
Be sure to take steps to secure any decorations as best as you can. Decorations that can be easily blown away or stolen (horrible yet not uncommon) should be tethered or secured as much as possible. Not only are these items pricey, but the loss of a giant Santa or light projector can be incredibly disheartening.