DIY LED Christmas Lights- 10 Fun Project Ideas

As the chilly weather starts to kick in, it's time to start thinking about some ways to add a festive touch to your home and holiday decorations with LED Christmas lights. From outdoor light displays to indoor knick-knacks, LED lights are sure to add an impressive look to your home this holiday season. Here are ten ways to make your Christmas lights shine in your decor:

One of the best parts of preparing for the holiday season includes decorating the landscape of your home or workspace with twinkling lights and fixtures. While some projects should be professionally installed, such as permanent Christmas lights, there are several ways to create a winter wonderland of lights throughout your yard and the perimeter of your home!

1. Ensure Your Home Shines Year-Round with Permanent Christmas Lights

Permanent Christmas lights stay installed around the perimeter of your building year-round for your convenience in decorating. If you decide to make the switch and install permanent Christmas lights, you are bound to save valuable time and money every holiday season thereafter. Although there are some DIY kits available for you, it is recommended that a licensed electrician assist you in preparing the wiring and installing the mounting hardware.

A professionally installed system of lights will usually require some initial preparation:

1. Aside from your permanent Christmas lights, other materials such as a controller, adequate power supply, a j-channel, drills and screws will need to be prepared for your installation.
2. Measurements of your roofline are taken to double check the spacing between your permanent Christmas lights and each power source. Measurements for unlit wires are included for the extension of your permanent lights across the length of your roof.
3. A j-channel is a type of siding trim that can be used to create channels for your leds. Channels are holes that are drilled into the roofline for your permanent Christmas lights to set into. Each channel is marked prior to drilling to ensure the spacing is even.
4. In determining the number of lights needed, experts go by a general rule that additional power must be supplied for every 75 feet of lighting. In this case, if there are not any outlets nearby, extra holes may need to be drilled for lines to run from the power supply to the permanent Christmas lights.

The electrical professional will begin connection by connecting a power adapter together with a length of unlit wire, which is then connected to the first line of permanent Christmas lights. For channel connection, the final holes are drilled into the edge of the roofline or gutter. For a smoother finish, O-rings are installed on the edges of the holes. Some areas of your lights may need splicing for a custom fit to the roofline perimeter.

Permanent Christmas lights will usually have a male and female power connector on each end of the strand. Splicing typically involves removing the male connector to directly attach the wires to your power supply. An electrical professional will separate the positive and ground of your permanent Christmas lights wires to ensure their correct placement. The remaining wiring will connect to your control system for easy operation.

The cost to install permanent Christmas lights depends on if you decide to do it yourself or hire an electrical professional for the job. On average, the cost to professionally install permanent Christmas lights is about $3500, which includes the cost of labor and the installation of your permanent lights. Individually, labor costs can range from $300-$800 for an electrical professional while larger companies that provide you with lights can price their labor up to $1800.

Some professionals prefer to break their pricing of installing your Christmas lights down by the size of most homes and the length of the permanent lights. On average, experts charge from $2-$5 dollars per linear foot of lighting. Expect to pay at least 20% more of the labor cost for homes and buildings with a higher roof and other difficult to reach areas:

Although pricing may vary between the company or individual professional for the job, choosing to install permanent Christmas lights allows you to focus on the other aspects of creating a wonderful holiday experience for years to come!

2. Embellish your lawn with DIY Outdoor Yard Ornaments

With your permanent Christmas lights installed, it's time to fill the space of your lawn with some holiday magic. Creating some yard ornaments with your Christmas lights is a great way to give your holiday decor a natural element this season. For this DIY project, you'll need some balloons, some outdoor twine, and household items such as scissors, cornstarch, and petroleum jelly.

• Step 1: Blow up multiple balloons for the shape of your ornaments.Consider the size and placement of each ornament when blowing up your balloons. For a more interesting look, blow up balloons that vary in large and small sizes that can be grouped together later during placement.
• Step 2: Create your adhesive mixture.Mix 1/2 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of warm water together to create a molding mixture for the twine. Before dipping the twine into the mixture and wrapping it onto each balloon, be sure to add a layer of petroleum jelly to the surface of the balloons for easier removal when the twine is dry.
• Step 3: Wrap the twine around the balloons.Alternate between vertical, horizontal, and diagonal placement of the twine to re-create the spherical shape of the balloons. It's okay to have some gaps, as these will likely be filled after wrapping your Christmas lights. After you are finished, let your ornaments dry for at least 24 hours before removing the balloons and wrapping your lights.

To ensure the longevity of your design, spray them with a clear spray paint before wrapping your Christmas lights around them. Once your ornaments are finished, you can choose to hang them around posts or trees, or simply rest them on and around your front porch furniture. Soon, everyone will be in awe of your new modern outdoor holiday decor!

3. Make Scenic Holiday Trees with Tomato Cages

Every year at your local department store, you will likely find outdoor holiday tree decorations for sale. Did you know that you could re-create the same look for less? With a tomato cage and your choice of lights and other embellishments you can have a light wonderland right outside your door!

Wrap your lights around the tomato cage in a spiral motion to get a tree shape that is solely made up of holiday lights. For a more traditional look, wrap garland around the structure of the cage to resemble miniature outdoor shrubbery.

4. Decorate Garden Hanging Baskets with Lights

Your everyday hanging garden baskets can easily become a new holiday light decoration by simply wrapping your lighting around each basket. These small details can make your decorations much more uniform throughout every inch of your outdoor space! You can choose to screw the mounting chain to a patio ceiling for hanging, or to simply use your baskets as a centerpiece on the table of your outdoor living space.

5. Fun Tree Light Wrapping Ideas

There are so many ways to wrap your led lights around trees and shrubbery to produce amazing lighting effects. Wrap lights in a spiral motion around tree branches to replace the fallen leaves. Use different colored lights to create diagonal blocks of color along tapered trees and bushes. Gently wrap lights along small shrubbery and pathways to complete the look!

In your home or workspace, there are tons of great opportunities to use your system of LED lights for some holiday cheer. With a few inexpensive tools at hand, your space is bound to be the center of attention this season.

6. Bedazzle Your Wall or Ceiling with DIY Light-Up Paper Snowflakes

For this idea, you'll need some scissors, a hot glue gun or silicone adhesive, some LED strip lights that are 10ft in length, and of course, some white or brown paper bags. If you are planning to use lights with color options, we recommend white colored paper bags for the brightness of the colors.

• Step 1: Glue the bags together.You will need about 8 bags for a nicely sized snowflake. To begin, take your first bag and place it on the table so that the back of the bag is facing up towards you. With your source of adhesive, gently run a line of glue down the center of the bag and place another bag on top. Repeat this process for all eight bags.
• Step 2: Cut the bags into your desired shape.With a pencil, trace your shape along the vertical edge of the bags. Triangles or half circles are simple shapes that can make intricate designs when opened. Be sure not to trace past the bottom half of the bag so that the center of the snowflake isn't broken. Once finished, you can cut along the lines of your tracing and open up your design. Add a final line of glue to the ends to finish the circle.
• Step 3: Install your Christmas lights! Carefully remove the protective film from the back of your 10 fit LED tape lights and begin to adhere them along each branch of your snowflake. Once finished, you can use simple mounting hardware to place your new decorations on a wall or ceiling of your choice!

In choosing the placement of your decorations, keep in mind that your LED Christmas lights will need to be plugged into a nearby outlet for operation.

7. DIY Wall Christmas Tree with String Lights

Wall mounted Christmas trees are a great way to save money and floor space this holiday season. To create the perfect decoration, you'll need some garland, flexible adhesive hanging tabs, masking tape and some LED string lights of your choice.

First, find a suitable location for your new decoration. The use of holiday lights will require either an accessible outlet or an extension cord for power. Mark out the shape of the tree on the wall with your masking tape, making edits to its dimensions as needed. Next, you can begin to build your tree by placing your hanging tabs along and beside the masking tape. Stick on your garland in zigzag patterns to fill out the shape of the tree and spread out the branches to cover any gaps.

Lastly, use the branches of the garland to hook and secure your lighting in place. Add the finishing touches of ornaments and other decorations to complete the look. Plug your lights into your nearby power supply and enjoy!

8. DIY Snowball String Lights

Update your Christmas lights to look like sparkling snowballs with this fun hack. For this DIY project, it is best to use globe string lights to resemble the circular shape of a snowball. With the use of some spray adhesive and faux sparkling snow, you can bring a more festive look to your LED lights:

• Cover the base of each light with masking tape to avoid spraying any adhesive towards unwanted areas of the light.
• For a mess-free application, prepare your faux sparkling snow in a bowl or plastic container. Have a tray or covered surface ready to rest the lights on to dry.
• Spray one or two coats of adhesive onto each globe and rotate it within the sparkling snow in order to cover the entire surface of the bulb. Once the bulbs are dry, you can hang and enjoy your new holiday lights!

9. DIY Decorative Lanterns

You can add some spice to your permanent lights by adding some decorative bulbs and other inexpensive elements to each fixture. Use G40 filament lightbulbs with Christmas tree shapes or candelabra LED bulbs to make your lights a holiday centerpiece. You can also decorate the light bulbs with different glitters, streamers and tinsel. For safe application and increased visibility of your masterpiece, only utilize your decorations in open LED fixtures without a light shade.

10. Additional Holiday Embellishments for Your Indoor Spaces

With your main holiday decor pieces in place, you might find a few places that need an extra touch of the holiday spirit. Although there are tons of decor options available in your local department stores, you can save money easily by crafting your favorite pieces on your own:

• Use glass mason jars and Christmas lights to create tabletop centerpieces among your other ornaments and greenery.
• Create a simple Christmas wreath by wrapping garland and lights around a circular form made with wire or twine.
• Decorate small cardboard boxes with your choice of lights and other knick knacks to create entertaining miniature holiday scenes.

Now you are ready to prepare your house with a Christmas lighting installation that stands out among the rest. Whether you choose to make permanent Christmas lights or DIY projects your priority, your time spent will prove valuable when your family sees your masterpiece this holiday season. Be sure to contact your local lighting expert for help in installing your permanent Christmas lights and other tips and tricks for distributing adequate power supply to your leds. Happy holidays!