The Short Answer
Book a professional holiday light installer 4 to 6 weeks before the date you want your display lit. The simplest way to plan is to pick that date first and work backward from it, using the checklist below.
Step 1: Choose the Date You Want to Be Lit
Everything else follows from this one decision. Ask yourself:
- Is there a specific evening the display needs to be on for, such as a family gathering or a neighborhood event?
- Or is the goal simply to be lit for the whole season?
Write the date down, then count back 4 to 6 weeks. That is when to book.
Step 2: Decide What You Want Lit
Before you reach out, walk around the property and make a short list. It makes the first conversation faster and the design closer to what you picture.
- Rooflines, ridgelines and peaks
- Columns
- Trees and shrubs, wrapped or lit as a group
- Wreaths and garland
Step 3: Pick a Starting Point for the Look
You do not need a finished design, only a direction: the colors you like and the overall style you picture. Every display is designed for the property rather than picked from a catalog, so if you have a particular combination in mind, bring it up.
Step 4: Start the Conversation
Call, text or send the form, and talk through the property, the look you have in mind and the budget you want to stay inside. The contact page has every way to reach us.
Step 5: Review the Rendering Before You Approve
Your estimate comes back with a rendering of your own house or building carrying the proposed display. Check it against your list from Step 2 and ask for any changes before you approve. Approving a picture of your own property is easier than approving a description.
Step 6: Plan for Install Day
Once you approve, the lighting is measured and cut to fit the property, then installed. You do not need to be home as long as the crew has access, so note anything they should know about getting to each area you want lit.
Step 7: Put January on the Calendar, Not on Your To Do List
When the season ends, takedown is part of the service, and the lighting goes back to us for storage until next season. There is nothing to coil up or find a shelf for. The takedown and storage page explains what happens after the holidays.
The Checklist
- Date you want to be lit, written down
- Booking date counted back 4 to 6 weeks from that date
- List of areas to light
- A starting direction for the look
- First conversation booked through the contact page
- Rendering reviewed and approved
- Access notes ready for install day
- January takedown understood as part of the service
For the full sequence from the first call to takedown, see our process.