How Much Does Christmas Light Installation Cost?

What professional Christmas light installation costs

For most single-family homes in Northeast Connecticut, professional Christmas light installation runs $600 to $1,400 for the season.

The low end of that covers a straightforward roofline on a smaller home. The high end covers two-story peaks, wrapped trees, bushes, railings, and walkway lighting. Most houses land somewhere in the middle, and the number depends far more on how much of the property gets lit than on the size of the house itself.

Every house is different, which is why we quote a flat, per-house price rather than working off an average. Text a photo of the front of your house to (860) 553-9326 and you will usually have a number back within the hour.

What drives the price

Linear footage of roofline

This is the single biggest factor. Lights are cut to fit the eaves, ridges, and peaks you want lit, and more linear feet means more product and more time on the ladder.

Height and roof complexity

A single-story ranch eave is quick work. A second-story ridgeline over a walkout, a steep gable peak, or a dormer face that has to be reached from an extension ladder takes considerably longer and takes two people rather than one.

Everything beyond the roofline

Wrapped tree trunks, lit shrubs, porch railings, columns, garland on the door, walkway markers, and wreaths all add to the number. This is usually where a $700 quote becomes a $1,200 quote, and it is also the part that makes a display look designed rather than outlined.

Whether the lights are included

First-year installations cost more because the lights themselves are part of the price. They are measured and cut specifically to your house, and after that they are yours. Re-hangs in later seasons come in lower, because the set already fits.

Bulb type

C9 bulbs are the big traditional bulbs spaced along the roofline, and they read clearly from the road. Mini lights are smaller and closer together, which suits wrapping trees, railings, and detail work. Most displays use both, and the mix affects the price.

What should be included

A professional install is not somebody stapling big-box strands to your fascia. With Applewood, the price covers the whole season:

• Commercial-grade C9 or mini lights, warm white or full color, measured and cut to your house
• Design and layout, so the display suits the architecture rather than fighting it
• Installation on the roofline, trees, bushes, porch, and walkways as quoted
• Timers set, and cords run so you are not looking at orange extension cords across the lawn
• Takedown in January
• Storage until next season, so nothing lives in your garage

You never climb a ladder in December, untangle a bin of lights, or hunt for the one dead bulb that killed the strand.

Why custom-fit beats store-bought

Retail light strands come in fixed lengths. A roofline does not. So you end up with a strand that ends four feet short of the corner, a droop where two strands join, and an extension cord run somewhere you can see it. Multiply that by every run on the house.

Custom-cut commercial lines are measured to your eaves and cut to length, so every run ends where the roof ends. They also run on heavier wire with better sockets, which matters when the display is going to sit through a Connecticut December of wind, ice, and freeze-thaw cycles. Stored properly at the end of the season, a good set lasts for years.

When to book

Install calendars in our area fill through October, and the earliest November dates go first.

• September and early October: the right time to book if you want a specific date
• Late October: still fine, but the Thanksgiving-week slots are usually gone
• November: we install through the month, weather permitting
• Early December: possible, but the calendar is tight and cold weather makes ladder work slower

If you want lights up before Thanksgiving, book in October. That is not a sales line, it is just how the calendar works every year.

One scheduling note worth knowing: get the gutters cleaned before the lights go up, not after. Clips sit on the same edge the ladder needs, and nobody wants to pull a section of lights to clear a downspout in December.

The permanent lighting alternative

If you like the look but not the yearly install, permanent outdoor lighting is worth a look. It is a fixed track of individually controllable LEDs mounted under the eave, which stays up year-round and disappears against the trim in daylight.

It runs $42 per linear foot, so it is a bigger up-front number than a season of Christmas lights, and it does not come down. It also does more than Christmas. Warm white for everyday, team colors on game day, orange in October, and no ladders ever again. There is more on our permanent outdoor lighting page.

What to ask before you book anyone

• Are the lights included in the price, and do I own them afterward?
• Is takedown included, and when does it happen?
• Is off-season storage included, or does it go back in my garage?
• Who fixes a run that goes out in the middle of December, and is that part of the price?
• Can I see a certificate of insurance? Ladder work on a two-story roofline in winter is exactly when this matters.

Get on the calendar

Applewood Exterior Cleaning installs Christmas lights across Northeast Connecticut, Worcester and Middlesex counties in Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. You can check your town on our service areas page.

We are owner-operated, two of us, both from Pomfret, and an owner is on every job. We are fully insured with general liability and workers comp, and we send a certificate of insurance before work starts.

Text a photo of the front of your house to (860) 553-9326 for a flat quote, or read more about our Christmas light installation service. If you want the house looking its best under the lights, a fall house wash before the install is a good pairing, and the rest of what we do for homes is on our residential services page.