One of the first things you need to do before you start decorating is to view  your home from the perspective of your neighbors or people driving by. This will help you make sense of your design plan and allow you to take in your home from the vantage point of those that will actually be enjoying your holiday handiwork. Next is conceptualize and list down the tools and equipment you will need. With the proper tools and steps, any beginner can successfully light up the exterior of a home.

Start by measuring at the base of the house, going along any turns and corners. Measure doors and door frames, window frames, and any columns that will be lit. If hanging Christmas lights on peaks, climb carefully up a ladder and measure along the area of the peak to be decorated. Use zip ties and extension cord, as necessary. If the length of your lights match the space where you'll hang them, then you may opt to not utilise them. 

When shopping for outdoor lights, look for a box marked “for outdoor use”. These light types are made to withstand the harsh weather conditions of the outdoors and they are designed to last longer. Before hanging your lights on your home, test each strand of lights to ensure they all work. Pay close attention to the bulbs and make sure that you know where they are supposed to go (and if they actually fit). This will save you a ton of time (not to mention potential disappointment) down the line.

If you're tired of putting holes in your house each year by nailing, stapling, and taping holiday lights to the siding and gutters, then these clips will solve your problem. They're inexpensive, fashionable, and flexible enough to hold almost any type of light strand without damaging your home. Look for holiday lighting clips that can secure your Christmas lights and allow you to safely attach them to gutters, fences, trees, and other outdoor surfaces. Once you have placed your holiday light set, its time to switch them on and enjoy the view.

You can decorate just about anything you can think of indoors — trees, tables, walls, ceilings, stair railings, and more. Once you know where you want to put your holiday lights, measure out the length and height of the area. Find a style that works for your space. You can choose to leave them dangling over a doorway or drape above the mantel. When you drape your Christmas lights around a room, it's best to attach them to the walls in many places along the strands of wire. This way, as you move around, you don't accidentally pull them down onto the floor. 

You can secure holiday lights to your wall by sticking a small adhesive decorating clip to the walls in each place you want to attach them. To securely attach a vertical stretch of lights hanging straight up or down, face the clips in alternating directions to make the arrangement more secure. You may only need one piece of tape every five or six lights depending on how heavy the strands are and how complicated your hanging design is. The more twists and patterns in your design, the more pieces of tape you will need for a flawless application.

Warning: When hanging string lights, be sure you don't tape the lights themselves to the walls, only the strands of wires. To keep your home safe from fires and electrocution, always follow manufacturer instructions for installing your lights.

There is no shortage of ideas for your Christmas lights display. The most common way is to watch movies or TV shows with Christmas themes. You can also look at old or new holiday pictures on magazines or social media to see what other people do and what is popular. Take a walk around the neighborhood. You might find modern displays or vintage-inspired Christmas lights. These will help spark your imagination, and you can start thinking about how you want to decorate outside of your home this year.