Make the sweet comforts of your home shine this Christmas. Nothing can bring back the sweet charm of the holidays like a neighborhood aglow with lights strung on roofs, fences, and windows. With outdoor Christmas lights, you can remind your friends and family to smile while we approach the holidays. And you can smile with them, knowing your home brings cheer and comfort to those in your community.
What to Consider When Buying Exterior Christmas Lights?
Colors and Patterns
When you decorate for the holidays, style and color steal the show. And with lights, there are numerous directions you can go. With a variety of options available, you can use brightly colored lights for something vibrant. Or you can choose from various kinds of white lights, from bright and cold to gentle and warm. You could also combine color patterns with some kind of white lights for a truly unique aesthetic. However, if you are using white lights, you will generally want to maintain consistency with the color temperature—warm with warm, and cold with cold.
Some lights also feature different settings. For example, lights may come with a timer to turn them on/off with a timer, or they can flash, twinkle, or glow in a variety of patterns. These features can help set different moods, depending on how you want your house to look and what other decorations you want to use.
Type of Light Bulbs
If you’ve ever changed a light bulb, you’ve seen the giant wall of options that can truly intimidate and overwhelm even the most handy people. It’s similar with Christmas lights. Considering shape, size, LED, and wattage capacity, it’s easy to get a little disoriented with what you may want.
Wattage capacity – Your home’s circuit has a limit on how many watts it can distribute. If you keep a lot of lights on, or if you have energy-intensive appliances, too many more lights may start to trip the breaker. While this can be a safety hazard, circuits are built to trip as an intentional safety precaution. But with too many lights, you may be in for some inconvenient trips to your home’s circuit breaker.
LED – LED lights are far more eco-friendly and cost-efficient than incandescent bulbs. They require fewer watts, and therefore, consume less electricity. This means you can have more lights plugged in to your circuit, and likely spend less money anyway. However, some people prefer the type of light produced by incandescent bulbs and they are willing to consume more energy and spend more money.
How Many Lights Do I Need for My Roof?
Whether you want your house to be dramatically draped in lights, or you simply want a few subtle accents here and there, you have to measure. The last thing you want is to climb up the ladder and run out of length and end up with an incomplete design.
The length you are going for will also depend on your circuit’s capacity and how much energy the lights will need. For larger projects, you will likely have to connect lights. This is where knowing your circuit and energy capacity are paramount. Several companies suggest how many strings of their product can be safely connected. There are also methods to calculate your home’s capacity so you can know for yourself. In general, you will be able to connect more strings with LED lights than you would be able to with incandescent lights.
Finally, you will want to have a safe and effective way to fasten the lights onto your roof. There are a variety of simple options for plastic fasteners. You will want to be sure to have plenty before you get started.
Try using a ladder stabilizer when using a ladder for installation, these stabilizers really provide ladder support!
Weatherproof and Durability
Outdoor lights are going to face some harsh weather, especially during Winter. Fortunately, this is incorporated into many designs. You can easily find high-quality insulation and wire protection with products available. One measure of water & dust resistance you will encounter is the IP rating system. This rating comes with two numbers: the first rates an object’s resistance to solids, and the second rates the object’s resistance to liquid. Most often with outdoor Christmas lights, you will see an IP rating of IP44, which is very durable for the majority of weather conditions.
9 Best Outdoor Christmas Lights For The Roof
1. Ollny LED String Lights 800 LED 330FT Long 
Ollny provides extraordinary length with LED bulbs as well as multiple remote-controlled settings. The LED bulbs provide bright white light while using very little energy. Plus, they do not heat up so they are safe to touch while they are on. In addition, because of the low energy use, the 330 ft. with 800 lights will likely not overload your circuit so you can get the length you need for an elaborate and complete design.
A major perk of these lights is the 8 different settings. The lights can twinkle, flash and glow, or remain steady in a variety of ways. Plus with a timer, you can customize when they are on and when they turn off. This can save even more energy, but requires very little effort.
Specs:
- 330 ft. of lights + 9.8 ft. extension cord
- 8 settings, remote controlled
- Timer
- Clear/white cord
- 29 V / 6 Watts
- IP44 rating for dust / water damage
2. Brightown C9 Clear Christmas String Lights
These Brightown C9 Christmas incandescent lights provide a warm and consistent glow that is sure to bring comfort to those around you. 25 ft. of length and classic bulb style provide the perfect amount for simple designs. Additionally, C9 bulbs use less energy and glow less hot than C7 bulbs.
Specs:
- 25 ft. total length (including 6 in. of lead on either end)
- Incandescent
- Green wire
- Warm white lights
3. YULETIME UL Certified LED Christmas String Lights
With 66 ft. of LED lights, these small, warm white lights provide an elegant look along with the lovely comforts of home. In addition, because the LED lights draw less energy, YULETIME suggests you can connect up to 10 strands for a total of 660 feet in length. With that much length, you can surely go for all kinds of design schemes for a truly bright house. And you can know you won’t be spending a ton of money on electricity or breaking your home’s circuit.
Specs:
- 66 ft. in length
- Parallel series circuit – if one bulb burns out, the others will still work
- 10 strands can be connected together from one outlet
- Warm white lights
- LED uses less energy
- UL certified
4. Romasaty Christmas Lights Multi-Color
If you are looking for vibrant color for your home, these Romanasaty Christmas lights shine in five colors: red, orange, blue, green, and pink. With 25 ft., these can make a lovely centerpiece in your design, or they can provide bright accents for a dynamic design. Romasaty also says you can connect up to three strings for enough length to line an entire roof or fence line with color. With these bright colors, your family and your neighborhood will light up and you will surely have a fun lit house over the holidays.
Specs:
- 120V / 125 W per string
- 25 ft. total length, able to connect as much as 3 sets
- Parallel series circuit – if one bulb burns out, the others will stay on
- UL certified
5. SYLVANIA Icicle Christmas Lights
The icicle style lights bring style, excitement, and a bit of elegance to the winter months. They fit right in with the weather, but they bring light for a bit of added joy during colder times. With this design, strings of lights dangle from the main wire, so you can have a dynamic style without a lot of hassle.
However, this means the strings will not provide as much length for the same amount of energy. This particular set provides 10.83 ft. of bulbs, plus lead length on each end. You can connect up to 3 sets for over 30 ft. of length. And with that, you can definitely accomplish a lot of beautiful stylistic concepts.
Specs:
- 83 ft. length (plus lead length on each end)
- UL Certified
- White wire
- One package – two strings with 150 lights
- Able to connect as much as 3 strings
6. Joomer LED Connectable Christmas Net Lights
People use string lights for so many different designs, but net-style lights like these from Joomer offer a unique look that is hard to get with string lights. Perfect for hedges and roof surfaces, you can get up to 12 ft. of length with one set. A 16.4 ft. lead also means your design can be entirely lights and you won’t have to deal with extension cords as much.
Another fabulous feature of these lights is they come with 8 different settings. So with the net design, you can get some movement and dynamics that you can’t find elsewhere. Additionally, these lights are LED, so they use less energy and your decorations will not cost so much.
Specs:
- Net style – 12 ft. long x 5 ft. wide (plus 16.4 ft. lead)
- 8 different settings
- UL certified
- IP44 rating for water/dust damage
7. Newtion 10PCS Christmas Candy Cane LED Lights
For some sweet holiday flare, these Newtion Candy Cane lights can make a bright and exciting addition to a variety of design ideas. They can be securely staked in the ground for decorating a driveway or walkway, they can be placed around hedges, or they can add accents to string lights along your roof or fence. With a 15.7 ft. cable, they are so simple to deal with and can provide so much fun to your yard.
Specs:
- Light is 15.7 in. tall + 6.1 in. stake
- 7 ft. cable
- IP44 rating for water/dust damage
8. GOOSH 5 FT Christmas Inflatable Santa Claus LED
Nothing can build excitement and anticipation for the holidays like Santa Claus. Standing 5 ft. tall, this inflatable, light-up Santa can bring so much cheer to your yard. The family can get excited for all the warm traditions under the tree, while you can rest assured this Santa will be simple.
LED lights make it energy-efficient and low-cost. And 2 stakes, 2 ropes, and built-in sandbags ensure the inflatable Santa will stay firmly on the ground. Plus, a 10 ft. extension cord gives you flexibility without a lot of hassle to find a plug.
Specs:
- 5 ft. tall
- White LED light inside
- 2 stakes + 2 ropes + sandbags included for security
- 10 ft. extension cord
- UL certified
- 12 V
9. GOOSH 5ft Outdoor Inflatable Snowman Blow
If Santa isn’t quite your style, this inflatable Snowman can bring excitement and beauty to your yard as well. With this snowman, the colorful lights shine for a dynamic style that your family and neighbors will love. It also has 2 stakes, 2 ropes, and built-in sandbags to keep it secured to the ground.
Specs:
- 5 ft. tall
- Colorful lights inside
- 2 stakes + 2 ropes + sandbags included for security
- 1-year money-back guarantee
Final Thoughts
After looking through 9 Christmas light ideas for your roof, one of these must have caught your eye. Properly install them and make sure you safely install the lights. Using a ladder stabilizer will certainly make it a safer experience. Be careful during the cold weather, ice will make things slippery. Getting out before the cold is never a bad idea.
Choose your design and get decorating for this holiday season.
Happy holidays!
Jamie is the founder of The Backyard Pros. When he was 15 years old he started working at a garden centre helping people buy plants, gardening products, and lawn care products. He has real estate experience and he is a home owner. Jamie loves backyard projects, refinishing furniture, and enjoys sharing his knowledge online.