Holiday Lighting for a Party or Special Event

Most people who call about Christmas lights want them up for the season. Some have a firmer reason. A holiday party on a set Saturday. A wedding at the house in early December. A company open house, a neighborhood tour, a family photo session. When there is a date on the calendar, the lights stop being a nice to have and become part of the plan. That changes how you should think about timing, design and what can go wrong.

This post covers what an event display actually needs, how to work backward from your date, and where you can save effort instead of spending it.

Start with the date, then work backward

The single most useful thing you can do is call early and say the date out loud. December is the busiest stretch of the year for any installer in Middle Tennessee. Crews book up, and the weeks right after Thanksgiving fill first. If your party is on December 13, you do not want your install to be the last one squeezed in on December 12.

Give yourself a buffer. Lights that go up a week or more before the event give you time to see the display at night, ask for a change, and let any small issue get fixed without stress. A strand that is out on the night of the party is a problem. A strand that is out five days before is a service call.

Getting the ball rolling is simple. Red Nose Lites quotes over the phone. Call (615) 595-9686, describe the house and what you want lit, mention the event date, and you can get a price on that call. If you would rather someone walks the property with you, a site visit is available, but it is an option, not a requirement. You can also use the quote form if that is easier.

What guests actually see

An event display is different from a seasonal one in one important way: people see it in a short window, usually arriving in the dark and leaving later in the dark. That tells you where to put the effort.

The approach

Guests see the house from the street, then from the driveway, then from the front door. The roofline facing the street matters most. After that, the path from where people park to where they walk in. Lit walkways and a lit entry do more for a party than lights on the back gable nobody will walk past.

The entry

The front door is where people stand, wait, take photos and say goodbye. Wreaths, garland and lit columns around the entry get more attention per foot than anything else on the property. If the budget is tight, spend it here and on the front roofline.

What you can skip

Side and rear rooflines that nobody sees from the drive. Trees at the far edge of the lot. Bushes along a part of the house guests never walk past. These are fine for a seasonal display you enjoy every night, but for a single evening they are often not worth paying for. Be honest with yourself about what gets seen.

Power and timing on the night

Parties tend to run on more power than a normal evening. Caterers plug in warmers. Someone runs a space heater on the porch. A band or a speaker goes on the patio. If the lights share outdoor outlets with all of that, a breaker can trip at the worst moment.

Tell the installer what else will be running outside on the night. It is a simple conversation and it affects how the display is laid out and plugged in. Also think about timers. A display that turns off at 10 pm is fine on a normal night. If your party runs until midnight, the lights should too.

Weather in Middle Tennessee

December in Nashville is not usually snow. It is rain, wind, and the occasional night of freezing rain or ice. That matters for an event in two ways.

• Wind. Clips need to hold the strand firmly to the gutter lip or roof edge. A loose run that flaps in a front will look sloppy by the weekend. Red Nose Lites uses clips sized to the roof edge or gutter lip, never staples, nails or screws into fascia, trim or shingles.
• Rain and ice. Connections and plugs need to be off the ground and out of standing water. Wet connections are the usual cause of a strand going dark.
• Timing. A cold snap or a rainy week can push install schedules around across the whole region. That is another reason to book early and build in a buffer before your date.

Every Red Nose Lites install includes in season maintenance and a 24 hour service guarantee during the season. For an event, that is the part that lets you relax. If something goes out, it gets looked at quickly.

Homes versus businesses

A holiday party at home is usually about the front of the house and the path to the door. A business event is different. Think about the storefront or entry facing traffic, the parking area people walk across after dark, and any sign or building face you want lit. Commercial properties often have taller facades, longer runs and more questions about access, so bring those up on the call.

You can read more about each on the residential installation and commercial installation pages.

What is included, so you are not planning around it

One of the reasons people hire out lights for an event is that they do not want to be on a ladder the week they are also cleaning, cooking and hosting. With Red Nose Lites, every install includes:

• Design of the display for your house or building.
• Custom cut, commercial grade LED strands fitted to your rooflines.
• Installation by insured crews.
• In season maintenance, with a 24 hour service guarantee.
• Takedown after the holidays.
• Off season storage. The company stores the lights, not you.

There are no contracts and no long term commitments. If you want lights for this year’s party and do not know about next year, that is fine.

When DIY is fine

Not every event needs a professional install. If you have a single story house, a short straight roofline, and the party is casual, a few boxes of good LED lights and a free Saturday may be all you need. Lighting a porch railing, a couple of bushes by the door, or a small tree in a pot is well within reach of most people.

Where hiring out starts to make sense:

• Two story rooflines or steep pitches where a ladder is a real risk.
• Long runs, multiple gables or peaks that need strands cut to fit.
• A fixed date where a failed strand or a missed weekend would matter.
• You simply do not have the time the week of the event.

If you are unsure, describe the house on the phone and ask. It costs nothing to find out.

Getting started

Red Nose Lites is a family owned company that has been lighting homes and businesses around Nashville since 2006, with more than 20 years of experience. They work across Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Hendersonville, Gallatin and nearby neighborhoods. See the Nashville, Brentwood and Franklin pages for local detail, or read how it works.

If you have a date in mind, call (615) 595-9686, tell them about the house and the event, and get a quote on the phone. Or send the details through the quote form.