When Should You Book Christmas Light Installation? (Earlier Than You Think)
Book professional Christmas light installation by October. Installers run a short season — roughly six install weeks before Thanksgiving — and calendars fill well before the holidays. Booking early gets you first pick of install dates and full design options. Full-service means design, commercial-grade lights, installation, in-season repairs, take-down, and storage.
Why do Christmas light installers book up so early?
The season is brutally short. Nearly everyone wants lights up between the first week of November and Thanksgiving — about six working weeks — and taken down in January. An installer can only fit so many rooflines into that window, which is why we cap the number of homes we take each season: every display we hang gets full-season support, and overbooking is how companies end up not answering the phone in December.
By late October, most reputable crews in any market are scheduling their last install dates. Call in November and you're picking from leftovers; call in September and you're picking your design and your week.
What does full-service installation actually include?
- ●Design: the display is measured and designed to your roofline, peaks, and trees — not a stretched string of store lights
- ●Commercial-grade LEDs, custom-cut to your roofline (provided by the installer, not bought by you)
- ●Installation with shingle- and gutter-safe clips — never staples or nails
- ●In-season maintenance: a dark strand gets fixed, not shrugged at
- ●January take-down, labeling, and storage for next year
How much does professional Christmas lighting cost?
Our full-season price runs $950 for a typical single-story roofline up to $2,450 for large estate homes, with the exact figure confirmed by your roofline — a ranch with one gable and a two-story with peaks, columns, and three trees are entirely different jobs. What matters more than the number: confirm the quote covers the full season — install, maintenance, take-down, and storage — not just the hanging. A cheap install that leaves you to take lights down from a January ladder isn't cheap.
What should I ask before hiring a light installer?
- ●Are you insured for roof and ladder work? (Ask to see it — ours is $1M, license #44080)
- ●Who owns and stores the lights? (Full-service: they do)
- ●What happens when a strand goes out December 20th?
- ●When exactly do the lights come down? Get a month in writing
- ●How do you attach to the roofline? Clips are right; staples and nails damage shingles
Questions we hear about this
When should I book Christmas lights in the Shoals?
By October. We cap the number of installs we take each season so every home gets full-season service, and the calendar fills well before the holidays. Earlier booking means more design options and first pick of install dates.
Do professional installers use my lights or theirs?
Full-service installers provide commercial-grade LEDs cut to your roofline, then take them down, label them, and store them for next year. Using your own store-bought strings usually costs more in labor than it saves, and they fail more often.
What if a section of lights goes out mid-season?
With a full-service installer, they come fix it — in-season maintenance is part of the package. Ask about this before booking; it separates real installers from someone with a ladder.
When do the lights come down?
January, and the takedown gets scheduled when we install — your lights are not still up in February. Everything is labeled and stored for next season.