When it comes to Christmas lights, the obvious place to use them is on the Christmas tree. Have you considered other ways in which to decorate your home with them however? If you are a little bit creative you can use all sorts of led lights and fairy lights to decorate the house at Christmas time and really bring festivity into your home. Small lights are very atmospheric and are one of the best ways and inexpensive ways to decorate your home. It is always a sad day in January when the lights have to come down, but there is always next year to look forward to!

Walkways / Hallways / Stairs

Linking the walkways in your home is a great way to make the whole house sparkle. Hallways or stairs are perfect places to run strings of lights. You could weave the lights around banisters or simply line the walls. It provides a "Christmas Grotto" feeling and because the area is likely to be quite small, it is not too much. Your kids will especially love this form of decorating. To make it really fun you should use coloured lights, or to go for a more sophisticated look plain white lights are ideal.

Fireplaces

Framing fireplaces or stoves in the house is another great way to use lights. A fireplace makes the perfect backdrop for strings of lights and one compliments the other beautifully. Because the fireplace is often the centrepiece of the room, having it framed in lights will mean the eye is immediately drawn to it. This is especially worthwhile if you are planning on having a Christmas party as it provides quick and easy decoration in the sitting room where the party is likely to be taking place. To go further with this idea, you can hang stockings up between the lights to add more traditional decoration.

Buildings

The idea of framing an entire house is catching on around the world. Every year more and more families are using fairy lights to light up their entire house. If you like this idea but want to tone it down a bit or indeed save on the electricity bill then simply using lights to frame the garden shed or other out building works well. This provides a lovely view from the windows of the house at night and makes a feature out of something that for the rest of the year is not generally acknowledged. You can make it as garish as you like too because it is for your eyes only!

Trees and Flowerbeds

Fairy lights in trees look good at any time of year, but lighting up both the branches and the trunks is particularly popular at Christmas time. It is vital that outdoor lights only are used for this purpose but you can wrap them around the trunks, create a waterfall effect by hanging them on the outside of the tree or you can even create a starry canopy under which to sit. Battery operated lights can be used for this purpose or traditional varieties too. Lights can also be used to light up statues and flowerbeds or any other part of the garden that you would like to enjoy at night.

Bookshelves

Last but not least, why not line your book shelves in the house. This can really brighten up the room and provide plenty of festive cheer in the home. Plain white lights work well for this purpose as do coloured lights of course. You won't want to take them down in January!

There are some great ways to use Christmas lights to decorate the home at Christmas time. With just a bit of creativity you can cheaply turn your home into a beautiful grotto. Coloured lights such as blue Christmas lights work just as well as plain, and with a range of outdoor Christmas lights available, no part of the home or garden need go without!