When hanging Christmas lights on gutters, begin by planning out where you want to hang your lights. Then, gather the necessary lights, weatherproof extension cords, and a sturdy ladder to make the job safe and simple. Next, slide gutter light clips onto the front edge of your gutter. You can then clip your light strings into place along the gutter and connect them to a power source. If your gutters have guards, you can use adhesive light clips on the outside or underside of your gutters.
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5 Steps to Quickly Hang Christmas Lights on Your Gutters
Hanging outdoor lights can be one of the toughest parts of the holiday season. However, using your gutters as the place to hang a classic light string or a strand of icicle lights can reduce your work drastically. Just follow these steps to easily hang lights along your gutters.
Plan Your Installation
Take a few minutes to study the exterior of your house and picture your holiday light installation. Note which roof edges have gutters and which do not. You can hang a continuous strand of lights along your roof edge by using plastic clips on your gutters, then using light clips called “shingle clips” where there are no gutters.
- Plan where your lights will hang before beginning.
- Note where lights will need to hang along a gutter with gutter clips.
- If you want to continue your light strand along roof edges with no gutter, plan to use shingle clips.
- Estimate how many strands of lights you will need.
- Locate power sources where you can plug in your light strands.
When planning your lights, make note of where your power source is so your lights can easily be plugged in. If you are planning to have lighted lawn decor or additional lights around doors and windows, plan to plug them into different outdoor sockets where possible. Too many lights on a single circuit can cause an overload, which can make all your lights go out.
Gather Your Tools
Before you can begin hanging Christmas lights, you need to have all the essential tools. For this job, you will need:
- A sturdy ladder.
- Gutter clips for hanging lights.
- Enough strands of lights for your planned light display.
- All-weather extension cords.
It’s also a good idea to have an assistant when hanging lights. They can help steady the ladder, hand you items, and generally make the job go faster. After you’ve completed this preparation, you’re ready to begin.
Install Gutter Clips
Use your ladder to reach the gutter. Then, slide plastic gutter clips into place on the front edge of the gutter. Space your light clips 6–12 inches apart (15–30 cm). Continue placing light clips along your gutter as far as you want your lights to run. Just make sure to descend the ladder and move it often—it is dangerous to lean out to the side to place a light clip.
- Ascend your ladder until the gutter is at chest height.
- Slide a gutter clip onto the front of the gutter every 6–12 inches (15–30 cm).
- These light clips with circular loops hold the wire between lights, which makes hanging lights easy.
- Light clips that hold individual light bulbs can make hanging lights a slower process.
It’s best to use light clips that have a circular loop designed to hold the wire your lights are on, rather than clips designed to hold individual bulbs. It is fast and easy to hang strings of outdoor lights on clips with circular loops. In contrast, clips that clamp onto each bulb must be placed precisely to hold lights in place. This can require you to reposition the clips as you hang the lights, which makes the job take longer.
Hang Light Strands
Once your light clips are in place, carry the first string of lights up the ladder. Starting at the end of the gutter closest to the power source, begin hanging your lights. Make sure the pronged plug on the light strand is at this end so you can easily plug it into an extension cord. It’s a good idea to run the end of the light string alongside a downspout so there are no visible extension cords in your holiday display.
- Carry light strings in a loop on your shoulder when you climb your ladder—this allows you to use both hands to climb.
- Hang your lights with the pronged end of the strand hanging down to the ground, so you can plug the lights into an extension cord.
- Slide the light string into the loop on your gutter-mounted light clips.
- If you are hanging icicle lights, make sure they are tangle free as you work.
Slide your light string securely into the circular loop on the front of the light clip. Pull the light string taut as you go, but not so tight that it damages the clips or gutter. Then, string your lights along this path.
Make a Weatherproof Electrical Connection
Once your lights are in place, all that’s left is to plug them in and enjoy the show. Run an all-weather extension cord from your outdoor socket to the lights. An extension cord that is not designed for outdoor use may fail in cold or wet conditions, so it’s best to choose a heavy-duty cord.
- Use an outdoor-rated extension cord to plug your lights into an outdoor socket.
- Protect the connection between your lights and the extension cord with this weatherproof cover.
- A protected connection between your lights and the extension cord prevents moisture from causing your lights to go out.
Use a weatherproof case to protect the connection between your light strand and the extension cord. Unprotected connections are prone to malfunction, which can cause your lights to go out. By protecting the connection, your lights will shine no matter what rain or snow comes your way.
How Do You Hang Christmas Lights on Gutters with Gutter Guards?
The best way to hang lights along a gutter with a gutter guard is to use shingle clips. Shingle clips slide under the bottom row of shingles on your roof. Then, you can string lights into place just above your gutter, similar to how you would hang lights on gutter clips.
- These shingle clips attach to your roof shingles so you can string lights along guarded gutters.
- You can use adhesive clips that stick to your gutters to hang lights on gutters.
- You can slide these versatile clips into the gap between your gutters and your siding to hang strings of lights under your gutters.
If your home doesn’t have a shingle roof, you can use adhesive clips that stick to the front of your gutters. As an alternative, you can use under-gutter clips. This style of light clip slides into the gap between your gutter and the siding of your home. This way, you can hang incandescent lights in a row under your gutter.
How Do You Attach String Lights to Gutters?
In order to easily hang holiday lights on your gutters in minutes, just follow these steps:
- Plan where your lights will run—note where you will need gutter clips to hang lights.
- Gather tools you need, such as a ladder, extension cord, gutter clips, and adequate strands of lights.
- Ascend your ladder and slide gutter clips into place on the front of your gutter.
- String lights along the gutter clips, making sure the pronged end of the light strand is closest to the electrical socket.
- Run a heavy-duty extension cord from the outdoor socket to the light strand.
This process goes very quickly when you use gutter clips with circular loops designed to hold the wire between lights. Clips that grasp individual lights require more work and repositioning. So, we recommend the loop system so you can hang beautiful Christmas lights quickly.
