How to Use Christmas Lights Outdoors All Summer Long

Here's something most people don't think about until October: those boxes of Christmas lights sitting in your garage are some of the best outdoor lighting you own — and they're just collecting dust all summer. That's a waste of good light.

Why Christmas Lights Work Beautifully Outdoors in Summer

Modern LED Christmas lights weren't designed to sit in storage 10 months a year. They're rated for outdoor use, built to handle rain, humidity, and heat, and they draw almost no electricity. A full string of 70 warm white 5mm LED lights uses about the same wattage as a single incandescent bulb. Running them every evening from Memorial Day to Labor Day? Still cheaper than a night out.

The look they create — warm, soft, glowing — is exactly the ambiance people pay premium prices for at restaurants and boutique hotels. You can have it in your backyard for next to nothing, using what you already own.

Wrapping Trees: The Easiest Win in Outdoor Lighting

A single large tree wrapped in warm white lights becomes the centerpiece of your entire yard. It takes maybe 20 minutes and changes everything about how that space feels after sunset.

Warm White vs. Cool White

This is personal preference, but it matters. Warm white 5mm LEDs read as golden and inviting — great for entertaining spaces and anywhere you want a relaxed, fire-lit feel. Cool white LEDs on white wire feel crisp and modern, almost like moonlight — better for contemporary homes and garden beds where you want a refined look.

For trees, warm white wins most of the time. For garden paths and architectural features, cool white often pops more dramatically.

How Much Light Do You Need?

A general rule: 100 bulbs per foot of tree trunk height, and then add strands for major branches. A 15-foot oak might want 100-count warm white strands stacked and spiraled up from the base. Don't be timid. More light = more magic.

Lighting Shrubs, Hedges, and Garden Beds

This is underrated. Most people ignore the ground-level stuff and then wonder why their yard looks "almost right." The secret is layers.

Weave M5 warm white mini lights through dense shrubs and they'll disappear inside the foliage during the day — and glow beautifully from within at night. Try M5 cool white mini lights threaded through ornamental grasses for a silvery, ethereal effect. Or go bold: M5 blue LEDs woven through a row of boxwoods look like something out of a luxury resort garden.

For larger shrubs and ground cover, net lights are the fastest option — throw one over a rounded shrub and you're done in 30 seconds. Neat, even coverage, no tangling.

Deck Railings, Porch Columns, and Fences

Any vertical or horizontal surface you can wrap becomes a lighting opportunity. Porch railings, deck balusters, wooden fence posts — they all take lights beautifully.

Multicolor M5 mini lights on a white fence read as festive and fun — perfect for a backyard where the kids play. Warm white 100-count M5 strings wrapped on porch columns create something more elegant — the kind of thing that makes guests stop and say "wait, you did this yourself?"

Rope lights are worth mentioning here too. 150-foot warm white LED rope light is endlessly flexible — run it along the top of a fence, coil it around a column base, use it to trace the outline of steps. It's waterproof, flexible, and the continuous glow reads more like an architectural accent than traditional light strings. Cool white rope light does the same job with a sharper, more modern edge.

Color-Forward Summer Looks

You don't have to stay neutral. Summer is the season to experiment with color — and LEDs make it easy to rotate looks without buying new product every year.

• Patriotic palette: Red, white, and blue 5mm combo lights are purpose-built for summer — a single strand has all three colors mixed. Or go individual strings: blue 5mm LEDs on the shrubs, red 5mm on the fence.
• Sunset palette: Mix amber/orange 5mm LEDs with gold 5mm LEDs throughout your garden beds. At dusk it looks like the sun never quite went down.
• Tropical/bold look: Purple 5mm LEDs and green 5mm LEDs together create something unexpectedly lush — almost jungle-like at night.
• G12 bulbs for parties: The larger G12 warm white, G12 cool white, and G12 multicolor bulbs have real visual presence — when wrapped around a tree or woven through a garden arch, they're impossible to ignore.

Practical Tips Before You String a Single Light

• GFCI outlets only. Outdoor lighting needs GFCI-protected outlets, full stop. Don't cut corners here.
• Use outdoor-rated extension cords. Standard indoor cords aren't built for extended outdoor exposure to moisture and UV.
• Timers are worth it. A simple outdoor timer means your yard glows every night at exactly the right time without you thinking about it.
• Store carefully in fall. LED strands are durable, but loose coiling and dry storage extends their life significantly. They'll be ready when December rolls around.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use Christmas lights outdoors in summer heat?

Yes — outdoor-rated LED Christmas lights are designed to handle heat, humidity, and rain. They run cool (unlike incandescent bulbs), so heat buildup isn't a concern. Just make sure you're using lights rated for outdoor use and plugging into GFCI-protected outlets.

What's the best type of Christmas light for outdoor summer use?

5mm LED and M5 LED mini lights are the most versatile — they weave through landscaping beautifully, use almost no power, and come in a wide range of colors. For more visual impact per bulb, G12 LEDs are a great upgrade. Rope light works best for architectural accents and continuous-line effects along fences or steps.

How many lights do I need for a large backyard tree?

A rough rule of thumb is 100 bulbs per foot of tree trunk height, plus additional strands for the main branches. A 12-foot tree typically wants at least 5–6 strands of 100-count lights to look full and lush. When in doubt, buy more than you think you need — you can always scale back, and leftovers store easily.

Will running Christmas lights all summer significantly increase my electric bill?

Probably not as much as you'd expect. Modern LED Christmas lights are extremely energy efficient. Running 10 strands of 70-count 5mm LED lights for 5 hours a night uses a fraction of a kilowatt-hour. For most households, even a fully lit backyard adds only a few dollars to the monthly bill.

Do I need special lights for wrapping around trees versus draping through shrubs?

Not necessarily different types, but different counts. For tree trunks and branches, you want strands long enough to spiral continuously without gaps — 70- or 100-count strings work well. For shrubs and garden beds, shorter 70-count strings are easier to weave and position precisely. The key is all lights should be outdoor-rated LED for year-round use.

Can I mix colors in the same yard?

Absolutely — and it often looks better than a single color throughout. The most successful setups use one dominant warm neutral (warm white or gold) as the base across trees and major features, then layer in accent colors on specific shrubs or architectural elements. Keep it intentional: 2–3 colors max in one space reads as designed; 5+ colors reads as chaotic.

About The Christmas Light Emporium

The Christmas Light Emporium has been one of America's most trusted sources for professional-grade LED Christmas lights since 2015. Our founder spent years creating synchronized light-and-music shows for commercial clients — NASA, Six Flags, luxury hotels — before bringing that same level of expertise to the homeowner market. Every product we carry is chosen for reliability, true color accuracy, and performance season after season.

Whether you're lighting a single backyard tree or outfitting a full landscape display, we have the product knowledge and catalog to help you do it right. Shop The Christmas Light Emporium →