There is the traditional lighting for the Christmas trees, lights for the windows, lights for your bushes, string lights for the roof and house, flickering lights to put on a show, lighting that is in the shape of snowmen, santa and the nativity and lights that do anything imaginable. You may want to outshine (literally) your next door neighbor or be the star of the block, but doing so can cost a lot of money. By following these simple tips you can decorate to the maximum without breaking the bank.

When shopping for lights, look at some end of Summer garage sales. When families move they often try to ditch as much as they can that they do not need, and usually lights are not high priority. If you find the right sale you can walk away with hundreds of dollars in Christmas lighting for perhaps $25-50.

Many stores such as Big Lot’s buys up retailers extra inventory at the end of a Christmas season for cheap prices. They then sell it to the customer the next year at a slight mark up.  It will still cost you some money, but it will be cheaper than retail price, but be the exact same product retailers are still selling. The only thing is it had been sitting in a ware house for a year.

If you are just starting out or even if you have finally just decided to start decorating more than you traditionally had, you can ask the family for any unused lights or even ask for them as gifts for the holiday season. Many times a household may over buy on that after Christmas 50%-75% off sale and end up having fixtures they never use. Take advantage of that and see what friends and family can spare.

Another way to see something new each year is to trade lights. Many families may get tired of seeing the same lights and decoration year after year. Approach them with some decorative lighting of your own and propose making a short term or permanent deal. If they are in the mood for some change, both parties will win.

Decorating your house with Christmas lights can be expensive, but by doing these simple tips you can save hundreds of dollars over the years.