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Outdoor Christmas lights etiquette

Andy From Sligo

I got the ol outdoor christmas lights put up today. Got some warm white led's hanging down from the guttering, and put some coloured led lights on a little connifer tree out on front lawn.

Questions questions though:

1. Is it to early to switch them on? - the rest of the village has them up and on, but there is a few good weeks to go until there is no room in the stable and i have waited in the past til around the 8th dec or thereabouts...

2. Will i / should i leave them on all night or turn them off before i go to bed?.,

3. I know this is personal preference i suppose ( or there could be a 'class' thing about it) but they have a flashing mode or a static on mode... What shall i use?

These are serious questions folks i dont want to be breaking the un-written code of outdoor christmas lights etiquette! ( and have the neighbours talking about me)

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[Deleted User]

Legend Panicky Translator wrote: »

If they're flashing lights I would turn them off around 9 -9.30 or they could irritate neighbours.

Does this actually happen? Do neighbours actually get irritated over a few dangley LEDs? I grew up in area where the houses were covered in festive blow moulds and miles of those old, fat christmas lights. None of this energy saving, blue LED bullshít where the house looks like you're approaching a horrible car crash. We had taste :pac:

Ipso

If they can't be seen from space, you've failed.

Andy From Sligo

Billgirlylegs wrote: »

Turn them off at 9.30 pm ish.
Some people (kids) might be kept awake by the glare.

Seems early that. I presume they could have the full shebang until 9.30pm and then have a subtle little outdoor Christmas tree or 2 lit up after that no? Wouldn't hurt anyone

What about all the late night revellers coming back at 1 or 2 in the morning, don't they deserve a light show too?

freshpopcorn

A pair of black out curtains or a blind should keep flashing lights out of any room!

Archeron

I remember passing a house in ballyfermot years ago, the plastic Santa had fallen off the roof but the reindeer were still standing. On his way down, the icicle lights on the gutter wrapped around his neck and left him hanging about ten feet up in the air.

Andy From Sligo

Archeron wrote: »

I remember passing a house in ballyfermot years ago, the plastic Santa had fallen off the roof but the reindeer were still standing. On his way down, the icicle lights on the gutter wrapped around his neck and left him hanging about ten feet up in the air.

ooh you have reminded me i have a big plastic santa i have still to put out on the lawn ... and he lights up too (well by solar) -better wait til storm caroline is over though cause he's a bit wobbly/unstable on his feet as it is - the wind last christmas knocked him over! ... either that or he was drunk

Brendan Bendar

Bob Harris wrote: »

When I go past houses lit up like Las Vegas I don't think 'what a great display of christmas spirit'. I think pretentious knob or keeping up with the Joneses. Or both.

Wounlnt pay their water charges yet spend hundreds on cheap lights.

Amazing behavior.

Toots

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Seems early that. I presume they could have the full shebang until 9.30pm and then have a subtle little outdoor Christmas tree or 2 lit up after that no? Wouldn't hurt anyone

What about all the late night revellers coming back at 1 or 2 in the morning, don't they deserve a light show too?

I think for safety reasons the fire services say you should knock off all the lights before going to bed. That's when I turn mine off, anyway, although I've only got the one set of coloured fairy lights wrapped around the railing on my balcony.

Andy From Sligo

Toots wrote: »

I think for safety reasons the fire services say you should knock off all the lights before going to bed. That's when I turn mine off, anyway, although I've only got the one set of coloured fairy lights wrapped around the railing on my balcony.

i wonder what implications of a fire. Most modern lights these days are LED now , they run very cool. and also they run on an transformer that gives out about 12v DC - so (preseuming you have put the 240v-12vDC transformer inside the house and not in the rain, the wire that goes to the lights outside will be 12vdc - if the insulation of the wire breaks down and you end up touching the bare wire your not going to get a fatal shock off 12volt DC - if 2 wires touch together (if they are not cheapy cheap china made lights) then before it starts a fire there should be an inbuilt low amperage fuse inside the 12v transformer. - I cannot see to much of a fire risk .

If your talking about the old 240v fairy lights of years ago - the bulbs were hot on them so if you had them near combustibale material thats bad and also you would have 240v ac running through them - so tes, very high probability of shock and fire risk ... but the modern LED ones these days low risk

... but saying that if they have a really cheap transformer with no built in fuse and not CE mark could be shock and fire hazard (on the transformer itself - just like these cheap n' nasty USB chargers that have caught alight or shocked people recently)

andekwarhola

We're always OK with flashing lights outside because our house came equipped with window blinds and curtains.

Bob Harris

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

i wonder what implications of a fire.

The house burning down and taking everyone inside with it?

c68zapdsm5i1ru

Snotaul Goodman wrote: »

Does this actually happen? Do neighbours actually get irritated over a few dangley LEDs? I grew up in area where the houses were covered in festive blow moulds and miles of those old, fat christmas lights. None of this energy saving, blue LED bullshít where the house looks like you're approaching a horrible car crash. We had taste :pac:

I've heard of people complaining that they're being kept awake by lights flashing across the road all night long. It's probably a bit like having a few ambulances outside your house in the middle of the night.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

freshpopcorn wrote: »

A pair of black out curtains or a blind should keep flashing lights out of any room!

Or people could just turn them off at night so that their neighbours don't have to go out and buy black out curtains etc.

Gravelly

Legend Panicky Translator wrote: »

I've heard of people complaining that they're being kept awake by lights flashing across the road all night long. It's probably a bit like having a few ambulances outside your house in the middle of the night.

Easily sorted by the judicious use of pliers during the night.
Had a similar problem back in my student days with a next door neighbour who had one of those sensor halogen lights that shone straight at our house. A black widow catapult solved it nicely.

Purple Mountain

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Flashing can be very hard to get right.(It might annoy some neigbhours)

Whatever you do Andy, do NOT flash the neighbours.

storker

Bob Harris wrote: »

When I go past houses lit up like Las Vegas I don't think 'what a great display of christmas spirit'. I think pretentious knob or keeping up with the Joneses. Or both.

When I go past them I think:

High electricity bill
Storage nightmare
Pain in the ar5e to put up and take down
It's nice to see people do it, but there's no way I ever would.

mikeymouse

THIS are the way to go!!
Wait for neighbour to spend whole weekend up and down ladders with his lights
and then you just pop out and stick one of these in your lawn.(making sure your display projects onto his bedroom window)

DrPhilG

LirW

DrPhilG wrote: »

I kid you not, we have a very small estate here in the village where 2 houses next to each other have exactly this up, you can see them from miles away. One even has dancing snowflake projections on his house wall.

But then again our village is known for their Christmas lights and the deadly switch-on ceremony, who am I to blame them.

I still have my halloween skull on the door because we had to move out for a few weeks.

Andy From Sligo

Bob Harris wrote: »

The house burning down and taking everyone inside with it?

not if everyone is out

Andy From Sligo

Legend Panicky Translator wrote: »

I've heard of people complaining that they're being kept awake by lights flashing across the road all night long. It's probably a bit like having a few ambulances outside your house in the middle of the night.

the LED ones that flash on my tree outside got to be what something like 0.01w brightness .. wouldnt even keep an insomniac awake!

Andy From Sligo

Legend Panicky Translator wrote: »

I've heard of people complaining ......

yeah me too - have people , will complain...

Andy From Sligo

Purple Mountain wrote: »

Whatever you do Andy, do NOT flash the neighbours.

been there, done that ... wore the t-shirt as the gardai arrested me

Andy From Sligo

mikeymouse wrote: »

THIS are the way to go!!
Wait for neighbour to spend whole weekend up and down ladders with his lights
and then you just pop out and stick one of these in your lawn.(making sure your display projects onto his bedroom window)

i was thinking of one of those for this year- went up to ASDA in Enniskillen and saw them up there. - the LED projectors were cheap enough , but the real mcoys are the Lazer ones that are 100 times better (but dearer of course)

Andy From Sligo

I will deffo leave my lights on outdoors on the 24th overnight - just so Santa finds my house

freshpopcorn

Purple Mountain wrote: »

Whatever you do Andy, do NOT flash the neighbours.

Still a good set of blind/curtains and Andy can flash as much as he wants!

Andy From Sligo

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Still a good set of blind/curtains and Andy can flash as much as he wants!

sector

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP8CuAAKZ30

nuff said.

see if you can spot the blown bulb