I would love to decorate my house this year for both Halloween and Christmas but since I have never done this before, I have big questions about lighting. I don't want to overload the circuits, trip over extension cords, damage my stucco exterior, or God forbid, burn my 75 year old house down. I am looking for practical information from people with experience lighting older homes. There must be someone in this neighborhood...

I know I will have to install an outlet outside. Should I install more than one? What would be the best placement to give me flexibility with lighting? How many extension cords, and what maximum length, for safety?

How should extension cords be placed for safety? How should I protect them from rain and my sprinkler system? How much extra electricity am I going to use if I run them a few hours every night for 3 or 4 weeks?

Would someone in the neighborhood be willing to run a little seminar for the novices?

By Steph Arnold

some ideas

I am another novice at this but do know a few tips:

Have a licensed electrician install the exterior outlets- they should be special exterior outlets with weather proof lid flaps over the actual plugs. The electrician should also be able to tell you about your circuit loads, etc.

The extension cords should also be made especailly for exterior use- rated to withstand water, etc.

I think it's a great idea for all of us to get some advice. Maybe if we have an electrician or someone with Florida Power in the neighborhood they would write something up for the November newsletter.

By another novice

holiday lighting

I don't know about the technical end of this but through the years I have noticed that the old fashioned lights with the larger bulbs of different colors somehow seem to suit the age of the homes better. Or the single candles in the windows.This is just subjective opinion, of course.
Good luck and your idea about a brief seminar would be fun.