How to Hang Christmas Lights Outside Without Nails [the Easy Way]

The Holiday season is our favorite part of the year – and Christmas lights are one of the best ways to help everyone celebrate! We want to help you show off a dazzling Christmas light display that merges creativity and beauty. Without needing nails!

You can create light displays that family, friends, and the entire community can enjoy by installing festive outdoor lights.

And if your question is: how to hang Christmas lights outside without nails, then the answer is: there are many techniques for creating a blazingly brilliant design without hammering, nailing, or clawing!

Whether you choose to work with classic white icicles or seek to spell out your message of joy and peace with colored bulbs so bright that they’re visible from the international space station, you can make it happen if you can envision it. 

How to Hang Christmas Lights Outside Without Nails

There are many ways to hang Christmas lights outside without nails. The easiest methods are tape, adhesive hooks, and clips. These products are cheap, easy to DIY, and they’re credibly versatile. The majority doesn’t damage the surface you’re attaching them to, unlike nails!

You’ll have your outdoor Christmas lights installed in no time! Here are our favorite ways of hanging Christmas lights outside without nails, and we’ll discuss them in detail below.

1. Tape
2. Adhesive Hooks and Clips
3. Hot Glue
4. Stapling
5. Gutter Clips
6. Brick Clips
7. Light Up Your House With a Projector
8. Light-Hanging Shingle Tabs
9. Draping the Lights
10. The Door and Window Method

Check out these great solutions! Our 10 favorite ways of nailless, painless Christmas light attachment!

10 Easiest Ways to Hang Outdoor Christmas Lights (No Nails Needed!)

1. Hang Your Christmas Lights With Tape

The easiest method to mount your Christmas lights is with tape. Look for clear or double-sided tape that’s paint safe. However, tape – depending on the weight and size of the lights, probably won’t last very long.

While fantastic for a brief display, tape probably won’t survive a whole holiday, especially if you have a complex design or live in a wet area.

Taping your Christmas lights can serve as a quick fix if you’re going to hold up lights for a short period. Like for a one-night party, the tape option might be your best bet.

Check out this duct tape below if you want a more permanent tape solution. However, be aware that this tape is not designed to come off without damage. It is super tough, though!

2. Adhesive Christmas Light Hooks and Clips 

Adhesive hooks and clips come in a wide array of sizes, and they’re stronger than applying tape. They could be a great option, but be aware that they might leave a deposit on wall paint when removed.

The adhesive is permanent on some surfaces, and removing the adhesive can be challenging.

On the plus side, you can reuse clips again next year, making putting up strings of lights super simple, and your future self will thank you. 

3. Hot Glue Your Lights On

Hot glue is an excellent option to decorate textured brick and concrete surfaces. When you’re ready to take down the lights, you can remove the glue with a putty knife.

And while it may leave some residue when removed from some surfaces, it usually wears away naturally after exposure to the elements.

4. Staple Them In Place

Fast, simple, and easy, stapling makes putting up a little seasonal sparkle a breeze. But it’s not for every situation.

For example, avoid staples on roofing because the holes can let in the elements. Nobody wants a leaky roof – especially when there’s freezing sleet outside!

But your staple gun could be the perfect approach for a wooden fence, and removing staples with needle-nose pliers is like a walk in a winter wonderland: easy and breezy. 

5. Light Up Your Rain Gutters With Gutter Clips 

Got gutters? You can get around using adhesives or glues by employing gutter hooks to hang your lights.

Place the gutter hooks approximately 6 or 8 inches apart. Loop the S-shaped gutter hooks atop the gutter’s edge, then string lights through the gutter hooks.

6. Boost Your Brick Walls With Brick Clips 

If your garden, front yard, or porch has bricks, then brick clips are one of your best ways to hang Christmas lights! Brick clips also work for interior bricks. Great for hanging bricks around your fireplace.

Brick clips are a weather-resistant and more robust method to display Christmas lights, but as the name implies, they’re best employed when festooning a brick wall or fence with beautiful light elements.

7. Use a Christmas Light Projector

This is one of the easiest, no-nail ways of “hanging” Christmas lights! Light up your whole house without any form of tricky DIY or installation required.

Read More – 17 Epic and Easy DIY Christmas Gifts Perfect for Making Yourself!

8. Decorating a Shingled Roof

Consider using light-hanging shingle tabs, either metal or plastic, sporting a 90-degree bend in the center. Place tabs approximately 6-8 inches apart, or according to your design.

Slide the fingers of the tab under the shingles, with the end with the hole standing straight up. String the lights along with the shingle tabs, inserting bulbs into the holes. 

9. Drape Christmas Lights Over Your Tree

I think pine trees are so popular as Christmas trees because they’re the perfectly-convenient place to hang your lights! (I’m half-kidding. But, not really.)

Christmas trees also make for the perfect way to hang lights in your yard or your home without nails.

When adding lights to your tree, start at the base of the tree! Slowly zigzag your way to the top. Give yourself plenty of slack so you can evenly distribute the lights throughout the tree.

Read More – 8 Tips for Finding and Cutting Your Own Christmas Tree!

10. Windows and Doors

Measure the perimeter of the window or doors, not counting the door’s bottom, so you’ll know how many light strands are needed. Next, wipe the surface around the window or door so that the adhesive hangers adhere well.

Note the distance to the nearest exterior outlets so that the extension cord is the correct length. Then attach a light clip to the end of the leading strand, followed by another clip as recommended on the clip package. 

Wait! Don’t remove the adhesive backing yet. Instead, beginning with the first light strand at the bottom corner, work upward and move the strand along one side and then across the top until tight.

Now, remove the adhesive backing from the clip at the end of the light strand, pressing it in place. 

Popular Places to Showcase Holiday Lights Include:

• Windows, door frames, and planters 
• Posts, pillars, and railings
• Rooflines or eaves
• Trees and bushes
• Pathways and driveways

Make the job of hanging outdoor lights without nails easier with clips, hooks, and adhesives designed for this purpose. They’re beneficial when you don’t want to drill holes in brick, stucco, or stone.

Clips and outdoor adhesives are available at home renovation stores, or you can shop on Amazon, Walmart, Target, et cetera. 

The surface you’re attaching your lights to also impacts the attachment method that will work best for you. For example, attaching lights to a brick wall will not work with staples but will go gloriously with glue. Consider your surface!

Conversely, some surfaces, like painted walls, can be vulnerable to peeling paint away when removing the lights post-season. 

Be a person with a plan. Envision your design, accentuate architectural details, and pick your color scheme. Less can be more. But, then again, more can be more, too!

Bright Ideas and Safety Tips for Hanging Christmas Lights!

Stay safe while setting up your beautiful Christmas light display. Consider these tips for enjoying a healthy and happy season:

• All electrical cords, sockets, and outlets should be rated for the outdoors.  
• Plug extension cords into a covered ground fault interrupter (GFI). (Don’t skip this step! Consult an electrician if you’re unsure. Safety first!)
• Metal ladders conduct electricity; go with wooden or fiberglass ladders when you want to reach for the sky. 
• Be vigilant against broken or missing bulbs that lead to cuts, shocks, or fires. Replace missing or broken bulbs before lighting up the night. 
• Use outdoor and weatherproof bulbs if you live in an area with inclement weather. And then, let it snow, baby!
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when connecting light strings.
• Don’t exceed the recommended number of lights per outlet. 
• Raise all elements off the ground using accessories like light stakes and extension cord protectors.
• Get a work buddy for heights, peaked roofs, and those places that are a reach — literally.

Celebrate the Festive Season with gratitude, family and friends, food, fun, laughter, and let there be light! 

Read More – The 29+ Best Gardening Gifts for Mom and All Gardeners!

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