Outdoor Christmas lights.....leave them on all night or turn them off at bedtime?

[Nancyg56]

Ours are on a timer. On at dark and off t 10PM. We have neighbors who have their entire roof line covered with blinking icicle lights. The blinking has no rhyme or reason, entire sections are going on and off erratically and they are on all night long. Our great room faces their house and we have to shut all of the blinds because by 10 PM we are all sort of crosseyed and blinded by the display.

 

[Chattyaholic]

I'm usually too lazy, and don't want to step outside onto the deck in the cold and snow, to turn them off before we go to bed so they usually stay on all night until we get up in the morning. We don't have a lot of lights though like some folks do. I'm thinking about investing in a timer though, that sounds like it would be a good idea.

We also have a large lighted star on the top of our grainery leg here on the farm, in memory of my MIL. She wanted it when she was alive so my DH and his BIL made one and we had it lit every holiday season. We have kept the tradition going since she passed away 8 years ago too. It stays lit the entire season because nobody wants to walk clear out to the barn to turn it off before we go to bed. A timer would be good out there too.

 

[DVC-Don]

Ours turn on by sensor at dusk and off 6 hours later which right now is about 10:30 or so. Christmas Eve we'll set the sensor to go all night.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

off at night for safety and to conserve.

We don't use a timer, but DH connects them to a pair of remotes, so I just stand in the kitchen a click them off or on!

 

[elgerber]

I voted other, because all of ours are on timers, they came on when the sun goes down and turn off by midnight.

 

[nhpooh]

I have ours on a timer from 5:15 until around 11:00.

This is what we do too!

 

[Nana Annie]

We use timers for:

1) conservation of energy, even though we went all LED
2) I find it incredibly rude to leave Christmas lights on all night in a neighborhood setting - Nothing like having lights shine in your bedroom window all night.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

We have ours on a light sensor timer, they turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn. We don't have many lights at all and they are a dim blue so they are not blinding anyone.

I find it incredibly rude to leave Christmas lights on all night in a neighborhood setting - Nothing like having lights shine in your bedroom window all night.

Tell me about it! One of our neighbor's front lawn is right across from my bedroom windows. They are a corner lot and they fill their entire lawn and roof with those light up plastic figures. There is not an inch of grass showing. Also, there are many strands of lights strung about. They leave them on all night long and it is incredibly annoying.

 

[Hercules10]

I have ours on a timer too. Usually 'til about 11pm. Only problem with the timer is when it rains the GFI might pop. When I reset it the timer runs late.

 

[flipflop]

We use a timer too. On at dusk; off around 11/11:30.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Other - We have ours on timers. They are on from 4:30 until 11:00 pm and then come on again at 5:00 until 7:00 am. We love to have them on when we leave for work.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

Timer--5 pm until midnight except Christmas Eve. Santa needs some extra lights to see where he is going!

 

[Golf4food]

This should be a no brainer - turn them off! There is no reason to waste the energy to leave them on all night when nobody is awake to enjoy them! I love Christmas lights, but it's just plain wasteful.

 

[ducklite]

Ours are on a timer with a light sensor. When it senses that it's getting dark out, they click on, and then stay on for a pre-set length of time--I think DH has it set for five hours. So they are going on around 6:00 pm and off around 11:00 pm.

For those who are complaining about their neighbors lights keeping them up--do you have street lights in your neighborhood? Our street lights produce far more light than anyone's holiday lights.