Christmas lights on the outside of the house make the season cozy, but spending $500 on light installation or dealing with strings that don't work can be a huge pain.  Projectors are the perfect shortcut.

So, single ladies, when you have a free weekend afternoon in November do you feel like getting out a ladder and locating the four faulty bulbs out of two hundred on a string of Christmas lights and then slinging them up along the gutters?   What. Ever!  I mean, sure...right after I get done digging a trench and putting up some drywall.  I'll get right on that fun project.

My three daughters really wanted lights on the outside of the house and I enjoy the soft, cozy, warm glow too.  But the thought of laboring with lights pains me.  I got a few estimates from light-stringing companies, and those were all between $400 and $500 dollars. That's money that could go toward Chromebooks and boots!  One year I had a cheap company install lights and they didn't return to take the lights down, so I had to start on one end and give them a yank and pray that all the clips came off with the strings.  Some of the clips are still up there on the gutters and peaks.

This year, I'm using a Christmas light projector on the outside of the house for the first time and I was skeptical at first, but now I'm convinced these little gadgets may be the greatest seasonal things ever invented.

This was my process.  Go to Target and buy the projector.  Find a long extension cord in the garage.  Plug the Christmas light projector in and stick it in the ground with the stake that's included.  Bury the cord next to the sidewalk.  Turn on the lights using a remote control.  Choose a color scheme for the twinkling lights that will project onto the house.  Go inside and drink Tito's and egg nog.

The whole process took about fifteen minutes.  Well, the Tito's went on for a while, but that's another blog entirely.    We've got Christmas lights on the outside of the house, we saved five hundred bucks, and there was zero stress or frustration involved.

Do the projectors provide the best-looking, most award-winning light displays in the neighborhood?  Probably not.  But if you're looking to save time and money, contribute something festive to the neighborhood, and make your kids happy, projectors seem to be the way to go.  And then you'll have plenty of time left for egg nog.  Cheers!

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