Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit like seeing a beautiful home all lit up with Christmas lights.

“They make everything more bright, more colorful, and just make everything more fun. It makes me happy!” said Alanis Figuroa, who was shopping for Christmas lights at Home Depot in Tampa.

And now it’s getting easier than ever to get that gorgeous display without quite as much work.

  • Lights controlled with a phone on your app
  • With LEDs, the strand of lights doesn't blow when one bulb goes
  • Net lights for easy decorating

Latest Technology

John Williams of Weeki Wachee likes to go all out on holiday decorations for his kids.  He was checking out the Star Shower Laser Light Projector at Home Depot.

“Oh, it turns on by itself,” Williams said, “Cool!”

The Star Shower made its debut in stores last year and is back with improvements.

“The new one is motion-sensored, so it picks up on movement and it kicks on,” said Home Depot Mike Barcelona.

Also new this year is controlling your lights from an app on your phone.

“You can control colors from multiple colors to white. You can change it from blinking to solid, you can match it to music,” explained Barcelona.

LED Light Benefits

And when it comes to regular lights, it might be time to invest in the new LEDs.

“We were going to try and do the LEDs, this year. We haven’t switched yet, but I think this year might be the year we make the switch,” said busy mom Karrie Duffy, as she browsed the holiday decorations with her 5-year old son Caden.

It’s worth considering. The LED lights are a bit more expensive. About $20 for a 33-foot strand, compared to about $7 for traditional incandescent lights. But the LEDs are supposed to last a lot longer, so after a few years of use the price difference should be wiped out.

Also, LEDs use less electricity, are cool to the touch, safer, 10-times more efficient, and, best of all, take less work to hang.

“So you can run across your whole house with one outlet now vs. where you had multiple extension cords and multiple junction boxes and things of that nature,” explained Barcelona from Home Depot.

Pre-lit Christmas Trees

Pre-lit Christmas trees are another trend, making it easier to decorate these days. Most pre-lit trees now have LED lights, with new bulb designs that give the tree more charm.

“You've got the little bit bigger bulbs,” Barcelona said showing us the newest bulbs, “definitely a lot of color to them. I like them, because they give you that little twinkle with the way that the cut is.”

And with the LEDs if one bulb goes out, it doesn’t blow out the whole strand.

“If one light goes out, the whole string doesn’t go out? That would be perfect!” said mom Karrie Duffy.

Decorating Made Easy

There’s also net lighting to cover your bushes, with the lights more naturally spaced apart, this year, so it doesn’t just look like a blanket of lights.

“You just you open up the net and cover the whole bush up, and you’re good to go,” explained Barcelona.

All the new products are making decorating easier.

 “Pretty much, but getting up on the roof—that’s still hard,” said John Williams of Weeki Wachee laughing.

This might be the year to skip the roof and give projectors a try. You can let new technology do more of the work for you, and take the easy way to making your Christmas merry and bright.

“Just so my kids like it,” Williams said. “As long as my kids have a good time at Christmas, that’s all I care about.”

Getting a good deal

And one last tip:  If you’re looking to save some money, shopping after Christmas is when you can get the best deals on holiday decorations.  You’ll find deep discounts on everything from lights to trees.