How many of these Christmas light decorating tricks do you use?

No matter where you live, there are plenty of ways to get creative with Christmas lights. Apartment and condo dwellers may lack outdoor outlets, but can still beam festive flare to the neighborhood.

I grew up with parents who went wild with Christmas decor at our house. But now, decades later, I’m living the renter’s life with children of my own. And that means finding creative ways to light up windows, doorways and balconies for the holidays. Here are some of my tips for displaying Christmas lights that are simple, cheap and still look professional. (You can also watch my tutorial in the video embedded above.)

Border the windows

Lights around a window are a super simple way to spread cheer — and you’re going to want to buy some big, chunky bulbs to make sure everyone can see that cheer. That means size C7 or C9. And for anyone with an apartment or condo, you’ll need to attach them on the inside border.

Stay away from incandescent bulbs for indoor decorating. I say that as someone who has bought them for years because, well, they’re cheaper. But these bulbs get hot, and that’s not good if the bulbs will touch anything — or if you have kids or pets. The LED C9-size bulbs may cost a little more, but they’re safer and more reliable. For my windows I used the Home Depot brand 3M Command Decorating Clips. A pack of 40 small hooks is more than plenty for one window. Stick one every six inches along the border, keeping the hooks in the same direction. Distance between hooks doesn’t need to be exact. What matters is that you’ll be able to keep the bulb cord taut and in a straight line as it hugs the edge, with bulbs facing outward in the same direction. 

Wait at least 30 minutes for adhesive to set against the window border wall before attaching the light cord into the hooks. Make sure you plan where the plug end is going to attach to an extension cord before you begin. 

The best balcony on the block

Decorating the railing of a balcony can be tricky if there’s no outdoor power outlet. But there are options. 

If your balcony or outdoor area has a light fixture that uses a standard bulb, you’re in luck. Take out the bulb and screw in a about $20 for one rope — but each strand takes six AA batteries. I’m also using two smaller strands of World Class University I tried out a high-tech strand of lights called Twinkly, and it brings next-level Christmas magic to a tree without any effort. 

For my six-footer, I wrapped a 250-light strand around the tree, as I would any other strand of lights. This Generation II Twinkly strand of RGB LEDs, Amazon’s Smart Plug ($25), which also can set lights to turn on and off with a timer. There’s also a button on the side of the plug for others to control it without an app.