It’s Thanksgiving and you just had a sudden realization: it’s time to put up your outside Christmas lights. Each year you tell yourself that you’re going to get it done earlier in the season, but the reality is that life gets in the way. Everyone gets busy, work and family naturally need more and more of your time and simply put you don’t have enough hours in the day to accomplish it all. And of course, your lights from last year are stored in the attic and may not even work! Man, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to rent your Christmas lights and have someone else install them for you?
As it turns out, the ability to rent your Christmas lights is one of the services we offer here at Gainesville Holiday Lights. In fact, not only can you rent them from us, we can professionally install them for you too!
This almost sounds too good to be true!
Across the country, more and more companies are starting to offer the option to rent your Christmas lights and have that same company install them for you. We’re proud to be one of the first to offer Christmas lights installation and rental in Gainesville and Haile Village since 2018. As we’ve shared with our new and returning customers, there are several things to keep in mind when choosing a company that offers services like ours.
1. How do they calculate the cost?
The best way to calculate your cost for rental and installation is to use a scale rating. Take a walk around your property and decide what parts of your business or house you’d like to see decorated. A good installer will be able to give you an estimated cost based on how many feet of lights you’ll need, whether you’ll need a boom lift, or if regular ladders will be enough. As a good rule of thumb, if you have a normal two-story house, you usually won’t need a boom lift.
2. Are they professional?
When we say professional, we’re referring to the process. For example, ask the company where they get their lights. If they say the local hardware or big box store, run away. Rent your Christmas lights only from a professional company who uses a much higher grade C9 LED bulb. These will be quality inspected and use wiring that’s much safer than off-the-shelf options.
In addition, ask them how they hang their lights. If the clips look cheap, it’s probably because they are. Only rent your Christmas lights from a firm that uses durable, weather-resistant clips.
Finally, ask them if they will hang the lights you already have for you. If they say yes, once again consider looking elsewhere. A professional will want to use their own materials.
3. What’s their timeframe?
First-time renters may be surprised to discover that bookings for Christmas light rentals and installations start in August. In fact, the earlier you can get on
a company’s calendar the better off you’ll be. This will help you secure your preferred time slot, such as the week of Thanksgiving (which fills up fast!).
Another consideration is how long they say the install should take. A good rough estimate is that a typical house will take 3-4
hours to properly hang your lights. If they take longer than that, ask them if they check the bulbs before or after they arrive on site. If it’s after, it means they’re not preparing properly. What if they have a handful of blown bulbs? What if an entire strand is out? The company you choose to rent your Christmas lights from will have done all of these several days or even weeks in advance so that they can efficiently hang your lights. Plus, they should look good from the first time you flip the “on” switch!
4. Finally, when do they take lights down?
Although some people may leave their lights up longer, ideally, most lights will be taken down by the end of January at the latest. Again, this is a conversation you’ll want to have when you book your installation so that you can plan exactly when to say goodbye to the holidays.
How can I rent my Christmas lights from Gainesville Holiday Lights?
That’s the easy part! We offer free and no-obligation quotes. Just visit our website and fill out our contact form or give us a call, (352) 325-2225.
Here are some other resources to help light up your holiday season!