Yes, you can pay someone to put up Christmas lights
It is a real service, and in most of the country it is a common one. In Vermont it is rarer. Search for an installer near Burlington and most of what comes back is crews from Maine, New York and New Hampshire, national retailers, and local companies whose main work is something else.
The four kinds of people who do it
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Installers who only do this. They design the layout, bring the lights, and usually handle takedown too. This is what New England Glow Company is.
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Other trades in their slow season. Painters, landscapers, window cleaners and property maintenance companies. They own the ladders and the work fills a quiet month. Some are good at it. It is not what they do the rest of the year.
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National retailers. Home Depot sells holiday light installation and refers the job to a contractor in your area. Who turns up depends on who has signed up near you.
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You. Plenty of people do. It is a Saturday, a ladder, and lights you will store, patch and eventually replace.
What to ask before you hire anyone
- Are the lights cut to fit my house, or are they retail strands?
- Who owns the lights when the season ends?
- If a section goes out in December, who comes, and what does it cost?
- Is takedown included, and when does it happen?
- Where do the lights spend the summer?
People also ask whether they are meant to tip. The short answer is no, and how much to tip Christmas light installers has the longer one.
How we answer those
Cut to fit your roofline, in the colors you choose. The lights stay ours, because you lease them. Maintenance is included for the season, so you call and we come out. Takedown is in January on a date we agree with you, and the lights live with us until next November.
Or you do it yourself
If you want the full breakdown of what that costs next to hiring it out, see the cost comparison.
Why New England Glow Company
Ky Martens has spent twenty-plus years in customer service and eight years running a Vermont home service business. Custom Christmas lighting is barely a trade in this state - he may well be the only one doing it this way. More about Ky
