Has it gotten challenging to hang your outdoor holiday decorations? Or maybe you just don’t have the time this year? Our readers offer tips for finding affordable help to make sure your home gets dressed up for Christmas.

Dear After 50 Finances,
This may be a topic that you’ve covered before, and I just missed it, but I need some advice: I’m 83 years old and my days of getting up on the ladder to hang Christmas lights are over. I live in a townhome complex and out of about nine units down at my end, I was the only one that didn’t have any Christmas lights or any type of Christmas decorations on the outside of the house last year or the year before.

I thought about advertising in the local newsletter — I have all the decorations, the gutter clips, the icicle lights etc., but I don’t know what I should offer to pay someone to do this. Is there a rule of thumb, or does it depend on what the community will bear? I am in a middle-income neighborhood. Thank you for any advice you can provide – maybe I will just need to wrap myself up in the icicle lights and stand out in the driveway from dusk till dawn, but no matter how festive that might look, the nights are getting a little chilly around here…
Nancy

Tips for Hiring Someone To Decorate Your Home’s Exterior for Christmas

We reached out to our readers for some ideas. If you need someone to dress up your house for the holidays, see if one of these ideas will work for you.

Three Sources of Help

Three ideas for help putting up lights:

• Post on Nextdoor, offering $15-$20.
• Call your local church youth group or scout troop and see if the youth or scouts would do it free.

Holly

A Few Alternatives to Decorating Your Home’s Exterior

How about instead of hiring someone or going without, you could do a few other things. Can you put the lights inside your townhouse on the windows where people outside could see? Maybe you would like to wrap some lights on your deck railings if you have one, or a beautiful planter with bulbs and lights in it. Maybe a few poinsettias along the stairs outside would be lovely with the room, of course, to be able to hold onto the rails when going up and down the stairs. A wreath or pretty decoration on the outside of the door will stand out. If you have a little bit of a front yard, maybe you could put some Christmas ornaments there.

Have a good time being creative and Happy Holidays,
Karen K.

Host a Decorating Party

Maybe you could invite some “younger” friends over for a decorating party. You could provide holiday refreshments.

Many of our local high school students do volunteer work to earn volunteer hours toward scholarships. Maybe you could allow a few students to earn some hours hanging your decorations. It would be a win-win for everyone.
AJ

Try Some New Decorations

Just as the reader in her question stated, I am also older and not willing to climb ladders after years of stringing Christmas lights. Years ago, I found plastic stars lighted with tiny led lights at Walmart. Each fills one window, hung from inside the the window, and plugs into a nearby socket. It’s really attractive at night. I later purchased a spotlight that has moving red and green lights that I shine towards the house. These are all relatively easy to both install and put away by myself, not expensive and definitely give my home a festive look. All done with my feet firmly planted on the ground.
Mona

Look to the Young

Contact high schools and area churches – lots of youth need Community Service credits and also LIKE to help if they know what you need.
Kelli

Hire a Reliable Handyman

The person who wants to hire someone to put up holiday lights should find a handyman to do so. (Editor’s note: A handyman will give you a quote. As long as you feel you aren’t getting ripped off, you’ll know you’re paying a fair price.)

Another alternative might be to ask for help at a church and make a donation. Otherwise, why not hang lights low enough that no ladder is required? No one is required to hang lights. A festive door and entrance might be enough and easier on the electric grid as well.
Barbara

Related: Finding a Reliable, Safe and Affordable Handyman

Decorate From the Inside

Is there a reason that the 83-year-old can’t string lights on the interior of their windows? If they are taped inside the frame, they should still be visible from the outside.
Heather

Try NextDoor for Finding Help Hanging Holiday Home Décor

I read the dilemma concerning age and the inability to hang your Christmas lights outside along with your décor. We have a local website called Nextdoor.com where we can post our needs so anyone who’s a local subscriber can respond to you and offer their services at a reasonable price. Sometimes, locals will offer to do it for free each year as a goodwill gesture. I’ve read posts in our local Rhode Island town area where residents offered to shovel snow for the elderly or disabled residents who are looking for someone to help them with their needs. Perhaps you can look into a local resident website that offers the same subscriber services. Check out NextDoor.com on their website. I’m sure you’ll find your local area listed. Best wishes to you and have a very Merry Christmas this year with your outside lights and décor in sight for everyone in your neighborhood to enjoy!

An elderly, cheerful senior!
Grandma Felice

Another Handyman Vote

There are lots of ads on the internet (NextDoor for example) for “handyman” services. They will come over and hang up all your decorations and lights for you. I am in California, where they would probably charge $20 per hour. And remember, you will have to have them return to take everything down after Christmas.
Eileen

Make Things Easier and Cheaper for Subsequent Christmases

We are in the same situation. We asked our handyman, who did it for us by the hour, putting up and taking down. He put them away so that the following year would go up easily. We put our date on his calendar when he takes them down in January for installation in November. Check with a handyman.
Mary

The Scouts are Always Prepared To Help

Please tell your 83-year-old reader to call the local Boy Scouts and ask if they could send someone. When I lived in Orange City, Fla., there was a scout troop that raised money by hanging outdoor holiday lights and decorations. The price they charged, which wasn’t a lot, also included them taking down the decorations after New Year’s. Even if your local Scouts aren’t doing this as a fundraiser, perhaps someone needs an Eagle Scout project and would be willing to perform this chore for you.

If not, contact your yard mowing or tree trimming or handyman service and ask if they would do the job. In my present home town, there is a business that sends out postcards saying they’ll do outdoor decorations for a fee.

Lastly, I believe an earlier Dollar Stretcher tip was to put the Christmas tree lights on the inside of your windows — they’ll shine just as brightly and are easier to hang.
Lynn

Try Your Local Senior Center

Ask at a high school, and check at the senior center to see if they have a list of handymen. The price will be times two for putting things up and taking them down. Maybe she should weed out some of the decorations before the job gets done. She probably has too much.
Connie

Make a Window Frame

My recommendation is for her to decorate the windows from the inside so they can be enjoyed from the outside, too. In fact, to save time, She could create a frame that fits inside the window already wrapped with the lights. Then she only needs to plug it in, and when the season is over, she can slip the whole thing inside a trash bag to store.
Jennifer

Get Some Neighborly Advice

She can ask one or more of these next-door neighbors who they used to hang their lights and what they paid, and also as important, if the job was done well and without complications. It would be good to know if the person(s) who hung neighbors’ lights will also take them down and if this is included in the price.

When I need a service and don’t have someone I’ve used before to do it, I always ask my neighbors first.
Janey

Skip the Newspaper for Finding Someone To Hang Outdoor Christmas Decorations

I would not advertise in the paper. I would reach out to a local church, senior program (many retirees look to help other seniors) or scout troop.
Kathy

Try a Local Landscaper

Landscaping companies have taken up this kind of service since their work is slower in winter.
Sharon

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Reviewed November 2023