Easy outdoor Christmas lights?

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I'd love to put some outdoor Christmas lights up but haven't a clue where to start... which kind to get, how to attach and power etc.

I'm not remotely handy unfortunately and my husband isn't interested so am looking for something straightforward, if anyone has any tips or advice?

Thank you.

Do you have something you could wrap them around? We have balconies with railings, and outdoor stairs with railings, so I just wrap them round and round those and it's very easy. I've also seen them wrapped around tree trunks.

We also have a couple of standalone animals which are obviously very easy, just plug them in, and they come with stakes to keep them in place!

When you're buying anything just make sure it's rated for outdoor use. You just plug them in inside like normal and run the cable under a door/through a window. The cables are normally very thin so you can still close windows with them going through.

What kind would you like?

• rope light silhouettes. These are pre-shaped lights eg: a gingerbread man, a robin, a star. Argos have some neon ones this year or try lights4fun. I have some in my front window. These are plug in and go.
• string lights. These are the outdoor version of the ones you might put on your tree. If you are concerned about elec power, look for a battery powered set. Wind these around a suitable bush.
• cluster lights. These are fairy lights in a cluster on the wire rather than a light every 10cm or so. Usually used as gutter lights. You are likely to need gutter clips and a ladder to install them.
• icicles. These hang down from your gutter in "strings" to represent icicles. Again you will need a ladder.
• path lights. These come in lots of variety, eg candy canes. Usually push in and go, but check the measurement from your power source (inside socket) to the first light.
• projector lights. Good if you have a big flat frontage / wall. Be careful they don't shine on your neighbour's house.

Buy some cable ties.

Pop down to your local garden centre or DIY store and see what they have / you like.

You can also get net lights, which you can drape over bushes, or on a fence or hedge. I have some which cascade, I fix these to branches so they dangle down. You can also get ones that have a spherical shape to hang from tree branches or a porch ceiling.

I have a porch of sorts at the front door, it has brick walls at the bottom with two pillars supporting the roof. I wind string lights around the pillars and hang pendent ones at the sides.

You could buy an artificial wreath, wind lights around it and hang it on the front of the door. I have one where I vary the decorations on it every Christmas - sometimes the colour scheme is red and white, sometimes blue and silver, sometimes white and gold, and so on. You can use tree decorations for this, and fix them on with sandwich ties/floristry wire. It's quite easy and fun to do.

All of my light sets are either battery powered (like on the wreath) or mains, with the cable going through the windows as described already. I have a switched sockets extension for them on the windowsill, so can turn the garden lights off easily (although the Google thing does it now, on at 4pm and off at 11pm).

Thanks everyone. Think I need to pay a visit to our local garden centre!

There was a lovely small tree and grass at the front of our house which would have been perfect but unfortunately the previous owners got rid of them and it's all just paved over now at the front.