It’s the holiday season – time to kick the cheer into high gear! If you’re the type of homeowner who loves to deck the halls, now is your time to shine – but before you bring out the lights and garlands, remember that holiday décor can be heavy and taxing on your home’s interior and exterior. We’ve got a few tips that will help you protect your property from damage, preserving your home’s value during the most wonderful time of the year.
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Light Up the Night Without Wrecking Your Roof
Twinkling lights make the holiday season bright, especially on your home’s exterior. But you can deck out your house without picking up a hammer and nails. Here’s how to secure string lights and decorations to your home without causing permanent damage to your roof or siding:
- Hang outdoor lights with adhesive clips. You can find heavy duty, waterproof clips online or at various hardware stores. These clips are designed for hanging long strands of lights while holding tight to wood or glass surfaces – no drilling or hammering needed.
- Alternately, use brick clips. Have a brick exterior? These spring-loaded metal clips grip bricks and can hold several pounds of lights or garlands. You can also use these to attach decorations around your fireplace.
- Respect your roof. Your shingles protect your home from the elements, so avoid hanging anything from them, and don’t put nails through them. Nails and screws create holes and tears that may lead to water damage.
Hints For a Festive Front Door
Creating that warm, inviting holiday vibe starts at your home’s entryway. Pick a wreath that anchors your aesthetic, with colors that complement your lights and yard decorations. From there, you can coordinate with garlands or other adornments around your porch. Best of all, you can dress up your doorway without making permanent holes in your home.
- Use adhesive hooks to hang wreaths and ornaments. Then when the holiday season has ended, you can remove the hook without leaving a mark.
- Grab an over-the-door wreath hanger at your local store. Try one with felt backing to keep the hook from scratching your door.
- Magnetic hooks work great for metal or glass doors. For glass, heavy duty magnets on either side will keep more lightweight decorations in place.
- Protect your door from scratchy wreaths with felt. Attach felt or burlap to the back of your wreath to prevent sticks, leaves or wires from marring the door.
Safely Adorn Your Windows
Decorating your windows both inside and out is a wonderful way to bring merriment to your home. But putting nails or screws around your windows can invite moisture and cold air into your house. For exterior décor, adhesive clips or brick clips work well around windows. You’ve also got options when it comes to interior adornments:
- Hang décor directly from windows with suction cups. You can purchase suction cups with hooks for this specific purpose.
- Buy holiday window clings. These decorations are so easy to install that kids can help, and before you know it your windows are full of holiday imagery.
- Create hot glue clings! You can make your own decorative window clings by applying hot glue to parchment paper in the shape of your choice (a snowflake, for example), then waiting for it to dry, peeling it off and applying it to your window!
- Hang garlands from curtain rods with twist ties. Lightweight holiday décor can also wrap around curtain rods.
Wall-to-Wall Merriment
Whether you’re hosting a holiday party or just enjoying quality time with the members of your household, decorating inside your home makes everything feel extra special. However, double-sided tape and other adhesives might cause permanent harm to your paint. There are plenty of ways to decorate inside your home while preventing scratches, rips or stains.
- Weighted stocking holders mean no nails in your mantel. There are so many decorative stocking holders to choose from that look great sitting on your mantelpiece.
- Opt for battery-powered candles instead of the real thing. Electric candles are much safer, just as pretty, and you won’t have to deal with messy melted wax.
- Harmlessly mount holiday photos with mounting putty. This material is fantastic for not leaving marks on walls and holds tight to pictures and posters.
- Purchase adhesive hooks for indoor walls. These hooks can really come in handy for the holidays, but be sure to buy the right size for the weight you want them to handle.
Wishing You a Warm and Wonderful Holiday Season
Here at Newrez, we know just how much it means to celebrate the holidays at home. No matter how you celebrate, we’re wishing you a joyful holiday season.
If you’re thinking about looking for a new home in the new year, Newrez has loan products to fit your unique circumstances. Not sure what you can afford? Our loan calculators make it simple to do the mortgage math.
