When Can I Hang Christmas Lights?
Any time from October 1st. Installing lights early is allowed, and it's often smarter, as long as they stay off until November 15th.
A person on a ladder in a sweatshirt in October is a person who's done the math on December. The Court admires this. The weather's better, the gutters are dry and you can feel your hands. Anyone who's hung lights on December 3rd in sleet knows what they'd have paid to have done this six weeks ago.
Installing isn't celebrating. If a strand is sitting dark on your gutter, it looks like nothing from the street. It could be wiring. It could be part of the house. Your neighbors won't know until the day you flip the switch, and that's the fun of it.
Before you climb up, test every strand on the ground, because it's much nicer to find a dead one there. Use clips made for gutters and shingles rather than staples, use lights and cords rated for outdoors, and plug into a protected outdoor outlet. Have someone hold the ladder. This is the only part of the ruling the Court's completely serious about.
Everything comes down by January 15th. That gives you a little time after the season ends for the ice to melt and for you to run out of excuses. Yes, you have to. The Court will be driving past.
The Ruling: Allowed from October 1 through January 15.
This ruling comes from a joke website. There is no court. The dates are our opinion, and the practical tips are ordinary common sense, so use your own judgment.